Canadian Replacement for Milorganite pt.2 (Lebanon ProScape)
My ongoing quest continues to find a suitable organic fertilizer replacement for Milorganite that's available in Canada. In order to do so i had to learn what makes Milorganite the best in the eyes of many lawn owners. I've come to accept that i may never find a true replacement for good old Milo but if i can come close i'll be quite happy to say the least.
From what i understand the following seem to be the main factors that puts Milo at the top of everyone's list:
- Organic Fert (Biosolids)
- Slow Release Nitrogen
- High in Iron (4%)
- Safe/won't burn lawn
- Can be used simultaneously with Synthetics
If i'm missing any benefits please correct me in the comments.
I've been contacting many lawn care specialists and suppliers to find out what organics they use and it's been quite the task. Everyone seems to be switching to synthetics and if they are using organics it's typically Hen manure with no iron content.
I found a fert/seed supplier in my City that orders their products from LebanonTurf called Proscape in Pennsylvania. They only had 2 blends that they order (20-0-25 and a 16-25-12 with 1% Iron) and neither are organics. I kindly asked if we could order different blends and he said as long as they dont contain any banned ingredients they could (2,4D, Dimension, Acelepryn, Merit). We are suffering up here with these insecticide/herbicide bans.
I took the liberty of checking out their website and was surprised to find a wide selection of Fertilzers/seeds from MESA to Organics. I selected the blends that i think would make it to Canada without any issues. Can some of the experts here take a look at these products and let me know if they look any good. One product that stood out to me was an Organic/Sythetic blend with 7% Iron!!! It says its an "Organic Biosolid with 7% Iron and 70% MESA" (slow release N). Does this mean that it's only 30% organic biosolids and 70% synthetic? Still learning so bare with me.
Fertilizers:
ProScape 12-25-12 Starter Fertilizer SGN 195
ProScape 15-2-8 Organic Base Fertilizer 30%MESA SGN 195
ProScape 10-2-3 EcoBlend 70% Biosolids 30% MESA& EXPO + 2.5% Fe
ProScape 6-1-11 Organic Based Fertilizer w/ Iron 7% (Milo Replacement?)
Seeds: Thinking about overseeding my KBG lawn. Would these be good choices?
ProScape 80/20 Blue-rye Mix
ProScapeVintage Bluegrass Blend
If anyone has experience with LebanonTurf products or has any recommendations please let me know.


Comments (15)
TK Primes
Original Author7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoThanks for the detailed response. I've looked into the non-biosolid organics at my local feed store. Hen manure and corn gluten meal are readily available, the thing is that neither of them have much iron content (1% at best). From what i understand that's the main reason Milo is so popular aside from its availability. Its a safe organic that gives u deep greening at 4%.
Corn gluten meal seems to be used up here strictly for crabgrass control due to the pesticides ban, which i do intend on applying sometime this week for that reason. You mentioned i can apply corn gluten every week if i wanted to and that it wouldn't hurt the grass? I was actually curious about this very question because i'm a little confused about the app rates.
If corn gluten comes with a NPK of 10-0-0 in a 40 lb. bag and we are only supposed to apply .5-.75 lbs on N per app. That means the bag contains a total of 4lbs of N. What confuses me is the bag's recommended rate (20 lbs. / 1000 sq ft). That's basically the entire bag for my lawn (2200 sq ft). Wont 4 lbs. be way too much N at once? I'm pretty confused as i'm not sure what to follow, the bags recommended app rate or the Nitrogen restriction rate (.5-.75 / 1000 sq ft). I currently only have about 1 pound of Nitrogen in the lawn this year which is why i'm considering an aggressive fall feeding.
Dropping 4 lbs. of nitrogen in one app will surely burn the lawn even if its just corn gluten? This also relates to my second question. How is applying Urea (46-0-0) every week on a KBG lawn feasible in the "fall aggressive N program" due to the same concerns? 5-7 lbs of N per year is the max from what i understand. Is there a difference in N Potency when you compare organics vs. synthetics or something?
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I would think that Milwaukee was not the only city that provides the sludge from their sewer plant for sale as fertilizer. Considering the source there should only be slight differences.
