Lawn Food
Syrinx1499
was looking like it could use a pick me up and I didn't want to use anything
like a weed and feed because my lawn is bordered on 3 sides by a wide variety
of flowers and I did not want to harm them. I was all set to use my sprinkler
to apply the MG when I realized that it was a 36-6-6 mix and I became
concerned. I seem to recall that some weed and feed products work by making
plants like clover OD on nitrogen. Could the heavy dose of nitrogen in this
lawn food do harm to my flowers? I ended up walking around the yard w/the
feeder attached to a hose to avoid getting it on anything but the grass. Am I
just being paranoid? I don't really want to apply any granular or powdered
products to the lawn because my 2 year old daughter plays there quite a bit.
I'd also appreciate any input from people who have had good or bad results
w/Lawn Food. If it doesn't do any good, I've got better ways to spend my time
than walking around, hand watering the lawn. ;)
Thanks,
Mike
(Pittsburgh, zone 6)
Paul Onstad
Isn't it a little late to be fertilizing a lawn? Early last fall would have
been the best, and a month or so ago, better.
Don't confuse a high nitrogen number (36-6-6) with the _amount_ applied. You
have to calculate based on the area it's applied too. IOW, you could burn
your lawn with 5-0-0 if you dump enough on.
Let's say a soil test (you should get one) suggests an annual application of
1 lb. nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft. You would need to apply 2.7 lbs. of actual
nitrogen to get this amount (1 * 100/36). Read the package directions.
I certainly would not advise putting 1 lb. N / 1000 sq. ft. down now as the
weather is too warm.
> I seem to recall that some weed and feed products work by
> making plants like clover OD on nitrogen.
No, they use all sorts of broad-leafed killers. I have often heard the myth
about getting rid of clover with nitrogen but I have _never_ come across any
scientific evidence which would make it a fact. It's never suggested at any
of the university agricultural extension services.
-Paul
Jess
My husband has been battling our lawn for years. We have some very large
sugar maples growing in our yard. The canopy over head almost completely
voids the area of any sunlight and even rain.
This spring he bought natu-grow soil enhancement and we have found that is
has helped a great deal. My hubby is now complaining about all the grass he
has to cut.
The only problem with it is that it is granular so you will have to spread
it on the ground with a spreader I think. The positive is that it is a
natural product and you children will be able to play on the grass without
any concerns.
Hope I am nont rambling again....I tend to do this sometimes.
Jessy
Syrinx1499 <syrin...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000608223032...@ng-me1.aol.com...
> Hi everyone. I picked up some Miracle-Gro "Lawn Food" last night. My
grass
> was looking like it could use a pick me up and I didn't want to use
anything
> like a weed and feed because my lawn is bordered on 3 sides by a wide
variety
> of flowers and I did not want to harm them. I was all set to use my
sprinkler
> to apply the MG when I realized that it was a 36-6-6 mix and I became
> concerned. I seem to recall that some weed and feed products work by
making
> plants like clover OD on nitrogen. Could the heavy dose of nitrogen in
this
> lawn food do harm to my flowers? I ended up walking around the yard w/the
> feeder attached to a hose to avoid getting it on anything but the grass.
Am I
> just being paranoid? I don't really want to apply any granular or
powdered
> products to the lawn because my 2 year old daughter plays there quite a
bit.
> I'd also appreciate any input from people who have had good or bad results
> w/Lawn Food. If it doesn't do any good, I've got better ways to spend my
time
> than walking around, hand watering the lawn. ;)
>
Cloud Dreamer
>groundwater.
I live off of a drilled well and checked to see what effects lawn
care weed and feed and other stuff would have on my well water.
I was told there was nothing to worry about because, for example,
Miracle gro Lawn food only penetrates a few inches into the sod.
The only concern would be if runoff from or near that lawn was
the source of your water - which is rare. The product is
applied when rain is not forecast and is not 'watered' in, so
the lawn food stays where it is suppose to. The same applies to
Killex and Round-up type products for grass and weed control -
they don't leech into the soil.
The concentrations of these applications that would be necessary
are not high enough to be of concern.
Miracle gro lawn food is an all-summer application process -
every two - four weeks. (And I couldn't get satisfactory results
from using the sprinkler - I think taking the time walking around
with the hose attachment is more effective and you can keep it
off unwanted areas.)
In article <rEf05.104759$au2.1...@news1.rdc1.bc.home.com>, "B.
Green" <tobg...@home.com> wrote:
>Don't fertilize your lawn. Get to know it on a natural basis,
let it be
>itself.
>Most fertilizing additives contain pollutants that enter the
groundwater. I
>dream of the day when no toxins are present in our groundwater
and my huge
>cherry tree doesn't have to drink my neighbour's chemicals..
>Let it be.
>--bgreen
>++++++++++++
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
Lynn A.
really like it. I have mostly zoysia grass and some "shade
mixture". It's been very good at helping "wake up" this
lawn which was pretty much neglected for about 13 years.
