Our granules don’t exist in a vacuum; like all good things, they adapt with the times. We review our products every year, making adjustments to meet changing nutritional needs arising from increased yields, new crop varieties, and different farming practices. We base these formulations on the and detailed information collected from thousands of soil samples all over the country. Our end goal? Your bottom line. The Granular Advantage saves you time and improves crop yields to fetch more money in the end. When you purchase Rainbow Plant Food, you’re making an investment that you can watch mature, an investment guaranteed to pay off at harvest time so you can truly reap what you sow.

How We Do It
The Granular Advantage didn’t sprout overnight; Rainbow Plant Food, like the crops it helps to grow, has taken generations to mature. We’ve been sharpening the process by which we create our granules consistently since 1925, and today have it down to a five-phase procedure that takes less than one hour to complete:

• Phase One: Combination
  Though totally unique, Rainbow Plant Food begins just like every other fertilizer – as piles of dry and pulverized nutrients. Before the granulation process begins, computers weigh out exact portions of minerals such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to ensure that every granule contains an equivalent amount.

• Phase Two: Granulation/Ammoniation
  With the help of liquid ammonia to serve as the glue that binds nutrients together, weighed dry raw materials are mixed together in a tank called the “ammoniator.” The resulting chemical reactions and heat cause dry salts to convert to a liquid phase, which harden again in the pellet shape of granules.

• Phase Three: Drying and Cooling
  Piping hot granules go from the ammoniator to a rotary dryer, which dries them with heated air that flows in the same clockwise direction as the granules themselves. The granules then go to a rotating cooler, which cools them with heated air flowing in the opposite direction.

• Phase Four: Sizing
  Conveyor belts rake the granules over a bank of two-surface vibrating screens that allow only granules of the proper size and shape to receive a dust-suppressant coating. Undersized particles are sent back to the ammoniator to be re-granulated. Oversized particles are crushed and re-screened.

• Phase Five: Testing
  Once these nutrient-packed granules are ready to hit the shelves, Rainbow scientists step in to test the products to make sure each and every one is up to snuff. These scientists are constantly sampling our granules to check for quality, and consistency. The result: a product that’s second to none, time after time.

Believe it or not, that’s it. The entire process takes up less time than an average load of laundry – no more than 45 minutes in all. Granules spend nearly 35 minutes of this time in the driers and coolers, mostly to ensure that each individual nutrient-rich package emerges at 125 degrees Fahrenheit – the perfect temperature for it to deliver maximum nourishment to your crops. Through this process, we can produce anywhere from 20 to 40 tons of Rainbow Plant Food an hour. Each and every one of those granules is designed to bring you higher yields and bumper profits.

What Granular Means to You

But there’s more to the Granular Advantage than extra cash. A recent study from a leading University offers scientific proof that it is nearly impossible to blend common pulverized fertilizer materials in a distribution that allows for even and consistent spreading of nutrients into the soil. In the study, research proves that granulated fertilizers such as Rainbow Plant Food actually enhance efficient application and distribution of nutrients. The study also indicates that by using granular products such as Rainbow Plant Food, even distribution of fertilizers maximizes the yield from each individual plant, leading to balanced fertility across the board.

Ordinary and traditionally blended fertilizer products begin to segregate the moment they leave the blender – the result of natural sorting and sifting processes that occur as the products make their way to the spreader. With granular fertilizer, however, fertilizer such as Rainbow Plant Food, no blending is necessary, since a perfect ratio of essential minerals is contained within each individual granule. No blending means no chance for segregation, which, in turn, means healthier, more vibrant crops at every harvest. This is the Granular Advantage. And it works.

The Rainbow Family
No two growers are alike, and over the years, Rainbow Plant Food has evolved into a family of three distinct brands to meet the needs of our diverse customer base:

• Our first brand, International Plant Food, is our basic granular Plant Food, and is designed for crops and situations where nutritional needs can be met without premium products. Granules of this product contain a standard amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur – the four essential ingredients for above-average yields. International Plant Food also can be combined with premium products to meet the needs of other crops.

• Our second brand, Rainbow Plant Food, boasts the same four basic minerals as our International product, and adds other nutrients such as boron, manganese and zinc to promote fuller and more vibrant crops. Started as a premium plant food for cotton in 1925, today this product is perfect for just about every crop, including cotton, corn, tobacco, soybeans, and more. It is, bar none, our most popular granular offering on the market today

• Our third brand, Super Rainbow Plant Food, is the top of the line in granular fertilizer, and includes additional nutrients such as magnesium, Sulfur, and calcium to facilitate exceptional yields and higher grades. This product line also boasts additional micronutrients including copper, iron, and boron – all of which act as catalysts to activate enzyme systems and maximize plant health and crop quality.

Whatever kind of crops you grow, Rainbow boasts a product that fits your needs perfectly. In our book, this is all part of the Granular Advantage. We make sure growers understand the difference between soil and pay dirt. It’s time to consider blended fertilizers a thing of the past.