Josh's 2018 soil test

[southern-ct-4]

Quick follow-up: to confirm, 3 tablespoons/k x 20k sq ft = 60 tablespoons = 3.75 cups.

3.75 cups x each of 3 products (boron, manganese, zinc) = 11.25 cups.

When mixing and applying with Milo, any thoughts on whether I can add all 11.25 cups of product to 2 bags of Milo (36 lb each) or 1 bag of 50 lb, as that's all that fits in my spreader at one time (I believe)? I might be able to fit 3 small bags and 2 big bags, I just don't recall off-hand (you'd think I'd have it memorized!)

I would set the spreader very low to allow it to last for all 20k sq ft.

After doing so I would use another 6 bags of Milo (2 + 6 = 8, which covers 20k sq ft at bag rate), to go over the whole yard again (at a much higher spreader setting).

OR

Is it vastly better to break up the 11.25 cups into a few trips?

Thanks.

[andy10917]

I generally break it into a few trips.

Your math is correct.

[southern-ct-4]

I generally break it into a few trips.

Your math is correct.

Great, thank you.

[TimmyG]

I would mix that amount into no less than 8 bags.

[southern-ct-4]

Quick question; I'm sitting on a 50 lb bag of Urea (that I had bought intending to do the fall nitrogen regimen (which I ended up not doing). Is there anything I can do with this bag at this point? I'll be putting down 8 bags of Milo (with micros) tomorrow and (after the milo tomorrow) will have put down about 4.5 lbs of N/1k sq ft. I assume therefore I don't want to put down another 23 lbs of Urea (1.15 lbs/1k sq ft), correct? I also did a large amount of spot seeding this fall (but could easily put the Urea in the existing lawn and not the new spots).

Assuming I don't put it down now, what should I do with it next year (i.e. when should I use it and how much should I use)? Pending the results of a spring soil test, I'll plan to use mostly Milo next year, but maybe I could incorporate the Urea into the plan?

Thanks for any suggestions. The bag was cheap but I'd rather not waste it...

[andy10917]

We'll find a use for it - double-bag it in plastic garbage bags so it doesn't absorb moisture and put it away cool and dry.

[southern-ct-4]

We'll find a use for it - double-bag it in plastic garbage bags so it doesn't absorb moisture and put it away cool and dry.

Great, thanks!

[southern-ct-4]

I would mix that amount into no less than 8 bags.

So I did it.

8 bags of Milo across my 20k sq ft lawn, with just under 1/2 cup of each micronutrient per bag, which seemed like a lot actually (the math was 3.75 cups of each, so divided by 8 bags is .46875 cups of each per bag). I did as was suggested, putting a bag of milo in a wheelbarrow, putting half the micros on top (about 1/4 cup of each) spritzing lightly and mixing for a while. Then added another 1/4 cup and mixed again. Then applied the milo and repeated.

I will not be doing that again...

Aside from maybe tackling my yard in stages (front one week, back the next), or just focusing on my front yard which I care more about, any other suggestions on how to more easily spread the required micros across my large yard? Even if it's costly, is there any sort of specialty fertilizer that contains these micros? Just as an example, maybe there's a 50 lb bag of 'something' that covers 10k sq ft that has much of what I need?

Thanks as always.

[southern-ct-4]

In the cations, you're short on Calcium and Magnesium, and fine on the Potassium. That's a bit unusual, but the easiest scenario to fix. You need to get and apply a good Calcitic Lime (Encap/Mag-I-Cal/Solu-Cal) and mix the "heavy rate" on the bag with 2 lbs/K of Epsom Salts. Apply it at 2lbs/K over the printed bag rate for "heavy rate") for the Lime every 90 days.

Quick question; I was reading some other people's posts and the Lime FAQ, and my Calcium to Magnesium is 1224/106 = 10.6:1. Per this: https://aroundtheyard.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=117 (" If you're above 10:1 and the Calcium isn't excessive, use dolomitic."), wouldn't I therefore want to use dolomitic, rather than calcitic?

I'm sure I'm missing something but just wanted to ask/clarify.

Thanks!

[andy10917]

Not a bad question, but once you understand the context, the answer should be clear...

The Lime Article you referenced was written in April, 2009. At that time, the newer technologies related to Lime products hadn't become mainstream yet, and therefore weren't included.

Since that time, the newer technologies have created a liming product that integrates into the soil in 5-8 weeks instead of a much-longer 12-14 months for complete integration for older products. This allows for us to get many more applications of liming material done in a season, and many fewer 50 lb bags being carted around (the older technology is at 50 lbs/K, the newer at 9-10 lbs/K).

