Dry Calcium Nitrate

Dry Calcium Nitrate has an analysis of 15.5-0-0 19% Ca and it's derived from reacting a derivative from the atmosphere. They pull out nitrate acid from the air and they react nitrate acid with the limestone and that is what gives calcium nitrate. So it's basically derived from limestone and the atmospheric nitrogen.

Most of the production of calcium nitrate that's dry is done in Norway, they're the largest producer of calcium nitrate. They have a lot of hydroelectric power from waterfalls, etc. and cheaper electricity and they have limestone deposits and that's where calcium nitrate is derived from.

Calcium nitrate is considered as a commercial fertilizer and as a result it is not approved for organics. As far as its application, it's a double growth energy fertilizer which means the calcium causes growth in plants and so do the nitrates. This is in contrast to something that would be promoting reproductive energy for say flowers and fruit.

It's a very useful product. It's applied very well in turf, it's used quite a bit for forages and pastures. In pasture situations a lot of times we'll have 200 lbs. applied per acre in the spring, 200 lbs. in mid-summer and that will cause the grass to grow very well.

Calcium nitrate has some very nice properties. It pulls moisture out of the air and into the soil, so it's excellent for increasing the moisture content in soils just from that effect. The dry comes in two versions. One is a coated and one is a technical grade or greenhouse grade crystals.

The problem with calcium nitrate is that it pulls moisture, therefore if it's not coated, it'll pull moisture into the product and get it moist and soupy. So in order to prevent that, they coat the granules of calcium nitrate with a tallow or a wax, it's like a fat that prevents the moisture from coming through the product. Now once you put it out and apply it out on the soil, it begins to break down and it works fine. But this just helps to prevent that, so when you're ordering you have to know whether you want to liquify or not. The cheapest of the two is to get the coated calcium nitrate.

The technical grade, or the crystals, is usually provided only in 50 lb. bags. These could be stacked up on a pallet. But this would be if you want to liquify it, put it down a drip line as a calcium nitrate or use it to liquify and make a foliar spray or whatnot. But you can make a liquid calcium nitrate with the technical grade.

Calcium nitrate's very useful in crops like lettuce, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, things of that nature give great response to calcium nitrate.

Calcium nitrate comes in tote bags that are 2,000 lbs. each bag with granules that are coated. It would also come in 50 lb. bags that are coated stacked up on a pallet. It might be more than a ton on a pallet. The crystal grade comes by the 50 lb. bag or by the 50 lb. bags stacked on a pallet and it's possible it could be even in tote bags, but then it would have to be kept very well sealed and used up all at once when you use it. So it's not recommended in that form.