done for the year
I ran the mower and mulched the last bit of leafs for the year. I was looking at Scotts for a winter fertilizer, I noticed the numbers on back of bag was 32,0,10, I was thinking I read it's not good putting that high of nitrogen on lawn in late fall? I went to local nursery got something with there name on it, Habit fall and winter 8,12,24. So I guess I'm done with my lawn for the year. What do you guys think about to much nitrogen this time of year or does it matter? I'm going to try organic lawn care, so I plenty of reading to do, and I'm sure I'll have some questions. Is there any good books about this that anyone can recommend?
- webmaster
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9478
- Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2004 12:59 pm
- Location: Amherst, MA USDA Zone 5a
The Organic Lawn Care Manual, by Paul Tukey is highly recommended. Paul Tukey is a pioneer in organic lawn care, having shifted his lawn and landscaping business (SafeLawns) to organic and chemical free processes. In my opinion Paul Tukey is an important authority on this topic.
Scotts makes an Orgainic Choice lawn food. 11-2-2
recommended application 7.28lbs per 1000 sq ft. One bag covers 4000sq ft.
Most organic fertilizers rarely get above 15 in total npk percentage. Synthetic fertilizers can approach 40-50% of NPK. From the analysis you gave, I doubt the other lawn fertilizers were organic.
Every once in a while. I'd say every 3-4 years it would be a good idea to get a soil test and for the lawn. Specify on the request that it is for grass and you want organic recommendations. It is a better way to manage the nutrients in your lawn to make sure it is adequate without causing imbalances that may become critical down the road.
If you are mulching and top dressing, you may not need that much fertilizer.
Many more fertilizers now are being made with zero phosphorus, because a lot of soils are testing very high in phosphorus and phosphorus toxicity can be a problem. Most of the time, if the phosphorus is high on a soil test, it means there is a lot of phosphorus in the soil, but much of that phosphorus can be locked up and unavailable to plants. Too much phosphorus in the soil can prevent absorption of micronutrients especially zinc and iron and can cause the plants to become deficient in those elements.
Nitrogen on the other hand is highly volatile and does not stick around for very long. You would want to apply enough without over doing it.
recommended application 7.28lbs per 1000 sq ft. One bag covers 4000sq ft.
Most organic fertilizers rarely get above 15 in total npk percentage. Synthetic fertilizers can approach 40-50% of NPK. From the analysis you gave, I doubt the other lawn fertilizers were organic.
Every once in a while. I'd say every 3-4 years it would be a good idea to get a soil test and for the lawn. Specify on the request that it is for grass and you want organic recommendations. It is a better way to manage the nutrients in your lawn to make sure it is adequate without causing imbalances that may become critical down the road.
If you are mulching and top dressing, you may not need that much fertilizer.
Many more fertilizers now are being made with zero phosphorus, because a lot of soils are testing very high in phosphorus and phosphorus toxicity can be a problem. Most of the time, if the phosphorus is high on a soil test, it means there is a lot of phosphorus in the soil, but much of that phosphorus can be locked up and unavailable to plants. Too much phosphorus in the soil can prevent absorption of micronutrients especially zinc and iron and can cause the plants to become deficient in those elements.
Nitrogen on the other hand is highly volatile and does not stick around for very long. You would want to apply enough without over doing it.
Thanks for the responses and help. Other fertilizers was not organic, I just wasn't sure about the nitrogen so I went with the other over Scotts, and didn't think to look for organic Scotts. I've been mulching with mower on its highest setting. Is it to late to get soil test and add what ever is recommended, or just get one first thing and spring?
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b