0 - 7 years ago
In general you can apply 1 lb N per K per app. Applying 20 lbs corn gluten per K at 10-0-0 would work out to 2 lb N per K not 4. That does seem on the high side but in general organic fertilizer doesn't burn as easily as synthetic. If you would prefer, split it up into two apps two weeks apart. Actually I've heard of people that have put over 20 lb N down in a year using organics and they're lawn never burnt or got fungus. I wouldn't recommend that to you though.
Also you can go up to 8 lb N per year without damaging your lawn when using mainly synthetic. 1 lb of urea per week works out to less than 2 lb N per K per month. Remember in general 3/4 of you yearly N should be delivered in late summer/fall and only 1/4 delivered in spring. That would mean 6 lb can go down in fall. Of course you don't have to go that heavy, but doing so wont harm anything. TK Primes
Original Author7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoThanks for this! So i was thinking about it all the wrong way it seems. So i could put a 40lb bag down every month in the Fall (sept,oct,nov) and come out to total of 6lbs of N per K. Which if following the 3/4 delivery that would be fine. 2lbs in the Spring/Summer. Then 6lbs in the Fall.
Corn gluten lasts about 4 weeks i think. Would doing a 10lb/1000sqft ever 2 weeks be more beneficial with the overlap to prevent crabgrass germination? It would also make it so i'm only applying 1lb of N/K every 2weeks instead of 2lbs every month.
You mentioned 1lb of Urea per week. That sounds like barely any product going into the spreader? Trying to spread 1lb of product over a 2k sq-ft lawn sounds interesting. Would have to have it on the lowest spreader setting i'm assuming? Must be a fine powder?
0- 7 years ago
Using only organic in the fall is something I wouldn't do. No harm will come from it but you wont get the best results. Organic takes a while to work in while using fast release urea works in fast. Putting it down in nov would probably make no difference to the health of the lawn.
Cant really say about crabgrass germination from corn gluten as I don't know. If you want to prevent crabgrass use a pre-m.
Yes to lowest setting for urea. It's not a powder though.
0 TK Primes
Original Author7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoAh i see. Sadly we don't have access to pre-m's in canada asside from corn gluten meal (scotts weed prevent / bio weed/feed). So if i'm using corn for the crabgrass prevent, i should only do 1 application if i plan on using Urea at 1lb per week. I would risk putting down too much nitrogen. So it would probably look something like:
Corn Gluten Sept 18th 40lbs 10-0-0 (2 lbs. N)
Urea 46-0-0 at 1lb per 1k sq-ft per week starting October 9th (4 weeks)(2 lbs. N)
CIL Golfgreen Gold Fall 6lbs 12-0-26 November 6th (1lb N)Does that sound ok? Would it be safe to apply Urea 3 weeks after applying 2lb of N from the corn gluten?
In the Aggressive Fall program they mention using 2 lb/k of Urea as the last winterizer feeding instead of the standard Scotts Fall etc. Whats your opinion on this? Instead of opting for the CIL Golfgreen Gold i would just do a double app of Urea in Early Nov?
0- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
I'm in S.ON Canada and if your interested I can give you a website where they will ship you pre-ms, herbicides and other items you cant get in Canada normally.
If it were me id start the urea apps the week after the corn gluten goes down. Not sure were you are in Canada but the first frost can occur by oct 9th in many locations and if you noticed you are supposed to stop the urea apps around first frost then winterize with urea at 2lb urea per K after the last mowing and when top growth has stopped. And yes i'd go with urea instead of CIL. I've heard high potassium (the 26 in 12-0-26 in the CIL) can increase the risk of snow mold when the lawn is coming out of dormancy.
- 7 years ago
One more thing. Dont worry too much about burning the lawn applying the organic N close to the synthetic urea. Organic fertilizer takes long to break down so it's a very slow release of N. You could even apply them together if you wanted. Yes I know that would be going over the normal allotted N per app but nothing would really happen being the organic is such a slow release.
Oh and make sure not to get coated urea. Get the uncoated type. You can get this from TSC stores. I'm sure there's other places that sell it but they usually have it in stock.
