Milorganite changes again?

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micvog
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Milorganite changes again?

Post by micvog » February 14th, 2018, 4:42 pm

Looks like the consumer bag of Milorganite has changed again...

Source: https://www.milorganite.com/using-milorganite/products

6.0% Total Nitrogen (N) = *4% Water Insoluble (slow-release) N + 2% Water Soluble N
2.5% Total Iron (Fe)
4.0% Available Phosphate (P2O5)
1.2% Available Calcium (Ca)
Nutrients derived from Biosolids
*4% Slowly Available Nitrogen derived from Biosolids.

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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by andy10917 » February 14th, 2018, 9:27 pm

It can change yearly - it is not a "manufactured product". It is the output of the Sewer system and not a mix of factory precision. As the mix of commercial, industrial and residential materials (outputs become inputs) change, so too does the final product. You can measure it, but you can't modify it.

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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by Sensi » February 15th, 2018, 1:00 am

According to Milorganite per late 2016, the product hasn't changed. What has changed is the reporting of values of N and P to meet the requirements of different jurisdictions. ...Whatever.

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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by nclawnguy » February 15th, 2018, 8:25 pm

Image

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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by Green » February 15th, 2018, 9:48 pm

Interesting, though not surprising. For reference, here is last year's thread containing the guaranteed analyses of the previous two formulations: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=21839

It looks like the real change in Nitrogen content is relatively minor, as the *actual* Nitrogen content of the previous version was somewhere between 5.0% and 6.0%, but guaranteed to be at least 5.0% and no less. (I used to use 5.3% as my multiplier for determining fertilizer rates for Milorganite).

Just as interesting, is the info NCLG posted above.

Finally, I noticed that the WSN proportion has changed again...it's now 1/3 of the total N. Definitely something to take into account in some circumstances.


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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » February 16th, 2018, 11:06 am

Looks like the .gov changed the definition of organic again too.

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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by Green » February 16th, 2018, 3:52 pm

That does seem to be the case. There a lot of organic (including some hippie type people) who (unjustifiably in most cases) disparage Milorganite and other biosolids, as if it were a disease...lol. That being said, I probably still wouldn't use it on food crops (and not because it's a biosolid).

Now, does anyone remember the previous formulation(s) before the previous two that I linked to above? Wasn't it something like 6-2-0 with 40% fast release and 60% slow release for a very long time? I'm asking because that was pretty much before I was using it.

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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by Green » February 16th, 2018, 4:00 pm

Sensi wrote:
February 15th, 2018, 1:00 am
According to Milorganite per late 2016, the product hasn't changed. What has changed is the reporting of values of N and P to meet the requirements of different jurisdictions. ...Whatever.
I read it more as them saying the N-P-K content has changed over time due to the composition of the wastewater changing over time, but it's a very slow change, and they don't report it until they're positive it's a consistent trend.

In any case, this is the second change in a little over a year, so it's definitely changing. If it wasn't, they wouldn't be changing the labeling of the guaranteed analysis.

Personally, I think I'm going to buy some of the old bags with the lower N content and lower slow release content because I need more P and don't like to push growth in the Spring as it's already faster than I can handle. Of course, whether the contents of the older bags are really all that much different than the latest ones is debatable.

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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by andy10917 » February 16th, 2018, 5:43 pm

I had a long conversation with their scientist(?) years ago - and the small details are mush in my brain now. But the gist of the conversation was that the only variable that was in their control was the variation that happens from batch-to-batch they're testing (all batches are tested, IIRC). If one batch is low, they mix in a higher batch to keep it to the analysis on the bag. And the variance is not always tiny.

BTW, one of the biggest changes long-term in the composition of the wastewater stream was the fact that Milwaukee used to have a big leather tanning presence, and now it's gone or not dumping into the wastewater. Things like that actually affect the entire composition.

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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by seiyafan » February 16th, 2018, 9:09 pm

Hope the smell remains the same.

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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by andy10917 » February 16th, 2018, 9:59 pm

I think I read that this year's scent was going to be "Gardenia".

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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by Green » February 19th, 2018, 10:16 pm

micvog wrote:
February 14th, 2018, 4:42 pm
Looks like the consumer bag of Milorganite has changed again...
Any idea about the version for Maryland and whether it's the same as everywhere else now?
Here's one of your own posts from the past about Maryland having a different version: viewtopic.php?t=20533#p281793

Btw, judging by the products listed on that page, it looks like the Pro Milorganite is probably switching to 6-4-0, as well. I'm surprised it stayed 6-2-0 as long as it did (I bought some last Spring that was 6-2-0).

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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by ztrips » February 20th, 2018, 5:49 pm

Now if I could only get a pallet of it dropped at the top of my driveway...

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Re: Milorganite changes again?

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » February 21st, 2018, 10:17 am

ztrips wrote:
February 20th, 2018, 5:49 pm
Now if I could only get a pallet of it dropped at the top of my driveway...
If you have a Residex nearby, give them a call. Or another golf course supplier.

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