This may be a silly question but

How long is fertilizer good? All the fertilizer I have I bought last year. The people at miracle grow said it's pretty much good "forever," but what about organic ferts like alaska startup?

Thanks,

Maureen

Interesting question... I can't imagine organics staying good for a long time, wouldn't they get stale and inert?

Since the chemical fertilizers are from trace minerals and such, I think that stuff just about lasts and lasts.

I'd like to hear some one's imput on this too.

I would imagine that they are right about that - as long as the fertilizer is kept in original packaging, out of really moist conditions and in relatively normal temperatures it should last several years. I would bet at the very least 10 years, but that is a guess.

It is really dependent on the conditions that they are kept in. You can open and close a bottle of Osmocote and as long as you close it tightly I think it would be pretty indestructable. On the other hand if you have outdoor type fertilizers exposed to moisture or extreme heat (hey, I live in Houston and heat is an issue as is moisture) the shelf life is not going to be too long. If you smell breaking down nitrogen/urea breakdown then it should be considered failry unstable.
The best example that I can give is one that I shared on another forum, I left a some weed & feed in my spreader from late summer to late winter and found that many cats in the neighborhood had come to my open garage and used my spreader as a kitty litter box- the texture was comparable and the smell was...well I am sure that you get the idea. Also earlier in the season I used some old weed and feed that had the smell of breakdown and had been in it's original, but opened and folded over, then clamped bag. The result was not all that pretty...some significant burning occured. I am a little more careful now.