0 TK Primes
Original Author7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoWow i really appreciate all the information! This helps immensely! I would love to get the contact info of your pre-m supplier. I was beginning to loose all hope on crabgrass control and similarly with grub control. Although i think i found a source for Acelepryn on the quebec side.
0- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
https://www.seedworldusa.com/ There the only place I've found that will ship to Canada. Prodiamine with crabgrass control is a good pre-m to use for grassy weed prevention. Also I wouldn't wast money on grub control. IMO people in Canada have other problems with there lawn but because they cant usually get the products that will help fix there real lawn problems they think it's grubs. If you want to know for sure, scrap off the top layer of sod in a small area maybe 1 SQ FT and see if there are lots of grubs crawling around underneath. A few don't matter really.
0 TK Primes
Original Author7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoThanks for this! Shipping costs seem to be on the high side (43$ US to Quebec) but as long as they make it i guess it's worth it. Also, OMG Dimension is expensive xD. Prodiamine it is for now lol I guess post-m's are alot more pricey! Same goes for fungicides yikes!
- 7 years ago
I think you're starting to understand more about organics. Basically you have to simply forget all the advice that pertains to chemical fertilizers and switch gears. The way chemical fertilizers burn the lawn is by not diluting them immediately when applying. If you apply today and do not water, then tomorrow when the morning dew begins to dissolve the fertilizer, it becomes a very strong solution of salt. Whereas if you water the fertilizer in immediately, you will flush it with enough water to dilute it and not burn the grass or roots.
Organics are biological products. They are food for the microbes in your soil. Rather than containing NPK, think of it as protein, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. Microbes at the surface will decompose the original food. Other microbes will come to decompose the surface microbes as well as microbial byproducts (microbial sweat, pee, poop, fingernails, hair, etc.). There are more than 35,000 species of microbes in your soil decomposing food, waste, and other microbes. Eventually one of the byproducts of the microbial decomposition is plant food. This is how Mother Nature has been feeding plants for billions of years. It works. The decomposition process from raw food on the surface to plant food underneath takes 3 weeks at temps above 55 degrees F. Thus organic fertilizers are considered to be "slow release."
One of the recently absent members here has tried to overdose with organic by applying pounds and pounds of Milo and soybean meal every weekend all season long. I think he ended up applying about 1,200 pounds of fertilizer onto a couple thousand square feet over the season. The only thing that happened was his grass got better looking. I did something similar to what he did. I used corn gluten meal at 20 pounds per 1,000 every month throughout the growing season (140 pounds per 1,000 over 7 months). I had a great looking lawn as well as plenty of weeds. In my opinion CGM has absolutely no effect on weeds. If you think it is a preem for weeds, it isn't.
There are two things you can do to guard against crabgrass. First is to grow a dense turf. If you have KBG then you probably have a dense turf. If you have fescue or rye, then you should overseed every fall to keep the lawn dense. The second thing you should do is not over water in the spring. The amount of water you apply should always be about an inch. The frequency that you apply should depend on the air temperature. Here's more in different units for CA, AU, GB, and other metric speaking countries...
Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.
Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 3 cm all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps from 33-38 deep water once per week. With temps from 25-32 deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps from 21-24 deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 21, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. In the USA this deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont (for Oz think Hobart to Darwin including Alice Springs), so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.
- 7 years ago
I found a replacement. BioFert/TerraLink fertilizers in Abbotsford has a Lawn Food 8-2-3, with 3% iron. It has some other nutrients that Milo lacks. It’s available for order at Ag/Garden centers, or you can call them directly and have it shipped. It’s feathermeal, Guano Phosphate and a few other organic sources. Here is the link: http://www.biofert.ca/products/granular-fertilizers/organic-fertilizers/lawn-food-8-2-3.html
- 6 years ago
My neighbours are infested with crab grass all around me up and down the street. My direct neighbour lets it grow to the point of where it covers his whole lawn and into the cracks in his concrete. I have none. Why, because I buy enough corn gluten to last me a season. I spread it out 4 times a year. 1-at the begin gin of spring thaw, 2-middle of June, 3-1st of August and late September. Works great.
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