Time between Lime and Potassium?

[greenbum]

I found this thread. I'm waiting to do my soil test f0r 2016, but given the results I got in 2014 & 2015, I'm probably going to need to up my potassium levels (without using nitrogen like in a balanced fertilizer, Ive got lots of Milo for that). What do most folks use to raise potassium levels and where do you source your materials? TY.

http://aroundtheyard.com/soil/greenbum- ... 16808.html

[andy10917]

Sulfate Of Potash ("SOP"). Muriate Of Potash ("MOP") is cheaper but a poor substitute - it is Chloride-based instead of Sulfate-based, and far harsher to the soil. We do not recommend MOP.

SOP can be found at places where farmers get fertilizers, and online.

[greenbum]

Ok thanks. I'll call Crop Production Services, the same co you recommended last year. I'll let you know what they charge / bag (20lb bag I'm hoping for, I dont think I need a lot / year, previous soil test said apply 3 lbs / year).

As for the phosphorous, if I need it down the road, what do most people use?

Because I'm hoping to avoid a balanced fertilizer, which will allow me to apply Milo every 2 weeks, and spoon feed my potassium (and maybe phosphorous ) every month during the growing season (May-Oct). If I use a 10-10-10, I'm risking pushing too much growth in the spring. Milo seemed to work well last year and I will probably start applying it after my 2nd cut.

[andy10917]

If you're putting down bag rate of Milorganite every two weeks, you don't need to worry about Phosphorus. Milorganite is 5-2-0 (plus Iron), so at bag rate you're apply a good amount of Phosphorus (in a good form, too).

[greenbum]

Of course, I forgot about the phosphorus in Milo (or Bay State which claims 4-3-0). That's great news. Thanks.

[greenbum]

Sulfate Of Potash ("SOP"). Muriate Of Potash ("MOP") is cheaper but a poor substitute - it is Chloride-based instead of Sulfate-based, and far harsher to the soil. We do not recommend MOP.

SOP can be found at places where farmers get fertilizers, and online.

Ok so I confirmed they sell 50 lbs of SOP for $31 (which should last me 16.7 years). What's the shelf life hahaha???

They also sell sulfate of potash magnesia (0-0-22-11-11), 50lbs for $22, but I didnt know what this was. Looks like it contains some extra sulfur & magnesium.

Seeing as though I may not need a full 16 years of pure 0-0-50 supply, would it be a better choice to get the more diversified mix (i.e. is too much sulfur/magnesium bad for a lawn)?

[Green]

Sulfate Of Potash ("SOP"). Muriate Of Potash ("MOP") is cheaper but a poor substitute - it is Chloride-based instead of Sulfate-based, and far harsher to the soil. We do not recommend MOP.

SOP can be found at places where farmers get fertilizers, and online.

Ok so I confirmed they sell 50 lbs of SOP for $31 (which should last me 16.7 years). What's the shelf life hahaha???

They also sell sulfate of potash magnesia (0-0-22-11-11), 50lbs for $22, but I didnt know what this was. Looks like it contains some extra sulfur & magnesium.

Seeing as though I may not need a full 16 years of pure 0-0-50 supply, would it be a better choice to get the more diversified mix (i.e. is too much sulfur/magnesium bad for a lawn)?

What does 0-0-22-11-11 mean? I assume the first 3 are NPK as usual. Do the nutrients go in some standard order? What if you had 10 in a row? What would that mean?

[greenbum]

Thats how the guy quoted it on the phone. Looking it up, it says "Sulfate of Potash Magnesia 0-0-22, 11% S, 11% Mg".

[LoneRanger]

^ The highest ingredient is listed first after NPK. There's no specific order that I'm aware of. However, sulfur almost always comes first.

[andy10917]

Greenbum, I'm not so sure that I follow your math. You have 2.5K sq ft of soil/lawn. Each app is 2 lbs/K, so each app is 5 lbs of SOP. At 6 apps per year (April-September), that's 30 lbs per season/year. Not sure how you got to 16.7 years. Also, unless it gets wet, the shelf life is the same as dirt -- forever.

