# Water In AS 21-0-0



## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I dissolved and sprayed Lesco AS 21-0-0 at .5lbN/K early this morning. Since I dissolved it at a gallon/K is it as critical to water in? I'm in the process of running each zone long enough to put down .25" of water. Is that sufficient for a day that's going to hit low 90s and sunny?


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

@Redtwin that sounds pretty heavy for a foliar app. I usually try to limit foliar apps to .2-.25 lbs/N. Even then I will run the sprinkler system in the morning to wash any residual off the shoots and into the soil.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Oops... I thought about applying it with the spreader but there was no way I would be able to control the powder out of the spreader even at the 5lbs/K recommended rate. The bag recommended 1lbN/K so I thought I was going light with the .5lb. Hopefully it won't burn. I already had some very slight yellowing from a followup app of Dismiss last week but nothing major. Thanks for the info on foliar rates. I will go lighter next time. I'm hoping to do this every 2 weeks for the rest of the season so .2 to .25lb/N would do me just about right.


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

You applied it with water, which will help significantly in reducing the chances of the nitrogen burning the blades.

I would just water it some more to rinse the blades off again, and wash the nitrogen down into the soil as a liquid.

It is better to apply this in the evening hours this time of year, and water it in the next morning, in the summer heat.

I am about to spray my yard again, and timing that around afternoon thunderstorms is a continuing challenge.

I think you will be fine if you get the blades rinsed off before it gets too hot....


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I pretty much immediately rinsed it off. I applied in the morning because of thunderstorms as well. I wasn't aware of the lower rates with foliar apps. Next time I'll just wait for a clear evening.


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## friscolawner (Sep 24, 2018)

I use each month 2 pounds. Before sprey watering 5-7 min then apply it. After 24h watering( do this in one day before watering day) Actually whatever is soil app i do follow this way.


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## Cherokee_Bermuda (May 10, 2019)

I am interested in foliar apps but do not have a battery powered sprayer or boom setup. Can I use a hose end sprayer for N feeding?


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

Cherokee_Bermuda said:


> I am interested in foliar apps but do not have a battery powered sprayer or boom setup. Can I use a hose end sprayer for N feeding?


I think you would have issues with how to calibrate the amount you apply with a hose end unit. I suppose you could use the old fill the bucket up and time it approach with a five gallon bucket. It might work with spray grade AMS powder, to prevent clogging.

Instead, I would just mix and apply with a high quality hand pump sprayer, unless you have a large yard. That would definitely work.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

FlowRider said:


> Cherokee_Bermuda said:
> 
> 
> > I am interested in foliar apps but do not have a battery powered sprayer or boom setup. Can I use a hose end sprayer for N feeding?
> ...


Agreed. I use a 20-0-0 formula and apply with my backpack sprayer - no battery, I just pump it as I walk. Not a big deal at all, and 100 percent easier than the 2 gallon hand can I was carrying around before.


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## Cherokee_Bermuda (May 10, 2019)

So you dissolve it and it doesn't clog your lines for the sprayer? I have a pump backpack sprayer so I could do it. I have 10k yard so it would be possible. Do you need to agitate it or just give it time in the water to dissolve?


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

Ammonium Sulfate 21-0-0 dissolves readily in hot water, and more slowly in cold water.

The clogging can come from debris in with the AMS. It is best to dissolve it in a separate bucket, mix it up with a paint mixer stick using an electric or battery powered drill, let the debris settle to the bottom and decant the liquid, or else filter out the debris. My farming buddies use plastic screens for this. You can buy "sprayable grade" powder AMS, which has less debris. I have some on order now.

I read from @Greendoc that one cup (7-8 ounces) of AMS added to two gallons of hot water works well to start off with, IIRC. And I have a memory like an elephant....

Mix one batch, decant or filter it as you pour into sprayer, and mix another batch to settle out while you go spray the first. Repeat until done. Best of luck!

I spread granules of AMS on my yard and it exploded with growth. My neighbors all noticed how lush and green my yard was.