Dolomitic Lime has really not used the newer techniques as much as Calcitic (not sure why). So, since Dolomitic is to supply both Calcium and Magnesium, the quickest, least-labor technique has evolved to applying the new Calcitic product and adding Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulfate) into the blend to accomplish a faster integration than Dolomitic products do. It also allows me to dial-in a finer tuning of the amount of Magnesium I want to achieve, by controlling the amount of Epsom Salts in the mix.

Make sense?

[TimmyG]

(Andy beat me to the punch by a minute, but I'll dump this text here anyway.)

Andy addressed your magnesium shortage by recommending Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate). Typical dolomitic lime (cheap pelletized lime) is very slow acting, whereas a "good calcitic lime" and Epsom salt are both fast acting. Andy is simply giving you the best advice for correcting the shortages in a timely fashion. Be sure to check out the recent Dolomitic or Calcitic thread.

[southern-ct-4]

Perfect, thanks! I knew there would be a reason

[andy10917]

Look, there is no need for a $148 product to get a one-size-fits-all solution. This isn't a game of "more expensive means better". What if you have a huge surplus of Zinc and you pay good money to put down more Zinc. Some micro's can be an issue if there is too much (Boron and Copper), and others are calculated carefully to be at certain ratios to other nutrients (like Boron to Calcium, Manganese to Iron, Phosphorus to Zinc).

I'm also sad when I see members starting the season with expensive miracle-in-a-bag solutions that aren't necessary, and then quit because "it's so expensive to follow through". It's not, unless you make it so. If you want to throw your money away, buy a boat instead of playing with lawns.

You can try others fertilizers to mix the micro's into, but use something that has a small granule like Milorganite/Bay State - if it sticks to a larger prill size, it will all be in one spot and not evenly distributed as well as the small granule. I provide the micronutrient application because it is fully tested and I know it distributes well. I do it 4X a year on a 1+ acre lawn, and I don't find it to take more than 20 minutes total of extra effort per application - for an acre.

If you choose to do foliar applications, the amounts that are applied per single application are significantly lower than soil applications. You'll do more applications per year, again with a one-size-fits-all solution.

[southern-ct-4]

Thanks for the input Andy and I know I'm grasping at straws looking for a miracle solution...

Can I ask how you do it on an acre in 20 minutes? I can't even walk 8 bags across my 20k sq ft in 20 minutes, never mind having to mix in micros... Normally when I apply Milo (8 bags at a time) I just dump it in a tow behind spreader (which I know isn't remotely accurate, but I just open it low and go back and forth each direction and have it pretty much figured out how to cover the yard pretty evenly) and that takes me 20 minutes by the time I load it up and ride around for a while.

For this process, by the time I put a bag in the wheelbarrow, put in micros, sprayed, mixed, put in other half, mixed again, transferred from wheelbarrow to spreader, spread the bag over 2,500 sq ft, then repeated 7 more times, it must have taken me an hour... and it was a painful/tiring hour (partly due to it being really hot 2 days ago, I should have waited until today but wanted to get it in before the rain!).

Maybe I'm doing something wrong and/or maybe I'll get better each time, but it was a really painful experience

Thanks again.

[andy10917]

I didn't say that it took me 20 minutes - I said it was 20 minutes of extra effort. The Milorganite doesn't have to be at full-rate - I can put it down at half-rate (but full micro rate). The Milorganite is just a carrier for the micro's. I've been doing it for a decade, and I don't even think about it when I'm doing it.

I think a lot of this is how you look at it - this is my hobby and I love being outdoors doing it. It takes me 1.5 to 2 hrs to do the acre with a Scott's Edgeguard Pro (push spreader, on a slope, at age of 66). I'm in my glory. It would suck if I saw it as work - I'd find a new hobby.

[southern-ct-4]

Thanks and understood. Maybe I'll try half rate milo, though with the amount of micros I'm not sure I can, as it'll probably get clumpy.

I assume/hope at some point I would be reducing the volume of micros?? Or would I likely need to stay at these quantities to maintain the levels that I'm hoping to achieve? Or is there no way to answer w/o continued soil tests...

[andy10917]

If it gets anywhere NEAR clumpy, you're not doing it right. This is a light mist just to get the micro's to stick. Otherwise it will blow away with the wind as powder.

About the volume of micro's: some micro's will stay where they are a long time. Boron is notoriously prone to leaching, though, and after 32 years at this location I'm still adding it. The bad news is that it makes no difference whether you are applying one micro or four - you're still making the trek around the yard.

And yes, different soils will leach at different rates.

I'm working on a solution to micro's applications, but it's probably a year away due to testing time...

[southern-ct-4]

I may have been spraying a bit too much making it clumpy. Will go with a very light mist being careful not to clump.

Thanks again.

[southern-ct-4]

If my first application was on 10/9, should I still do another one on 12/8 (60 days later)? Or is that too late in the season?

Thanks.

[andy10917]

I'd wait until Spring. The Milorganite won't break down once the temperatures are such that the microherd goes to sleep.