BayState Fertilizer - Cheap Milorganite Alternative

[tlinden]

I just saw Bay State Fert at my local hardware store (Justice Hardware in Weymouth) so if you can't make it to the MWRA plant to pick it up here is the alternative.

Nice! I'll still drive to the source to save as long as he let's me, but the more stores that sell it the better.

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[tlinden]

I just saw Bay State Fert at my local hardware store (Justice Hardware in Weymouth) so if you can't make it to the MWRA plant to pick it up here is the alternative.

Nice! I'll still drive to the source to save as long as he let's me, but the more stores that sell it the better.

[ Post made via Android ]

[TheOscarGuy]

I live around 1 hr away from Quincy, and still plan to buy it directly. It's not that inconvenient to me since I buy a lot every time (it was 800 lb last time).

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[TimmyG]

I live about the same distance/time away from Quincy and can completely argue (for myself) in favor of paying for delivery of a pallet...which, of course, is only an option if you have room to store up to 50 bags. The difference in cost is $3.16 per bag ($333 to have a pallet delivered) which does sound like a huge premium over just $3.50 per bag to pick up. But when factoring in my time (3 hours including time spent there) and gas and depreciation of my vehicle, the numbers easily justify delivery. I, too, would be limited to about 800 lbs or just 20 bags per trip in my wife's Subaru Outback. (I'll load up 1000 lbs of Milorganite from the True Value sale, but that's just up the road a few miles.) For those 20 bags, the cost premium for delivery is just $63.

That said, I would like to make the trip one of these days just for the experience. Until then, it's a no-brainer for me to take advantage of the delivery option.

For those of you even further away, even in NH, CT, and RI, I would absolutely recommend asking Carl about delivery. As far as I understand from speaking with him and from really old posts elsewhere on the web, they deliver quite far (and close) for the same price. They don't make a special trip just for you but rather include you as a stop when making much larger deliveries in your area.

[TimmyG]

I just noticed that Bay State now has its own website rather than a page or two at the MWRA site:

http://www.baystatefertilizer.com/

It even provides an online order inquiry form and detailed delivery information including pricing.

[ken-n-nancy]

I noticed that yesterday, too, but didn't have time to hunt up this thread and make a posting.

The other thing I noticed, though, when reading the new Bay State Fertilizer page, were the prominent links to the relatively new Massachusetts law on "Plant Nutrient Management."

It's not clear to me how the law will be enforced for homeowners, but the law has tight restrictions on application of any "Phosphorus Containing Fertilizer." There's a quick 1-page (both sides) fact sheet with an easy-to-read Q&A.

Ironically, at first, I thought the law was pretty unfriendly to Bay State Fertilizer, as the primary restrictive paragraph did not seem to have any exemptions for biosolids (Bay State Fertilizer) or any other organic fertilizers:

31.05: Requirements for the Application of Nutrients to Land Not Used for Agricultural Purposes
(1) No person may purchase and apply, or authorize any person, by way of service contract or other arrangement, to apply any Phosphorus Containing Fertilizer on Lawn or Non-agricultural Turf, except when:
(a) a Soil Test taken not more than three years before the application indicates that additional phosphorus is needed for growth of that Lawn or Non-agricultural Turf; or
(b) the Phosphorus Containing Fertilizer is used to establish new Lawn or Non-agricultural Turf on bare ground or as part of renovation of a Lawn or Non-agricultural Turf area. The use of phosphorus for the purposes of establishing a new Lawn or Non-agricultural Turf area is limited to the first growing season.

However, upon further careful perusal, I learned that Bay State Fertilizer is not a "Phosphorus Containing Fertilizer" according to how that term is defined in the law. For that matter, it's not even "Fertilizer." Go figure.

[agn015]

I was just up in Boston for work the other day and picked up 15 bags of BayState on the way back. Special thanks to tlinden for posting his YouTube video on how to get to Carl and the pick up location. It made the whole adventure go that much smoother. I also forgot my check book but luckily Carl takes money orders too! Here's my current stockpile of BayState and OceanGro.


[ Post made via iPhone ]

[drawz]

I e-mailed Carl for a list of Boston-area retailers. Unfortunately, the list is very short: Kennedy’s in Scituate and Justice Hardware in Weymouth. Both are further away than Quincy for me.

[tlinden]

Nice stockpile!

[ Post made via Android ]

[ReD-BaRoN]

Ooooh fancy new bags!

[PSU4ME]

I picked up a pallet of this stuff this summer (I got the first pallet with the new bags) and it seems to wrk it's as well as milo..... stinks the same too. I'll likely go for another pallet this year as well.

[tlinden]

I brought my landscaper friend there and he loves the stuff now!

[PSU4ME]

I have about 16 bags left from my pallet last year and i'm planning to go get another pallet sometime in May. I want to run a hlaf application every two weeks right through the summer to see if i can get my KBG boomin this year. front reno was done in 2015 and the back last year so this is my year to really get it all moving!

Hopefully Carl isn't raising the price with all the popularity.