# Lebanon Turf fertilizer



## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

Hey everyone,

The soil sample is back, Honda mower and Prodiamine are here, so the action plan on the lawn is about to commence.

My soil report from Waypoint recommends a fertilizer regimen of 10-20-15. After some searching, the Lebanon brand is the only one with this grade I have found. Is there a difference between brands?

And on the topic, is there a big difference between spreader brands? Sure doesn't seem like there would be, but who knows.

Thank you, everyone.


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## Dono1183 (Oct 11, 2021)

Kenny Penny said:


> Hey everyone,
> 
> The soil sample is back, Honda mower and Prodiamine are here, so the action plan on the lawn is about to commence.
> 
> ...


Don't buy the cheap Scott's spreaders. I bought the mini and it leaves stripes all over the lawn because the wheels are too tall relative to the location of the spreading platform.


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## Thejarrod (Aug 5, 2018)

Lebanon turf fert has worked well for me. I like their greens grade products. But don't get too hung up on choosing something with EXACTLY the n-p-k that was suggested. Something that comes close, and is readily available, will work just fine .
I should also say that I grew up a few miles from Lebanon turf headquarters in central PA so I'm not exactly unbiased.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

+1 what @Thejarrod said. Don't get caught up with the recommendations on the soil test as long as you get something close, your lawn won't know the difference. You could probably go with a starter fertilizer or even some 10-10-10. Just go with whatever you can find locally.


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

Thanks everyone for these replies! I actually just now got off the phone with someone at a company called Graco in GA that makes custom blends, but their minimum order required was a whole pallet. But the person I spoke with gave a recommendation of using a combination of other fert grades to achieve the same lbs/1k ratio as the recommended 10-20-15, which is clever. So based on all that, I'm relieved to learn that the requirements aren't quite as strict as I thought they were.

Thanks, everyone.


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

Mightyquinn said:


> +1 what @Thejarrod said. Don't get caught up with the recommendations on the soil test as long as you get something close, your lawn won't know the difference. You could probably go with a starter fertilizer or even some 10-10-10. Just go with whatever you can find locally.


If the lawn doesn't really care that much about the fertilizer grade, what info from the soil test can I use to my advantage?


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

FYI this is it.


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## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

as stated above, get whatever you can find. 10-10-10 is usually pretty cheap, and it hits what you need.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

rjw0283 said:


> as stated above, get whatever you can find. 10-10-10 is usually pretty cheap, and it hits what you need.


+1

I would just feed with 10-10-10 for the year and then retest the soil this Fall/Winter and see where you are at. You might also want to get the S3M test also from Waypoint (for the Fall/Winter test) as it will give you all the info that is missing and is only $16.50. I guess it all depends on how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go


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## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

LOL.. go deep into the rabbit hole! S3M allows you to chase so many more numbers! Take the recommendations on the test as a guide, but not as a must-do without deviation. My tests always come back with pretty high phos, so I typically do not put Phos down. (Once a year) I am always very low to low on potassium. Every 2 weeks I am spraying potassium nitrate. Everyone's soil is different. Mine does not hold nutrients (Minus Phos and the mysterious Zinc) once I started spraying every few weeks that was a game-changer, I am also on a hill, I believe the granular was just floating down the hill during heavy rain.


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

rjw0283 said:


> LOL.. go deep into the rabbit hole! S3M allows you to chase so many more numbers! Take the recommendations on the test as a guide, but not as a must-do without deviation. My tests always come back with pretty high phos, so I typically do not put Phos down. (Once a year) I am always very low to low on potassium. Every 2 weeks I am spraying potassium nitrate. Everyone's soil is different. Mine does not hold nutrients (Minus Phos and the mysterious Zinc) once I started spraying every few weeks that was a game-changer, I am also on a hill, I believe the granular was just floating down the hill during heavy rain.


Haha love it. I will start simply but will most likely go deeper as time goes on. I have a feeling already it will become a hobby. Im exited to see the progress. And yours looks great. Nice work!

So here's a dumb question - if 10-10-10 will give me what I need as a starting point, why not go ahead and go for 12-12-12?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Kenny Penny said:


> So here's a dumb question - if 10-10-10 will give me what I need as a starting point, why not go ahead and go for 12-12-12?


That would be fine. Where it would take 10 pounds of 10-10-10 to get a pound of each element, it would only take 8.33 pounds of 12-12-12.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Ware said:


> Kenny Penny said:
> 
> 
> > So here's a dumb question - if 10-10-10 will give me what I need as a starting point, why not go ahead and go for 12-12-12?
> ...


Another thing to consider with the lower analysis is that the higher product amount makes it easier to put it down evenly.


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## Kenny Penny (10 mo ago)

Redtwin said:


> Ware said:
> 
> 
> > Kenny Penny said:
> ...


Yes, it would take less to get the same amount of nutrients into the grass. Good point. I've heard some people talk about determining the amount of fertilizer to put down based on the pounds of N per 1k that is needed. Is that a standard for determining how much fert to apply?

In the case of my Waypoint analysis, they recommend 12 lbs of 10-20-15 per 1k sq ft, which equates to 1.2 lbs of N per 1k. Did they arrive at that based on some benchmark for Lbs of N per 1k? That part has mystified me so far.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I think it's based on a lot of variables depending on what your soil test shows. From the soil test you posted it looks like if you applied 5 lbs of 10-10-10 per M(1,000 sq/ft) every 2 weeks by the end of the season you should be close to all your numbers they recommend. Depending on the condition of your turf and how often you are willing to mow will depend on if that is too much.

Just FYI, adding 1 lb of Nitrogen to your lawn every month will make it grow like crazy especially if you are watering it in addition to any rain you might get. It's a balancing game you will have to learn to play and there is NO exact science to it all. A soil test just gives you an idea of what to shoot for and is not the only factor in having a nice looking lawn, it's just another tool in the tool box so to speak.


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