Take Cover…It’s Raining Nitrogen!

By Annette Codding

   Have you ever sat and watched a thunderstorm? Rocked on the porch and really enjoyed the lightning show? I know I have. I love to hear it rolling out there and know that the bottom is about to fall out. Or see a thunderstorm coming in and seeing if I can beat it to get all of the chores done before the first fat drops start to fall.
   Of course, if laundry is on the line or the windows are down in the truck, there’s a mad dash to get the clothes in before they get wet again or roll the windows up before the inside gets a bath. But when things are just right, rain is a good thing.
   There’s something about a good steady rain that just lets you know that it’s soaking in and really doing the ground some good. Not a frog strangler, those wash and make a mess. But a nice easy rain that just softly falls and the ground is able to soak it up like a sponge. I guess that’s one good thing about our Florida soils.
   But then we have those thunderstorms that you can see, and hear, off in the distance. I keep on working and keep an eye on the movement. Feel the wind and take note of the shifts. Watch the animals and see how they are responding to the change. It’s always interesting to me to watch the weather change. The skies get darker, the air is sometimes cooler, and you can feel the difference in the atmosphere.
   I tend to stay out and keep on working and watching. But nothing gets me moving faster than the lighting popping close by. A big one strikes in the distance and I stop and count. One 100, two 100, three 100, four 100, five 100…then I hear the thunder. Five miles away and that’s close enough to know I had better finish up and head to cover.
   The rain is almost always welcome here. I say “almost” because I think of our hay men. Rain is dreaded when there is hay on the ground. But they have been doing this for years and can probably ready the weather better than Danny Trainor.
   So here comes the rain in a big boomer of a thunderstorm. Lightning is popping all around and the windows shake. The pastures and plants are really going to love this kind of rain, even more than a gentle and quiet shower. But did you ever stop to think about why they do?
   My friend Bert commented recently about a thunderstorm bringing nitrogen. Well, I had always heard that rain brings nitrogen, but nothing about a thunderstorm. It turns out that lightning is the cause and there is some pretty cool science behind it.
   Our atmosphere is made up of 78% nitrogen and about 21% oxygen. That last 1% is a mix of argon, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. But the nitrogen molecule in the air is made of two atoms in a very tight bond and cannot be used by plants that way. I know you know, but nitrogen is a key element in the health and growth of our plants.
   The nitrogen bonds can be broken apart by large bursts of electricity. And that is exactly what lightning is…a very large burst of electricity. Once the nitrogen atom is free, it can bind to an oxygen molecule to create nitric oxide. Then the nitric oxide can be dissolved into the moisture in the air and together, they come down in the rain. The nitrogen is soaked into the soil with the rain and there the plants can use it.
   The other natural way that nitrogen can be taken from the atmosphere and put in the soil is by certain plants. The process of nitrogen being made available in the soil is called nitrogen fixation, whether done by plants or lightning.
   The plants that are capable of doing this are all legumes. Legumes have nodules that grow on its roots and certain microbes live in those nodules. Those microbes then get the nitrogen from the plant and release it into the soil to be used by other plants. So essentially, we can plant little fertilizer factories in our garden, but that’s for another article.
   I have heard that this is an El Nino year and that is the reason it’s been so wet. Whatever it is called, I am glad for it. And now that I know this about the lightning, I will be especially glad when I hear the thunder. I can just see all of that fertilizer falling to the ground. And I can just imagine the plants lifting their leaves in acceptance and thanks. Until next time, get outside and keep an eye out for those thunderstorms!