Starter fertilizer
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Starter fertilizer
Is there a readily available organic starter fertilizer for starting a new lawn from seed? I bought soybean meal, but also read it inhibits germination of some small seeds (not lawn specific, but still.)
Or do folks throw out chemical/conventional starter fertilizer and then switch to organic?
Or do folks throw out chemical/conventional starter fertilizer and then switch to organic?
- MorpheusPA
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Re: Starter fertilizer
I'd be curious about this article that mentions allelopathy regarding seeding and soybean meal; it might actually be a useful characteristic.
You can use Milorganite--soy is not a starter fertilizer as it's a nitrogen heavy-hitter to begin with--or any local equivalent as they'll tend to be high in phosphorus, comparatively speaking. So OceanGro, Bay State, and so on are all fine choices.
For measured, precise amounts of phosphorus, I'd go with a bagged conventional starter. That's not often required or necessary, and the lawn doesn't care about the phosphorus source. Nor does it require anything at the time of seeding. The first requirements from the soil start about 30 days later, so an organic source is generally fine.
The unanswered question here is the soil test. Some soils require P, some don't. If you're not sure, don't add it. And it's very, very late to be starting even a fescue lawn now anyway--you're about a week past the absolute drop-dead date even for South Carolina, where fescue is questionable to begin with in most locales.
You can use Milorganite--soy is not a starter fertilizer as it's a nitrogen heavy-hitter to begin with--or any local equivalent as they'll tend to be high in phosphorus, comparatively speaking. So OceanGro, Bay State, and so on are all fine choices.
For measured, precise amounts of phosphorus, I'd go with a bagged conventional starter. That's not often required or necessary, and the lawn doesn't care about the phosphorus source. Nor does it require anything at the time of seeding. The first requirements from the soil start about 30 days later, so an organic source is generally fine.
The unanswered question here is the soil test. Some soils require P, some don't. If you're not sure, don't add it. And it's very, very late to be starting even a fescue lawn now anyway--you're about a week past the absolute drop-dead date even for South Carolina, where fescue is questionable to begin with in most locales.
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Re: Starter fertilizer
https://newcropsorganics.ces.ncsu.edu/o ... ertilizer/
877lb/acre == 0.02+ lb/sqft = 20 lbs/1k sqft. I'm aiming to distribute 100lbs over 8000sqft-ish, so should come in under that, but...
877lb/acre == 0.02+ lb/sqft = 20 lbs/1k sqft. I'm aiming to distribute 100lbs over 8000sqft-ish, so should come in under that, but...
- MorpheusPA
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Re: Starter fertilizer
I don't think you need concern yourself too much with allelopathy in terms of grass reseeding or renovation. While it might cost you something with KBG seeds, we've had no reports in the field of any issues.
And I started a pure KBG lawn with...let's just say far more than 877 lbs per acre of soybean meal (about double that) in the mix and the recommended amount of bluegrass seed. I would have noticed.
It might be helping a little with smaller seeds in the garden, but at least I can rest assured it's not suppressing out anything larger than the ageratum, which are like dust. And even those happily reseed at modest rates.
And I started a pure KBG lawn with...let's just say far more than 877 lbs per acre of soybean meal (about double that) in the mix and the recommended amount of bluegrass seed. I would have noticed.
It might be helping a little with smaller seeds in the garden, but at least I can rest assured it's not suppressing out anything larger than the ageratum, which are like dust. And even those happily reseed at modest rates.
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Re: Starter fertilizer
Perfect. I'd rather learn from someone else' experience. (Other folks' experience is cheaper ...and not just $-wise.)
- MorpheusPA
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Re: Starter fertilizer
Yeah, soy's my heavy hitter and always has been. I'm...not within range of the lower end of application, let's just say. I'm in Pennsylvania, and within walking distance of two soybean fields and can see corn fields from my home office window. Soy and corn are both rather cheap here.
I had sprout in 5 days, and a lawn by October. 100% bluegrass, fed with soy and Milorganite.
I had sprout in 5 days, and a lawn by October. 100% bluegrass, fed with soy and Milorganite.
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Re: Starter fertilizer
MorpheusPA, what has been your heaviest application of SBM? I've been doing 100 lbs on 3K or so of grass. I wonder how I compare to your numbers.MorpheusPA wrote: ↑October 14th, 2020, 2:36 pmYeah, soy's my heavy hitter and always has been. I'm...not within range of the lower end of application, let's just say. I'm in Pennsylvania, and within walking distance of two soybean fields and can see corn fields from my home office window. Soy and corn are both rather cheap here.
I had sprout in 5 days, and a lawn by October. 100% bluegrass, fed with soy and Milorganite.
- MorpheusPA
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Re: Starter fertilizer
Pretty comparable. Going over thirty pounds per K or so per month in May, August, September, and October will set off a horrible smell. So a grand total of 120 pounds per thousand per season would be about the top amount, and that's pushing it, as I'm sure you've noted. I sure did.
My normal rate of application is 15 pounds per thousand during those four months (in normal years), for 60 pounds total application per thousand square feet through the season.
I also add an extra application of urea in November, 2.2 pounds per thousand or so (usually a bit more), for another pound of nitrogen at the end of the season when it's too cold for soy. And I often drop some corn in May as well, but the N app from that isn't very much.
My normal rate of application is 15 pounds per thousand during those four months (in normal years), for 60 pounds total application per thousand square feet through the season.
I also add an extra application of urea in November, 2.2 pounds per thousand or so (usually a bit more), for another pound of nitrogen at the end of the season when it's too cold for soy. And I often drop some corn in May as well, but the N app from that isn't very much.
- andy10917
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Re: Starter fertilizer
Oh, Lord, do I agree. One of my nephews tried to copy my regimen - and spilled the bag accidentally (with a poor cleanup job). I swear it smelled like a fish processing plant on a hot August day. Flies flew around the spot by the hundreds. It reeked !!!Pretty comparable. Going over thirty pounds per K or so per month in May, August, September, and October will set off a horrible smell. So a grand total of 120 pounds per thousand per season would be about the top amount, and that's pushing it, as I'm sure you've noted. I sure did.
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Re: Starter fertilizer
It looks like I've applied 13 or 14 bags of SBM and CSM this year so far. That is around 185 lbs / K sq ft. My lawn got hit pretty hard with the freeze earlier in the year. I lost some St Augustine. The growth started really slow and has come roaring back. Fortunately I've only over applied once or twice. It was like death warmed over for a few days. How much if any cracked corn is it worth applying?
- MorpheusPA
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- Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
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Re: Starter fertilizer
CC is one of those weird things. If your soil is good and you're happy with it, you can probably skip it. Some of us use it as a fungal protection at 10 pounds per thousand or so, once per year (I do). No, there's no real good studies showing it works, but it works.
If you're actively trying to raise your OM percentage, it can go at 60 pounds per thousand per month if you want. It's a low-nitrogen item, so it won't really set off much smell. If it does, just back off--the odor won't be terrible and won't last long.
I might skip July on the "don't feed in summer" philosophy, but even then, when I was using it, I just cut by half.
If you're actively trying to raise your OM percentage, it can go at 60 pounds per thousand per month if you want. It's a low-nitrogen item, so it won't really set off much smell. If it does, just back off--the odor won't be terrible and won't last long.
I might skip July on the "don't feed in summer" philosophy, but even then, when I was using it, I just cut by half.
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