Soy Meal Smell

16 years ago

Questions about the smell. I am very new to organic and been reading as much as I can about it. I applied a 100lb bag of soy meal about 3 weeks ago and now it really smells. I probably applied too much as my lawn is not very big, ~3000 sq/ft.

Typically, how long will the smell last? Is there anything I can do to alleviate the smell...lawn lime, etc?

Thanks

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Comments (10)

skoot_cat
16 years ago
There is nothing you can do about it now. My guess, The smell should go away in a week or 2.

Next time apply half the bag, wait a month then apply the other half. This should cut down on the smell.
kelleynelson
16 years ago
That application rate is 33lbs per 1000 square feet - no wonder it smells! ;)

I apply at half that rate. There's no smell and my TTF reacts very favorably.

How rapid is your top growth now? How long ago did you apply?
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dchall_san_antonio
16 years ago
I agree you over applied. I always suggest 10-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet for the lower protein content grains. With soy you could drop that to half. Organic lawn care should not smell bad.

In my experience over applying grains, the smell lasted seemingly FOREVER, but really only lasted a week.
chris_f
Original Author
16 years ago
I applied it about 3 weeks ago. I am in the Philly area and we just got our first significant rainfall in weeks.

I hadn't seen anything in the FAQ or other posts about over application...other than it wouldn't hurt the soil or the grass. The farm feed store closest to me had only soy in stock and in 100lb bags...so I went with it. I didn't know that soy should be applied in lesser amounts than others. ...very new to all of this.

I'm sure it will clear up soon, but my wife, with her super sniffer, is not too happy with me right now.
skoot_cat
16 years ago
You didn't harm anything by applying that amount, except maybe your wife's Super Sniffer.

50lbs spread over 3000sqft is more than enough. I use 50lbs spread over 4000sqft with excellent results. Next time, use half and save the other half for the next feeding. When storing, be sure keep moisture out, and the SBM will be fine until your next feeding.
kelleynelson
16 years ago
Agree, nothing harmed - When you use your next 1/2 bag, make sure It's closed up and stored in a way that won't attract rodents. I had a couple mice populate my shed when I stored some bags of SBM for an extended period of time. Your wife would probably like that even less than the smell!
rcnaylor
16 years ago
Giving it a good watering every few days should help it break down.
chris_f
Original Author
16 years ago
Its been raining the last few days so hopefully that will really help. I have to say the lawn looks a lot better already.

I just moved in about year and half ago. The lawn was in bad shape when I got. We have two small kids so we don't want to use chem. I just started reading about organic fert about a month ago.

Thanks for the responses.
rickbubba
16 years ago
Thanks for asking this question I've experienced this problem. I have 12000 s.f. and put down four #50 lbs. of CSM three #50 lbs. of SBM one #50 lbs of alfafa pelletts.So I guess it would be save to assume I put down to much based on this post.
I had about two weeks of "bad smell" period.
rickbubba
16 years ago
I have to correct my above post. Please note that I treated 18000 s.f. of SA lawn not 12000 s.f. with the above amounts.So sorry for the error.

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Soy Meal Smell

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