It has filled in all the holes left from killing weeds and is spreading all over the areas that used to be barren dirt or muddy areas. Amazing!


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

FlowRider said:


> Ammonium Sulfate 21-0-0 dissolves readily in hot water, and more slowly in cold water.
> 
> The clogging can come from debris in with the AMS. It is best to dissolve it in a separate bucket, mix it up with a paint mixer stick using an electric or battery powered drill, let the debris settle to the bottom and decant the liquid, or else filter out the debris. My farming buddies use plastic screens for this. You can buy "sprayable grade" powder AMS, which has less debris. I have some on order now.
> 
> ...


Nice testament to AMS...I have been tempted to try it. Trying my best to stick with the soil analysis of using a balanced fertilizer 😩


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

@ctrav

I would definitely recommend you try some AMS granules. You can use it one month and then switch to another fertilizer the next month.

I was worried about "pushing" my Bermuda in July. It responded by growing much thicker, taller, and spreading in every direction. It is crowding out most weeds, and is asking for more....

It needs more water, and I am mowing more, but it is really getting so healthy and thick.

I still have a lot of sedge, some new Dallis grass, and now some spotted spurge and a handful of crabgrass invaders, but I am striving to get the lawn strong and healthy so I can hit the weeds again really hard.

But my lawn has really improved tremendously since using AMS.


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

FlowRider said:


> @ctrav
> 
> I would definitely recommend you try some AMS granules. You can use it one month and then switch to another fertilizer the next month.
> 
> ...


Much appreciated and points well taken... I just put down some triple 13 today at 1/2# so I will see how it goes. May be something good to apply next spring after I scalp and sand level??


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## Bryan34w (May 3, 2019)

My FAS treatment contains AS 21-0-0. 4oz per 1k. I spray as the sun is going down and then water-in in the morning. No problems so far.


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## Cherokee_Bermuda (May 10, 2019)

@FlowRider do you prefer foliar app of AMS or granule? Would you expect the same result from both routes and just a matter of preference?

@ctrav The latest pictures of your lawn makes me think the balanced fertilizer is doing just fine. Your turf is looking great!


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

@Cherokee_Bermuda

The main advantage of spraying liquid fertilizer, from my perspective and supported by scientific research I have read, is that the liquid fertilizer can be used as both a carrier for herbicides and it enhances uptake of the herbicide by the weeds you are trying to eliminate. The weed absorbs the fertilizer and takes in the herbicide simultaneously assuming you are properly applying these together. And you're feeding the turf that is not affected by compatible herbicides. Plus you can use marker dye to avoid overapplication, overdoing, overlapping, and make sure you covered everything.

Granular is very effective from a fertilizing standpoint, but not so much for weed control because it is hard to get it to stay on the weed foliage long enough to get past the weed's natural defenses - cuticle and waxy surfaces can be defeated with sprayed liquids; granular has a much tougher time getting past these defenses. It is also not easy to see where you have applied it as it falls beneath the canopy of the grass. So you can skip parts or put down too much, which can lead to imperfect coverage or even harm the turf if you overdose areas accidentally. Granular works for straight fertilizers or pre-emergents very well; post-emergent it is more hit and miss, especially compared to spraying using proper techniques to get the herbicides (or fungicides) exactly where you want them to be.

And "spot treatment" with granular is equally difficult - with a sprayer, you blip the trigger on your wand and done. Granular fertilizer that is slow release can get sucked up in your mower when bagging, and I bag to get rid of weed seed heads as well as the herbicide treated clippings. Fast release goes away when watered in, but can burn turf.

Turf also responds well to foliar feeding, as do ornamentals. I used to use Miracle Gro powders and hose end sprayers, and my lawn looked so much better than my neighbors; many began copying the approach I took. This was fairly expensive, but I bought it in bulk at Sam's Club, which helped on cost, and applying it was accomplished while I watered the yard and beds, which I would normally do anyway. Spray it on everything and watch it grow....