I use the hose end sprayer, but my lawn's not all that big
either, it wasn't a problem to walk around with it. I think
the instructions on the package say to use this product
something like once a month, doesn't it? That's what I've
done. I know I've gotten some of it on my flower gardens,
nothing ever seemed to be harmed in any way.
Oh and I do have clover in one area of the lawn and it
isn't harmed by the MG and it doesn't take over from it
either.
Lynn
B. Green
itself.
Most fertilizing additives contain pollutants that enter the groundwater. I
dream of the day when no toxins are present in our groundwater and my huge
cherry tree doesn't have to drink my neighbour's chemicals..
Let it be.
--bgreen
++++++++++++
Syrinx1499 <syrin...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000608223032...@ng-me1.aol.com...
Paul Onstad
>
> >Most fertilizing additives contain pollutants that enter the
> >groundwater.
>
> care weed and feed and other stuff would have on my well water.
>
> I was told there was nothing to worry about because, for example,
> Miracle gro Lawn food only penetrates a few inches into the sod.
> The only concern would be if runoff from or near that lawn was
> the source of your water - which is rare. The product is
> applied when rain is not forecast and is not 'watered' in, so
> the lawn food stays where it is suppose to.
Who did you check with? Nitrogen, for one, is water soluable and can enter
wells. It's one of the first things checked for in a community water test.
The nitrogen in Miracle Gro would behave no differently than other
fertilizers.
That said, responsible fertilization (reading the label; calculating proper
amount) is far less likely to cause problems.
-Paul
Penny S.
> Most fertilizing additives contain pollutants that enter the groundwater.
excess nitrogen from fertilizers enters the groundwater as nitrates. What
nitrates do once they get into your water and you drink is this: they bind
with the oxygen in your bloodstream, reducing the oxygen blood carrying
ability of the blood. This is why in many rural agricultural areas there is
a high incidence of "blue" babies at birth : their blood does not have
enough oxygen in it. I can't put my fingers on any statistics at the
moment, but I researched this heavily when living in rural/agricultural
Wyoming; and the hubby is a groundwater specialist.
Needless to say I went for the bottled water when living there. Nitrates in
wells is a pretty simple water test that any county extension or health
dept. ought to be able to do.
Penny s
Kubwa
or a (Drilled well 75/600 feet deep)
Big difference.
Richard
"Paul Onstad" <pon...@sihope.com> wrote in message
news:39423893...@sihope.com...
> Cloud Dreamer wrote:
> >
> > >Most fertilizing additives contain pollutants that enter the
> > >groundwater.
> >
Penny S.
"Kubwa" <Ric...@reliable-net.net> wrote in message
news:sk4ucqn...@corp.supernews.com...
> Are we speaking of a (Dug well 20 feet deep)
> or a (Drilled well 75/600 feet deep)
> Big difference.
> Richard
depth of well comparisons are irrelevant. You need to look at percolation
zones, soil type, recharge times for the well and where the water table is.
penny
Paul Onstad
>
> Are we speaking of a (Dug well 20 feet deep)
> or a (Drilled well 75/600 feet deep)
> Big difference.
I was speaking fertilizer/groundwater in general, but sure, if a well is
having problems, going deeper will probably help. (It will have to be a new
well though.)
My post was more to the subject of overapplication of nitrogen fertilizer.
-Paul
zhanataya
>
> Are we speaking of a (Dug well 20 feet deep)
> or a (Drilled well 75/600 feet deep)
> Big difference.
Excuse me for popping in, I've been listening in, but do you mean dug,
as in SHOVEL 20 FEET?
Zhan
Russ
you have a septic consider the proximity of the leach field to your shallow
dug well.
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lee <eni...@empire.net> wrote in message
news:8F4FC4030en...@199.125.85.9...
> zhan...@mindspring.com (zhanataya) wrote in
> <39429235...@mindspring.com>:
> now i think they use backhoes or something, but yes, dug wells
> are actually _dug_... or at least mine are. i have 4 dug & one
> drilled well. the main well for the house is dug (about 17'),
> but i can switch to the drilled one(almost 280') if it goes dry
> (like last August). i hate the drilled well for drinking, even
> after putting in a water softener/iron removal system. mostly i
> use the drilled well for watering the gardens.
> the other 3 dug wells go dry really fast. one is by the barn
> (20') & the other two went to the mill back in the 1800s (on the
> other side of the pond). you can get water out of them with a
> bucket, but i haven't tested them because i don't need to use
> them. the water level in those 2 is about 13'...
> lee <water, water everywhere...>
lee
<SUB25.7125$A%3.7...@news1.rdc2.pa.home.com>:
>If your drinking your dug well water I hope your doing annual
>testing. If you have a septic consider the proximity of the
>leach field to your shallow dug well.
the dug well & the septic are on opposite sides of a stone
eskar, at least 500' apart. as i said, i don't use the barn well
for drinking because it's not tested.
that said, i do know someone that had thier well in thier
basement (!), & thier septic backed up into the basement....
yuck!
but, yes, dug wells should be tested frequently as groundwater
contamination can be a problem.
lee