The "Magnesia" product is also known as Sul-Po-Mag. As you neither need nor want more Sulfur or Magnesium, the product is a waster of money. We can add Magnesium in a more-controlled way as Epsom Salts (also Magnesium Sulfate) where we want it. Also, too much Magnesium in relation to Calcium makes a soil "hard" or "compacted" feeling.

However, sulfur almost always comes first.

No, it doesn't.

[LoneRanger]

^ Everytime I've seen and equal amount of ingredients after NPK, sulfur is always listed first.

[greenbum]

Greenbum, I'm not so sure that I follow your math. You have 2.5K sq ft of soil/lawn. Each app is 2 lbs/K, so each app is 5 lbs of SOP. At 6 apps per year (April-September), that's 30 lbs per season/year. Not sure how you got to 16.7 years. Also, unless it gets wet, the shelf life is the same as dirt -- forever.

The "Magnesia" product is also known as Sul-Po-Mag. As you neither need nor want more Sulfur or Magnesium, the product is a waster of money. We can add Magnesium in a more-controlled way as Epsom Salts (also Magnesium Sulfate) where we want it. Also, too much Magnesium in relation to Calcium makes a soil "hard" or "compacted" feeling.

However, sulfur almost always comes first.

No, it doesn't.

Ok perfect, thanks. Yeah my math comes from looking at the 2015 soil test and the lab recommended adding 3 lbs of potassium (k2o) / YEAR. Probably how k2o translates into 0-0-50 is where my disconnect came from. TY guys.

[andy10917]

Everytime I've seen and equal amount of ingredients after NPK, sulfur is always listed first.

There is no rule or common practice. In general, any additional items are listed with their chemical symbols - with the one that they're trying to sell/promote first. A product that's full of Calcium (and promoting Calcium) would show Calcium in the fourth spot, and products with lots of Iron would show Fe there.

[Green]

Greenbum, I'm not so sure that I follow your math. You have 2.5K sq ft of soil/lawn. Each app is 2 lbs/K, so each app is 5 lbs of SOP. At 6 apps per year (April-September), that's 30 lbs per season/year. Not sure how you got to 16.7 years. Also, unless it gets wet, the shelf life is the same as dirt -- forever.

The "Magnesia" product is also known as Sul-Po-Mag. As you neither need nor want more Sulfur or Magnesium, the product is a waster of money. We can add Magnesium in a more-controlled way as Epsom Salts (also Magnesium Sulfate) where we want it. Also, too much Magnesium in relation to Calcium makes a soil "hard" or "compacted" feeling.

However, sulfur almost always comes first.

No, it doesn't.

Ok perfect, thanks. Yeah my math comes from looking at the 2015 soil test and the lab recommended adding 3 lbs of potassium (k2o) / YEAR. Probably how k2o translates into 0-0-50 is where my disconnect came from. TY guys.

It's already listed in terms of K2O in the analysis. That's how Potassium is always listed. For example if you have a 0-0-7 product, that means 7% K2O equivalent. For SOP, it's as if 50% of the analysis were K2O. It's a standard way of comparing various Potassium products. It doesn't mean there's actually K2O in the product. But instead of saying "7% potassium" or "50% potassium", we should be saying "7% K2O equivalent" or "50% K2O equivalent". Of course, no one really talks that way in practice, do they?

[Southernguy311]

Thanks for the link to this thread TimmyG

Question to add for any experts on the topic.

Is gypsum as antagonistic as lime with K?

Would a very small sgn or finely crushed gypsum vs coarse have any impact? more? less?

Two weeks? Are we assuming there is rainfall/irrigation?

Most questions have been directed towards SOP but I've been applying SulPoMag almost exclusively. Does this throw a kink in it?

As info I dropped gypsum last week and only have another week to wait, but just want to wrap my head around the concept.

I get the basic concept, but my factors are a little sideways of the lime/SOP.

[ Post made via iPhone ]