With liquids, you can add non-ionic surfactants, crop oil concentrates, methylated seed oil, and combinations of compatible products that you can spray all at once, beneficial if you are tight on time. I usually spray one product at a time, because it is less complicated, and you can add the right product to enhance the other product's effects. It is also often much less expensive to apply liquids in concentrated forms, and not pay for someone else's water....

But I use both, because lawn care is a weather dependent activity - sometimes it is better to use one over the other. If it is windy or going to rain, spraying is problematic, and granular may be better; and if not, spraying means you can target individual weeds or blanket spray to get rid of a yard full of a weed breakout and fertilize the turf, too.

Of the two, I definitely prefer to spray. It works better, in my experience, and I can mow as soon as things dry out, as long as you give the herbicide the time it needs to do its duty - contact is faster than translocating, so sometimes you need to wait a little longer to let the herbicide get into the targeted weed systemically, for examples, sedges....

Hope this explanation of my reasons for using each helps. I use any or every tool in the tool box to get the job done!


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

So, I picked up some spray quality soluble AS 21-0-0 today, as well as some 0-0-62 but then chickened out and just used my regular Gordon's 20-0-0, lol. Maybe you can talk me into actually using it, rather than returning it. 
1. How easy/hard is it to mix? Like, how long will it take? A few seconds, 5 minutes, longer?
2. How do you store it? Liquid concentrates are easy to store, this stuff is not resealable and has warnings all over about how breathing it in can destroy your kidneys and lungs.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

My lawn has really responded well to the AS 21-0-0 but we have had a lot of rain to boot. I would not go higher than .25lbN/K if you are spraying it. I'm thinking of doing it again this weekend at around .25. It was not a big deal to mix. I used a 5-gallon bucket with about 2 gallons in it to mix then added another gallon or two to finish mixing what didn't dissolve the first time. I used a flat stick to mix it. It would be much better with a paddle drill mixer. I wore an RZ mask and rubber gloves but even though it was powdery, it didn't seem to go airborne too bad. It is such a fine powder, I don't know how you would ever get it to spread evenly with a spreader. I have no intention of ever spreading it. I will spray each time for better control.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Redtwin said:


> My lawn has really responded well to the AS 21-0-0 but we have had a lot of rain to boot. I would not go higher than .25lbN/K if you are spraying it. I'm thinking of doing it again this weekend at around .25. It was not a big deal to mix. I used a 5-gallon bucket with about 2 gallons in it to mix then added another gallon or two to finish mixing what didn't dissolve the first time. I used a flat stick to mix it. It would be much better with a paddle drill mixer. I wore an RZ mask and rubber gloves but even though it was powdery, it didn't seem to go airborne too bad. It is such a fine powder, I don't know how you would ever get it to spread evenly with a spreader. I have no intention of ever spreading it. I will spray each time for better control.


We are having a lot of rain too. And yeah, from what I'm reading spraying it you get a bigger punch for your amount, basically, so can go lower, which you need to do anyway to reduce burning. 
So you just keep it in the bag, or store it in a container with a lid, or? I think the 50lb bag would fit in a 5 gallon bucket. It's just so humid here I hate to leave it in a bag without being sealed in some way.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

I am going to be spraying PGR soon, and it says that including about 0.2lb N per thousand can help prevent yellowing. I had planned on spaying the PGR at 1 gallon per thousand sqft, but is that too little water for the AS? Plan was to spray in the evening just before dusk, water with irrigation in the early AM. Hit anything that still has blue dye showing in the morning with the hose.

Alternately, it says you can use soluble iron instead, and I do have Feature, but I just sprayed chelated iron less than a week ago, and didn't want to overdo it?


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

ktgrok said:


> So, I picked up some spray quality soluble AS 21-0-0 today, as well as some 0-0-62 but then chickened out and just used my regular Gordon's 20-0-0, lol. Maybe you can talk me into actually using it, rather than returning it.
> 1. How easy/hard is it to mix? Like, how long will it take? A few seconds, 5 minutes, longer?
> 2. How do you store it? Liquid concentrates are easy to store, this stuff is not resealable and has warnings all over about how breathing it in can destroy your kidneys and lungs.


