using urea as lawn fertilizer
Jeff Weber
I don't normally read this newsgroup, so I greatly appreciate
any replies emailed to me. Thanks.
I have 2 arces of lawn that I want to fertilize. I am willing
to spend some time, but not much money. I like experimenting a bit.
I have enough space to make a few inconspic. test patches if needed.
Here's what I'm going to attempt:
I can buy 50lb bag of urea fertilizer (46-0-0) for about $ 8.00 .
I understand that I could not spread it thin enough in this dry
form and keep from burning the lawn.
I want to dissolve some in a little water and put this mixture in
my hose-end sprayer, and it will get further diluted as it is
sprayed. My sprayer can be set to various ratios, e.g. 1 tblspn/gal
Most time-release lawn fertilizers have around a 15% nitrogen.
For now I am not worrying about other fertilizer components.
I was going to start with 10% N, unless convinced otherwise.
Can anyone suggest
1) a recipe for the mixture of urea in water into my sprayer
2) setting for my sprayer
Jeff
Uncle Al
You are going to hose down two acres? I believe an acre was originally
the area a man could plow in a day. (It is unclear how this applies to
Canadian Doukhobors, who used their womenfolk rather than horses.)
What you really need is a conversation with a fellow who honchoes golf
courses, or your local agricultural extension so see how many lbs/acre
nitrogen you should apply. The kind of turf alters the need and
application modality.
Fertilizers are typically compounded to very slowly dissolve (e.g.,
urea-sulfur prills). Urea is incredibly soluble in water (strong
endotherm, too. Let it warm back to room temp and more goes in). There
will be little retention in the turf. It will be a pulse feeding and
then wash through with the first rainstorm.
--
Uncle Al Schwartz
Uncl...@ix.netcom.com ("zero" before @)
http://pw2.netcom.com/~uncleal0/uncleal.htm
http://www.ultra.net.au/~wisby/uncleal.htm
http://www.guyy.demon.co.uk/uncleal/uncleal.htm
(Toxic URLs! Unsafe for children, Democrats, and most mammals)
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" The Net!
Roger Whitehead
The old term for this is a brace of buttocks, I believe.
Regards,
Roger
Louis Hom
Uncle Al <Uncl...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>
>urea-sulfur prills). Urea is incredibly soluble in water (strong
>endotherm, too. Let it warm back to room temp and more goes in). There
>will be little retention in the turf. It will be a pulse feeding and
>then wash through with the first rainstorm.
The other problem with urea is that soil microorganisms often
convert the urea to ammonia faster than the plants can absorb it, leaving
the rest to volatilize rather unproductively.
--
_______________________________________________________________________________
Lou Hom >K '93
lh...@nature.berkeley.edu
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~lhom
Marvin3809
>From: Jeff Weber <j...@tmsi.com>
>Date: Tue, Mar 31, 1998 11:19 EST
>I don't normally read this newsgroup, so I greatly appreciate
>any replies emailed to me. Thanks.
>
>I have 2 arces of lawn that I want to fertilize. I am willing
>to spend some time, but not much money. I like experimenting a bit.
>I have enough space to make a few inconspic. test patches if needed.
>Here's what I'm going to attempt:
>
>I can buy 50lb bag of urea fertilizer (46-0-0) for about $ 8.00 .
>I understand that I could not spread it thin enough in this dry
>form and keep from burning the lawn.
>I want to dissolve some in a little water and put this mixture in
>my hose-end sprayer, and it will get further diluted as it is
>sprayed. My sprayer can be set to various ratios, e.g. 1 tblspn/gal
>
>Most time-release lawn fertilizers have around a 15% nitrogen.
>For now I am not worrying about other fertilizer components.
>I was going to start with 10% N, unless convinced otherwise.
>
>Can anyone suggest
>1) a recipe for the mixture of urea in water into my sprayer
>2) setting for my sprayer
Look at a bag of ordinary fertilizer for the % nitrogen. Then look at the
amount of that fertilizer you are supposed to spread per unit area. From that
and simple arithmetic (proportions), you can figure out the amount of urea to
spread per unit area. Urea is 47% nitrogen by weight, so yopu divide the
weight on nitrogen per unit area by 0.47 to get the weoght of urea to apply per
unit area.. The rest of the calculation depends on your sprayer.
