Lawn Fertilizer Dangers For Edible Plants?

We have Kousa Dogwood trees and I was told years ago that the
fruit was edible. Also looked it up recently:
http://www.slashfood.com/2008/08/29/wild-edibles-kousa-dogwood-fruit/

We had our lawn treated by a lawn service back then
about 8 years ago so we never ate it anyway. I stopped the lawn
service, but decided to overseed last year and just put down starter
fertilizer without any herbicides or pesticides. This is the type I put
down:
http://www.greenviewfertilizer.com/store/GreenView-with-GreenSmart-Starter-Fertilizer-P70C8.aspx
I also planted:
Blueberries
Grapes
Tomatoes
Cherry Trees

Most of the plants are doing fairly well and I fertilized the lawn again
with the same starter fertilizer a few months back in April.
The grass has come in fairly well but we have a lot of crabgrass in spots,
some broadleaf and some ants so I considered putting down a weed and
feed, or a broadleaf weed killer and also a mild pesticide.
I called Greenview and they definately said do not use the fertilizers with
any herbicides or pesticides near plants that we planned to eat the fruit from,
they suggested staying 2 ft away. Fine okay, then I asked if the just fertilizer
products were safe and he had to check and came back with no. I said I
checked the MSDS sheet and it is just fertilizer nothing else. He said he
thought that one of the Ureas was not safe and he would check again. I
asked because nearly all of the plants got some of this fertilizer. He said that
he'd only get a yes or no answer and that I'd have to call another number
about the details.
I'm wondering if anyone knows the details about what specific type of Urea
fertilizer is not safe for fruit and tomato plants? Looking for details since
I'd rather not have to do most of the lawn with one product, then use another
near any of the plants with edible fruit.

I had some of this fertilizer left and I think I put another light round down
around the Kousa Dogwoods in May because they seemed to respond well
to it. I will probably do the front lawn with some sort of safe organic fertilizer
next year where all the edible plants are but I'd like to know if it is safe to eat
the fruit. Considering all the chemicals sprayed directly onto commercial
fruits I wonder if they are just being extra careful?
The fellow answering the phone did not have much confidence at all and
I'm not sure if he really knew what he was talking about.

This message was edited Jun 20, 2013 11:58 AM

Biuret is mentioned here as a poison for some plants, especially
Citrus trees:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/citrus/msg0123030118212.html

They also mention that it is more of an issue when directly sprayed
on the foliage which I obviously did not do.

Not sure if this Biuret would actually get to the fruit and if it is a poison
for humans.

The fellow called back and said that since the product is not
labeled for fruits and vegetables it is against EPA rules to use
it in that way. He did also say that it will not harm the trees or
the fruit. He said the fruit was safe to eat.

That's why I rely on compost made in my own backyard instead of all those commercial fertilizers with who knows what in them.

Do you use compost on your lawn?
It can be done and I considered dressing our lawn
with about .25" of compost but have not tried it yet.

I don't have much lawn and it's Bermuda grass which grows fine w/o fertilizer; give it water and heat and it takes off.

a fertilizer can never make a fruit unsafe to eat, unless it is applied to the fruit and you don't wash it.

Thanks, is that true even for fertilizers with herbicides or pestisides? I'm talking about getting inside the fruit, not just on the surface where it can be washed off.

if it has a pesticide like herbicide, fungicide or insecticide it may pose a risk if it isnt approved for that fruit or vegetable you are growing.

But many of the pesticides found on lawn granules like pendemethalin, 2,4-D, and dicamba are approved for use in many fruit crops.

This is a pesticide that is absorbed up into the plant, Imidacloprid, but
I've never heard of it being used in Lawn Fertilizer products:
http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/2012/3-21/imidacloprid.html

Not recommended for plants with edible parts at high concentrations.

Imidacloprid is a systemic insecticide. I do not know of any cases where it is approved for lawns or any fruit trees. It is used extensively in roses and ornamentals as well as in some fruiting vegetable crops early on at planting like potatoes and tomatoes.

Thanks for the additional info and I think you are correct in that your list is playing it safe. But the Bayer product using this chemical lists many other plants. This is quoted from that link:

"What plants are listed on the label of Bayer Advanced Fruit, Citrus & Vegetable Insect Control?

There is a long list so check the label. Some examples plants likely to be grown in Iowa include:
•Pome fruit such as apples and pear
•Stone fruit such as apricot cherry, peach and plum
•Strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry
•Tree nuts such as walnut, chestnut, hickory
• Many cucurbits including cucumber, pumpkin, muskmelon, squash, zucchini
•Eggplants, peppers, tomatoes and some leafy vegetables
• Many herbs
"

PeteB7,

You are right imidacloprid is labled for fruit trees. I'm just familiar with what is used commercially and I never have heard of commercial orchards using a systemic insecticide as a soil drench to control foliar pests. I also have not seen it for sale for homowner use on fruit trees.

I do not beleive it is labled for turf for homeowner use in the US.

It is labled in turf for chafer grubs but have never seen it in a Scotts type granular product or for homeowner lawn turf use.

Thanks again for your advice. I was re-reading the article on grub control where I first noticed imidacloprid and see that the trade name is Merit.

It is mentioned here in this article on grub control:
http://extension.umass.edu/turf/fact-sheets/current-insecticide-approaches-white-grub-control

I think you're saying that Merit is not commonly or intended to be applied to an entire lawn?

Another reference for imidacloprid where she says she would not use it for edible plants
and I agree:
http://citybugs.tamu.edu/2010/06/07/systemi/

I am thinking about using this on the lawn for grub and pest control so I called Bayer
and they said to stay 3 to 5 feet away from the garden or edible plants. I think I'll
make that 10 or 15 feet.

I've read that it IS used on edible plants but has to be timed with regard to harvest
time and used at lower concentrations. I won't be harvesting anything for months
and the distance and drainage should keep the concentration very low.

This message was edited Jun 12, 2014 9:01 AM

Imidacloprid is used in some vegetables at planting to provide early season systemic insect control in potatoes and tomatoes and some other vegetables. If used at planting or when transplanting in those crops, by the end of the season there should not be any more of the product to be taken up. This can be seen by a loss of efficacy in the product midway through the season. This product is highly xylem mobile which means it moves up through the roots and systemically into the plant.

There are plenty of other effective insecticide products you can use besides imidacloprid to control grubs in turf. And many of them are not systemic and would pose much less of a risk of uptake in any of your fruit trees or vegetables.

I have doubts about them giving you distances. If for some reason you need to keep it away from the roots, then you need to keep it away from the root zone, which varies with the plant. One size does not fit all. Older larger plants have a larger root zone than smaller or new ones.