AS takes about a minute or so to dissolve. Solubility limit is 2.5 lb per gallon. If you have spray grade 99.9% will go into solution. Fertilizer or spreading grade may have all manner of insoluble material mixed in that needs to be filtered out before trying to spray the solution.

Just about all of the AS I have seen is in the form of crystals the size of rock salt. Storage is rather simple. I do not keep any bagged soluble fertilizers just in their bags for long term storage. It goes into a 5 gallon bucket fitted with the screw on Gamma lid.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Thanks! I did end up using some tonight although at half the rate I planned due to getting distracted by random neighbors who think "hey, that lady is sweating to death in long sleeves and long pants, and carrying 4 freaking gallons of water on her back, while purposely striding at a set tempo across her lawn - I should go over and start chatting about nothing with her for 15 minutes!" that happened TWICE while spraying tonight. First one got me distracted, and I started spraying the wrong area, and then had to figure out how to fix the issue. Second one just meant I was then spraying after dark, so who knows how even it was. So...now I get to see if my lawn grows shaggy mohawk stripes from uneven spraying of AS mixed with PGR albeit at half the rate I planned on most of it.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Oh, and yeah I saw home depot has buckets and lids, so I'll pick some up tomorrow. the AS dissolved really easily actually, but the soluble 0-0-60 was a bit of a pain.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

That's why I wear dark glasses, an RZ mask, and headphones and make sure I have a scowl in my brow. I have a neighbor who always seems to wait for the mower to crank up before coming over and wanting to chat it up. He often brings me fresh fish and vegetables so I try not to complain. Nevertheless, his yard is a salad bar full of stickers and burrs... wait... I'm trying not to complain. :lol:


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

So, I don't know if it was the low foliar dose of the AS, or the total nitrogen over the week adding up, or the potassium I also put down, or what, but MAN what a difference a day makes! 24 hours later and the grass is night and day different! Blades went from kind of thin and pale to green and plump and happy. I'm thrilled.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I'm guessing a combo of PGR and the AS. It will pop pretty quickly if you sprayed it. I let mine rebound for a few weeks and I swear I could tell a difference the day after I put it back in regulation. It could be psychological. When I was in high school, I swear my car drove better when I washed it.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Redtwin said:


> I'm guessing a combo of PGR and the AS. It will pop pretty quickly if you sprayed it. I let mine rebound for a few weeks and I swear I could tell a difference the day after I put it back in regulation. It could be psychological. When I was in high school, I swear my car drove better when I washed it.


Maybe...but even my kids noticed and they had no idea what I sprayed. I'm so glad I got up the nerve to do it, I'd almost returned the AS unopened as it was a bit intimidating to move to that from say, a homeowner product. Plus when I bought it at the wholesale place the guy said I absolutely should not spray AS at this time of year as it would burn the lawn. However, he didn't know I had bermuda, and he may have thought I was using it to mix with herbicide, not as a fertilizer. And I did spray at dusk, and then irrigate at 4:30am. And of course went super low on most of it, although the swale got a good 0.2lbs of N and it looks great.


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## jman1120 (Jun 29, 2018)

Where do most people find AS 21-0-0 granules? I haven't been able to find it. Thanks


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

jman1120 said:


> Where do most people find AS 21-0-0 granules? I haven't been able to find it. Thanks


Probably a landscape supply. Google for a SiteOne or Ewing near you. I went to a wholesale store for a local fertilizer company, but that's probably an unusual situation. Florida happens to make a lot of fertilizer due to our phosphorous mines.


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

jman1120 said:


> Where do most people find AS 21-0-0 granules? I haven't been able to find it. Thanks


Not sure where you are in Alabama, but you might want to try and find a Harrell's - they will carry it. :thumbup:

I buy mine at Site One. You can also look for farmers' feed and fertilizer stores if you live in a more rural setting.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I get mine at a SiteOne.


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