It seems to me like a lot of extra work to fertilize this way. You might also
estimate how much money you are saving per hour. As for me, I save money on
fertilizer simply by not buying the expensive name brands.
You could also use night soil, if your neighbors don't object.
Marvin Margoshes
Don Chapman
What you are suggesting will be counter-productive. The fast-release of
nitrogen will create a sudden dark green color and dramatic growth,
followed by soil compaction and sick grass.
Of a half-dozen leading turf fertilizers tested very extensively by Oregon
State turf experts, the one that performed best over a several week period
(measures of color and steady growth) was a fish-based pelleted product
with a 9-3-5 formulation. The important detail is that of the 9% nitrogen,
7% is water-insoluble, meaning that microbial action is needed to release
the nitrogen to plants. It gives the grass a continuous feeding for weeks,
at just the rate that the roots can absorb. No waste, no runoff into the
drinking water underground!
Hitting your lawn with a burst of quick nitrogen would be a huge mistake.
Look for either a lower-number organic with a good level of insoluble
nitrogen on its label, or an Osmocote-type chemical fertilizer. Your soil
will be healthier, and I guarantee the grass will be happier.
--
Don Chapman <d...@bio-organics.com>
Bio/Organics Supply Center
3200 Corte Malpaso, #107
Camarillo CA 93012 (Near ocean N. of LA)
<http://www.bio-organics.com>
Jeff Weber <j...@tmsi.com> wrote in article <352117...@tmsi.com>...
> I don't normally read this newsgroup, so I greatly appreciate
> any replies emailed to me. Thanks.
>
> I have 2 arces of lawn that I want to fertilize. I am willing
> to spend some time, but not much money. I like experimenting a bit.
> I have enough space to make a few inconspic. test patches if needed.
> Here's what I'm going to attempt:
>
> I can buy 50lb bag of urea fertilizer (46-0-0) for about $ 8.00 .
> I understand that I could not spread it thin enough in this dry
> form and keep from burning the lawn.
> I want to dissolve some in a little water and put this mixture in
> my hose-end sprayer, and it will get further diluted as it is
> sprayed. My sprayer can be set to various ratios, e.g. 1 tblspn/gal
>
> Most time-release lawn fertilizers have around a 15% nitrogen.
> For now I am not worrying about other fertilizer components.
> I was going to start with 10% N, unless convinced otherwise.
>
> Can anyone suggest
> 1) a recipe for the mixture of urea in water into my sprayer
> 2) setting for my sprayer
>
> Jeff
>
Frank Womack
You can put the Urea out at 100# per acre. Yes, you can put it out dry.
Put it out before it rains. We have people who have this size of property
buy urea & amonium sulfate from us every day. They put it out and
sometimes it may not rain for a week.
As soon as it rains, they get great response.
There are other fertilizers that you might use for better results (organic,
etc...) but for the money you can't bet it.
Urea @ $8 per bag will cost you $16 per acre.
Organic @ $12 per bag (they range from $8 to $22 depending on what brand)
will cost you $128 to $352 per acre. Not to practicle, huh?
If you blend the urea into water you increase your chance of burn. The
analysis changes from a 46-0-0 to a 33-0-0 so you will also have to put out
a little bit more.
Don Chapman
Well, as far as being "practicle", you may want to factor in the length of
time that organics provide nourishment to the turf. If all fertilizers
worked fast and then disappeared, you would have a valid point. However, a
good pelleted organic will release nitrogen and other nutrients for as long
as 3 months, at just the rate that the grass needs for best health. This
changes financial comparisons quite a bit. I think the organic approach
may actually be a lot less expensive in the long run than quick-and-cheap
direct feedings with high-analysis synthetics.
For performance comparisons between leading organic and synthetic
fertilizers, just in case you doubt my objectivity on this topic, contact
the turf research department at Oregon State University and ask for a copy
of a fertilizer study conducted May through October, 1994.
--
Don Chapman <d...@bio-organics.com>
Bio/Organics Supply Center
3200 Corte Malpaso, #107
Camarillo CA 93012 (Near ocean N. of LA)
<http://www.bio-organics.com>
Frank Womack <Fr...@greensmiths.com> wrote in article
<6fthqm$6...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>...
Rodger Whitlock
Jeff Weber <j...@tmsi.com> wrote:
>I don't normally read this newsgroup, so I greatly appreciate
>any replies emailed to me. Thanks.
