Liquid vs Granular fertilizer.  Which is better?

The answer? NEITHER! They both have their place!

It’s a great question, and the answer is: it depends! There are pros and cons to both granular and liquid fertilizer applications, and a lawn care company might choose to focus on liquid for several reasons.

The pros of liquid:

• Efficiency and Speed: Liquid fertilizers can be applied quickly and efficiently over large areas, especially with specialized spray equipment. This can be advantageous for a company servicing many lawns.  
• Uniform Coverage: Liquid fertilizers can provide more even coverage, reducing the risk of streaks or uneven greening that can sometimes occur with granular applications.
• Flexibility in Application: This is where liquid really stands out.  As long as products are physically compatible we can literally add whatever we want to the tank, the kitchen sink, if you will.  We can have herbicides, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, etc all in one application.  
• Foliar Uptake: Some nutrients in liquid fertilizers can be absorbed directly through the leaves, providing a quicker response, especially in situations where soil conditions might limit nutrient uptake.
• Faster Response: When using products like fungicides or insecticides a liquid application will typically provide a much faster response.  Granular products are typically produced by taking the liquid active ingredient and then applying it to a substrate which can be spread.  In these cases the product has to be watered in to be “activated.”

The pros of granular:

• Controlled Release: While liquids absolutely can control the release of fertilizers they can’t control to the same degree of granular products.  Granular products can be coated with things like sulfur and polymers.  These coatings can control the release of the fertilizer for months.  You can literally put down a year’s worth of fertilizer in one application without burning.  
• Safety: Some products when applied as a liquid will burn such as, Ronstar or Suregaurd.  When these are applied as a granular, (to dry grass) the danger of burn is dramatically reduced. 
• The Only Way: Sometimes granular is the only way to apply things.  Corrective liming for instance: When adjusting pH to a significant degree so much calcium carbonate is required (tons) It really can only be spread as a granular.  

The cons of liquid:

• Lower Longevity: Liquid fertilizers tend to have a shorter residual effect compared to the coated granular fertilizers, which release nutrients more slowly over time. This might require more frequent applications.  
• Potential for Runoff and Leaching: If not applied carefully, liquid fertilizers can be more prone to runoff, especially on sloped areas or during heavy rain. This can lead to environmental concerns.
• Equipment Costs: Specialized spray equipment can be more expensive than granular spreaders, potentially increasing the company’s overhead costs.

The cons of granular:

• Costs: Granulars tend to cost more.  Simply do to weight.  For instance a bottle of insecticide may be mostly active ingredient.  A bag of the same insecticide has the active ingredient which was a liquid which has been sprayed on to a substrate to make it spreadable. 

• Accuracy and coverage: Granular spreaders are a little more difficult to calibrate than a liquid sprayer. Spreading granules will never provide the same uniformity in coverage as spraying.  
• Rain: Rain is a good thing for fertilizer right?  Well fertilizer that hasn’t been applied yet cannot get wet.  When your fertilizer bags get rained on they are typically ruined.  The moisture gets into the packaging causing the product to clump together making it unspreadable.  

Should I use a company that only sprays and will not apply granular?  I would highly recommend avoiding these companies.  As we’ve covered above there are situations when granular products need to be used.  I would assert that a company solely focused on spraying is simply looking to generate as much revenue as possible and is not concerned with the actual health and well being of your lawn. 

In conclusion liquid and granular products are both important and both have their place in lawn care programs.  If you’d like to get a quote from a reputable company who has the ability to apply both products we implore you to go to weedsie.com/free-estimate/.  If a company tells you they are unwilling to apply granular products to your lawn there program may be a little watered down…