I'll be doing my 3rd fungicide app this year on Wednesday (every 2 weeks alternating between Disease Ex and Bayer) and a week later my first app of Milo.

Go with the new stuff called carbon X. Its a new fertilizer that has organic , sythenic, bio char and other stuff in it.

Its $64.99 including shipping and covers 18.000 sq ft

I have Milo here I just bought it or turf builder by scott's which has I believe 32 N it's High # not sure which to go with this week???? They are both here though so I don't have to buy more stuff

Personally, I'd go with the Milo. But dealer's choice and if you feel more comfortable with the 32 N, that can go--but I'd wait to use that until closer to Memorial Day as it works better when the grass growth has slowed a little and it won't set off as much juicy growth.

Milo won't do that no matter when you drop it.

Go with the new stuff called carbon X. Its a new fertilizer that has organic , sythenic, bio char and other stuff in it.

There's nothing new about it. It's urea, ammonium sulfate, iron sulfate and it has a very very small amount (1%) of slow release nitrogen. You can buy a Turfgro 24-0-11 at Lowe's for $28 which is actually 50% slow release. Or, you can buy urea, ammonium sulfate etc from your local ag supply store and create the same 50 lb mix for about $15.

Its $64.99 including shipping and covers 18.000 sq ft

Carbon-X only covers 18,000 sq ft at a rate of 0.66 lb N. That claim is disingenuous to say the least, we typically target 1 lb N per thousand.

Although for a spring feeding, I wouldn't mind 0.66N per K. Feeding lightly in May is fine. I usually feed heavier, but for those who choose a lighter option, that's not a problem.

Don't do that in fall when the grass wants a good, heavy supper, dinner, dessert, and midnight snack before bed--target 1 pound N in September, October, and winterizer at the minimum (I add a fourth in there, but feed organically in August).

Although for a spring feeding, I wouldn't mind 0.66N per K. Feeding lightly in May is fine. I usually feed heavier, but for those who choose a lighter option, that's not a problem.

Sure, I agree, but what if you have Bermuda. I don't think that fertilizer is geared exactly towards cool season grass feeding in May. I'm not sure where the 18,000 number comes from, but it sounds like we're headed down the path of manufacturers making up their own application rates to inflate sq ft coverage.

They already do that. :-)

"Or, you can buy urea, ammonium sulfate etc from your local ag supply store and create the same 50 lb mix for about $15."

where can I get the bio char, RGS and chicken litter in pellet form?

where can I get the bio char, RGS and chicken litter in pellet form?

Why does it need to be in pellet form? Why do you think a few pounds of "biochar" spread over 18,000 sq ft (per your post) are going to do anything for your soil? And what's so special about N derived from chicken litter vs any other source of N?

If you're willing to pay $50 for a couple pounds of lump charcoal, humic acid and chicken litter I got a bridge to sell you.

You claimed its nothing new. Ive never seen a lawn fertilizer that has all that in the bag.

I disagree about the bio char(it not charcoal)I have read alot of info that bio char makes the soil good. Sounds like you need to do some research

I am gonna spend $65 for a bag, Not $50. Must be alot of misinformed people because carbon x is selling out fast!

A bag covers 16,600 not 18,000. So its .72 lbs of nitrogen per 1000

You claimed its nothing new. Ive never seen a lawn fertilizer that has all that in the bag.

Taking common fertilizers and a little bit of soil amendments, mixing them together and charging 4 times the price doesn't make it something new.

I disagree about the bio char(it not charcoal)I have read alot of info that bio char makes the soil good.

Maybe you can share some of that research. I'm very interested to find out how applying a few pounds of "biochar" on the soil surface over 18,000 sq. ft "makes the soil good".

I am gonna spend $65 for a bag, Not $50.

Well there's about $15 worth of stuff in there(urea, ammonium sulfate, potassium sulfate, humic acid, some kelp extract) , so I was talking about the other $50 which is basically wasted money. Which is your choice, I just don't know why you'd come here and encourage other people to waste their money when there's clearly much better ways to spend it on things that will actually make a difference for you lawn. But it sounds like you're emotionally invested in this product, so if it feels good to spend $65 on something you could get for $15, go for it.

Must be alot of misinformed people because carbon x is selling out fast!

Could be, or maybe they only had like 20 bags to sell. But if people are misinformed, that's what we're here for - to help them make informed decision.

The Hagia Sophia of the 21st Century, Wikipedia, tells us that Biochar is, " Biochar is charcoal used as a soil amendment. Biochar is a stable solid, rich in carbon, and can endure in soil for thousands of years.[1] Like most charcoal, biochar is made from biomass via pyrolysis. "

I'm going to reserve opinion, except to point out that if it's stable for thousands of years, it's not feeding your plants or doing crap-all for your soil biology in terms of nutrients; it's a stable set of carbon compounds that's sitting there like a lump of...well, charcoal. That's potentially useful if late-stage OM is very short, but there are cheaper ways of doing it.

If you do want something with a high residual, slow breakdown, and low cost, I'd suggest horse bedding pellets. At about $6-$10 per fifty pounds (I suggest simply getting the cheapest), they get wet, fluff up into sawdust, and decay very, very slowly into the soil, supplying little in the way of nutrients (about 0.1-0.05-0.01), but a great deal in terms of residual OM.

Combine that with something that also feeds the lawn and gardens, however. If you want to use urea, great. Personally, I use soybean meal (7-2-1 or thereabouts). Milorganite is fine (5-2-0).

Morph,

Don't do that in fall when the grass wants a good, heavy supper, dinner, dessert, and midnight snack before bed--target 1 pound N in September, October, and winterizer at the minimum (I add a fourth in there, but feed organically in August).

Could you please explain the calculation to achieve 1 pound of N?

Thanks

@gle2011

I'll try and help you out. The numbers on a bag of fertilizer are known as the N-P-K numbers and represent the percentage of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium(Kalium) in the bag.

So if a bag says 21-4-11, it has 21% N, 4% P and 11% K.

As a general formula, if :

t = pounds of N to be applied

N = the N number on the bag

lb = pounds of product to be applied

then:

lb = (t*100) / N

So if you want to apply 1 lb N using a 21-4-11, lb=(1 * 100)/21 = 4.76 lbs

If you want to apply 1 lb N using 46-0-0(straight urea), lb = (1*100)/46 = 2.17 lbs

If you want to apply 0.6 lbs N using 36-0-4 , lb=(0.6*100)/36 = 1.6 lbs

Hope this helps.

Thank You lawniac

I am correct in the calculation is pounds per 1000 sq ft.

Example:

29-0-3 fertilizer

apply 1 lb N using a 29-0-3, lb=(1 * 100)/29 = 3.45 lbs

5000 sq ft would require: 3.45*5= 17.25lbs

Thahks

You actually can do it in the fall if you also include the targeted amount of N. It'll fall through to the soil and grass root layer if you use a synthetic or a fast(er) organic with no problems. For organics, I might be inclined to go a bit higher on the N levels to account for any potential nitrogen that bacteria and fungi grab to decay the sawdust--say, perhaps, 1.2 pounds. I'd ignore it if using synthetics, they're going by too quickly.

About the only reasons I wouldn't apply sawdust in fall is that a) it'll take forever to decay in so it'll be around all winter (although that's minor as it'll fall into the soil surface pretty fast and won't bother you anyway), and b) there are fall leaves around that do roughly the same thing even cheaper, so get out there and take the neighbors' leaves and apply them to the lawn and chop them in.