What fertilizer should I use?

[moneyisflying]

I figured since his yard begins where mine ends (adjacent soil) that they would be the same. His test was done before the winter, so I'm not sure if the results may be the same anyways as they would be now.

There's a DIY kit I'll try tomorrow when everything warms up. When I find the results, what should I be trying to achieve for my lawn?

 

[graffix000]

Oh learning how to post a right side up picture can be a valuable skill also.

It was a copy/paste of the above posted picture. But thanks for making yourself look like an idiot.

 

[Treeman]

Probably the best resource to educate yourself would be your state land grant university, in your case the Purdue Turf Science department. Their recommendations will be geared to your climate and soil conditions.

Purdue probably runs their own soil test lab also. Applying lawn fert. by the seat of the pants will affect your soil quality, turf quality, water table quality, and also your pocket book.

Start here for answers: http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/homeowner.html and explore their Turf home page also.

Here's your fertilizer answer: https://mdc.itap.purdue.edu/item.asp?item_number=AY-22-W#.UyHX387XVIc

Lots to learn. For instance, early spring fertilizers application can induce lush growth and disease problems. The roots already have nutrients stored for early growth from last autumn. Better to do the first application after you have mowed several times in many (not all) cases.

Recommendations for southern Indiana will vary from those for northern Indiana also.

Again, use your tax supported Purdue University experts for answers.

AND, THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE DIY AND PROFESSIONAL HERE ARE CLASSIC: The DIYer is asking for advice from minimum wage garden center people, tool forum, neighbor, etc. and not accepting good answers.

The pro response is that this is rocket science and everyone should pay him for his expertise (he's correct in this particular case) that he has earned through education and experience.

My answer is to educate yourself and DIY correctly by studying the proper resources. The same way one learns to DIY simple car repairs. At some point (i.e, sophisticated scan tool use) the expert is required to be hired.

Both sides are a bit over the top in this discussion.

 

[jay8s]

I put down Milorganite right before our first rain storm after the last freeze. I usually reapply every few months. I usually have the greenest yard on the block. When it is fresh after an application I am mowing lush grass every week, when some time has past, it falls to once every 2 weeks.

 

[Cudajas]

I am glad I didn't listen to those that said "go with 12-12-12". Found this the yesterday and it says right on it that it is not for established lawns like mine.


This is why getting info from the internet is so difficult. That and half of you are not listening.

Me: "I do not have time to get soil testing done"
Multiple replies after: "You really need to get soil testing done"

I ended up having to go elsewhere to get help. After I spoke with the specialist, I spoke with my neighbor (who has done soil testing). He has the best lawn in the neighborhood, and he said that the fertilizer I was recommended is perfect for what we have and my lawn.

I don't want to bash the forum, because I do like it. But in threads like this it is very frustrating to read comments after it was clear that others had either not read the thread, or paid no attention to what I had to say, or others that just didn't know (like in recommending a fertilizer that would have probably done serious damage to my lawn).

Dude...are you for real? You get chirpy because you did not get the answer you wanted on fertilizer for your lawn...from a GARAGE website.

 

[1grnlwn]

It was a copy/paste of the above posted picture. But thanks for making yourself look like an idiot.

If the comment didn't apply to you why did you feel obligated to respond? Never mind I know why.

 

[1grnlwn]

Treeman, IT'S THE INTERNET BABY! Where else ya gonna take out your frustrations?

 

[moneyisflying]

So I bought a test kit. Once I find where things are at, what should I be making adjustments for. The kit just says "ask your local lawn care advisor".

For example if I have low nitrogen medium phosphorous and medium potash levels, what should I be getting to get things where I want them for the grass?

 

[moneyisflying]

So my results;

Ph: neutral (7.0)
Nitrogen: very low
Phosphorus: low
Potash: very low

So given these results. What should I be looking for for fertilizer?

 

[moneyisflying]

Called a half dozen lawn care places. Most seem to reccomend either a High Low Low combo or a High Low Medium NPK fertilizer.

Does that sound right given my levels?

 

[buddyboy]

Ph looks ok, so no need to add lime or sulfur to adjust up or down.

as far as your NPK levels... was the test designed for lawns/turf?

reason I ask is because the amount of N needed for corn or clover or grass are different. A 'low' result for Kentucky bluegrass might be 'very low' for corn.

I'm guessing the test was designed for homeowners testing their lawns, but just want to make sure.

usually you'll want to apply X lbs of nutrient per acre to raise it to desired level.

how did your lawn look last year?

if you were happy or somewhat happy with the way it looks then I would say to take it slow.

the numbers on the bag are RATIOS

10-0-0 is 10lbs of N per 100lbs of product

10-10-10 is 10lbs of n, 10lbs of p and 10lbs of k per 100lbs

when a farmer sends his test in he gets results back based on what he is growing, so it will tell him that he needs to add 10lbs of n per acre or 20lbs of lime per acre and so on and so forth.

you don't want to over fertilize, you know that you need more n than the other two so make sure your ratio does the same

10-5-5

with that you're using 2x the N as the other two.

I'm not saying that 10-5-5 is what you need, you may try 15-5-5 or something like that...

whatever you use, you'll need to retest, and adjust.

could experiment with 1/2 the lawn with 10-5-5 the other 1/2 15-10-10, compare how they look and soil test again.

bottom line there is no one answer, whatever you put down this year will be different next year.

 

[moneyisflying]

Well, thanks for the reply. With the amount of people chiming in on how badly I needed to do the test, I was hoping for a few more like yourself offering assistance now that I have the results.

It was a DIY soil test. Not lawn specific, but on the back it did state where you should have PH levels and NPK for different types of grass, flowers and trees so I think it was more meant for a home owner like myself and not a farmer trying to grow crops.

Sounds like I need a high low medium or a high low low combo.