Post it here, read it here!
>I have 2 arces of lawn that I want to fertilize. I am willing
>to spend some time, but not much money. I like experimenting a bit.
>I have enough space to make a few inconspic. test patches if needed.
>Here's what I'm going to attempt:
>
>I can buy 50lb bag of urea fertilizer (46-0-0) for about $ 8.00
[snip]
You are making the classic mistake of thinking that you only need
nitrogen on a lawn. Grass, believe it or not, has roots and other parts,
and does best if given a balanced fertilizer like 13-16-10 or 6-8-6.
If the colour isn't deep enough to suit you after you've given it a
complete feed and it's had time to respond, you'd be well advised to
find out if the soils in your area tend to be magnesium and/or iron
deficient. If so, epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) or ferrous sulfate can
be used to alleviate the deficiency.
A lawn fed exclusively nitrogen will not be as healthy as one given a
balanced diet.
----
Rodger Whitlock
"just enough knowledge to be dangerous"
Frank Womack
Don Chapman <d...@bio-organics.com> wrote in article
<01bd5d8d$31959360$560be7cd@jeanie>...
> Well, as far as being "practicle", you may want to factor in the length
of
> time that organics provide nourishment to the turf. If all fertilizers
> worked fast and then disappeared, you would have a valid point. However,
a
> good pelleted organic will release nitrogen and other nutrients for as
long
> as 3 months, at just the rate that the grass needs for best health. This
> changes financial comparisons quite a bit. I think the organic approach
> may actually be a lot less expensive in the long run than quick-and-cheap
> direct feedings with high-analysis synthetics.
Great point Don. Let's look at what you are saying:
Urea runs out in 1 month so we fertilize 3 times in 3 months. This makes
your cost $48 per acre. It is still cheaper than the organics @ $128 to
$352 per acre + I've applied 3 pounds of nitrogen verses 1 pound of
nitrogen.
I know these cost are acurate because I've worked for a fertilizer blending
plant for years and we sell and blend with both organics & inorganics.
>
> For performance comparisons between leading organic and synthetic
> fertilizers, just in case you doubt my objectivity on this topic, contact
> the turf research department at Oregon State University and ask for a
copy
> of a fertilizer study conducted May through October, 1994.
I agree that organics are great. There is lots of great information on
organic fertilizers out there. But I believe the original question from
Jeff said that he needed the "cheapest" and not necessarily the best!
The best results I've seen yet are when you use both organics & inorganics
together.
Harold Lindaberry
You shouldn't have any problem applying prilled urea dry to your grass
as long as you apply it to the grass when the foliage is dry but even if
you do apply it to wet foliage and get some foliage burn the plants will
grow out of it quickly but it looks like hell but the first cutting
should take care of it. If you don't remove the cuttings but let them
recycle N should be enough . If you use much N keep your mower handy and
sharp.
Harold Lindaberry
visit OXGORE website at http://www.epix.net/
Jeff Weber wrote:
> I don't normally read this newsgroup, so I greatly appreciate
> any replies emailed to me. Thanks.
>
> I have 2 arces of lawn that I want to fertilize. I am willing
> to spend some time, but not much money. I like experimenting a bit.
> I have enough space to make a few inconspic. test patches if needed.
> Here's what I'm going to attempt:
>
Donald J. Dickson
> Jeff Weber wrote:
> >
> > I have 2 arces of lawn that I want to fertilize. I am willing
> > to spend some time, but not much money. I like experimenting a bit.
> > I have enough space to make a few inconspic. test patches if needed.
> > Here's what I'm going to attempt:
> >
> > I can buy 50lb bag of urea fertilizer (46-0-0) for about $ 8.00 .
> > I understand that I could not spread it thin enough in this dry
> > form and keep from burning the lawn.
Wherever you are buying the urea should also have other commercial
(farm) fertlizers at about the same price / bag. Look for one that has a
lower rating in nitrogen(say 20-25%) and about 10% Phos and 10% Potash.
That will diminish the chances of getting a burn and still allow you to
use your normal lawn spreader. Also the phos and potash will strengthen
the root system.
I've used that type of fertilizer for clover on a septic sytem bed and
it gives good growth and strong plants for a lot less than the name
brand lawn fertilizers.
Don Dickson
--
Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie!'... till you can find a
rock.