# Greens Grade Milorganite



## Ware

Slightly different analysis, smaller SGN, and comes in a 50lb bag. I paid about $19. I put it on my PRG this afternoon. :thumbup:


----------



## dfw_pilot

I was already impressed with standard Milo's SGN. That looks awesome.


----------



## osuturfman

$19 isn't bad. The Milwaukee Sewerage District has passed on some significant price increases to suppliers and, in turn, end users over the past 4-5 years. That bag used to go for about $9 in 2013.

Damn fine product though.

Double puns are great.


----------



## J_nick

osuturfman said:


> Damn fine product though.
> 
> Double puns are great.


That's some small 💩


----------



## Ware

Unfortunately, smell = same.


----------



## g-man

That smaller granules should also make it easier for it to breakdown (more total surface area).


----------



## osuturfman

Not to hijack the thread but, I did want to offer some information for people wondering what the difference is between greens grade and general turf fertilizers.

Simply put, greens grade offers more consistent coverage and as a result, better fertilizer performance. Prill size of a fertilizer is measured by a system known as Size Guide Number or SGN. The lower the number, the smaller the prill. Most regular fertilizer you buy from Site One, etc. is between 200-240 SGN. Stuff that would go on a golf course fairway would be around 150 SGN and golf greens about 90-100 SGN. The images below, courtesy of Brad Jakubowski of Penn State, demonstrate the concept of SGN and coverage of 150 SGN versus 200 SGN products.









Essentially, you get better and more even coverage per square foot on a lower SGN product. While it is more of a luxury with a regular fertilizer app, it can be of great importance when establishing a chemical barrier against emerging weeds with a pre-emergent app.

You might pay an extra $10-20 bag at most and if you don't want to spray the product, this is an excellent option.

Milorganite in greens grade is sought after because of it's higher content of water insoluble nitrogen.


----------



## Ware

^^^ Very cool! Thanks for that! :thumbup:


----------



## pennstater2005

Where did you get that from?


----------



## Ware

Keeling Company - it's a regional irrigation supply house, sort of like a Ewing.


----------



## TulsaFan

Ware said:


> Slightly different analysis, smaller SGN, and comes in a 50lb bag. I paid about $19. I put it on my PRG this afternoon. :thumbup:


Is $19/bag the normal price or is it end of the season pricing? Also, do you have any idea where I could get this in Tulsa...Ewing or Siteone, etc.


----------



## Spammage

Ewing carries it, but each site keeps different stock. One here carries it, but of course it isn't the one that is two minutes from the office.


----------



## Ware

TulsaFan said:


> Is $19/bag the normal price or is it end of the season pricing? Also, do you have any idea where I could get this in Tulsa...Ewing or Siteone, etc.


That's the normal price.


----------



## pennstater2005

For me it's twice the price of standard Milo and so would have to give twice the results for me to justify it. Is it more than 36#?


----------



## Ware

pennstater2005 said:


> For me it's twice the price of standard Milo and so would have to give twice the results for me to justify it. Is it more than 36#?


So yeah, it is a 50lb bag - versus 36lb. Also, the analysis is 6% N - versus 5%.

My local price for regular Milorganite is $12.67 for the 36lb bag. The Greens Grade is $19.60 for a 50lb bag. The regular bag contains 1.8lbs N and the Greens Grade contains 3lbs N. So on a $ per lb of N basis, the Greens Grade is actually slightly cheaper for me - $6.53/lb of N vs $7.04/lb of N. :thumbup:


----------



## pennstater2005

That's too much math for me this early Ware :lol: At my local price it's basically a wash for me so probably worth it if I could find it. I don't have much near me in the way of landscape type stores. Closest one I know of is an hour away.

Edited to add: Worth it meaning increased efficacy of product application.


----------



## Bunnysarefat

Hopefully wastewater facilities around the nation will catch up with their capital investment so we aren't all buying our fertilizer that's been shipped all the way from Wisconsin. The price will come down with some competition, but it might be a few years still.


----------



## 95mmrenegade

How can I find this product in North Georgia? Called them and they suggested Home depot or Lowes. Neither have the greens grade.


----------



## Green

Quick comments after skimming this thread...

I noticed subjectively that regular Milorganite has slightly bigger particles on average the past couple of years than it used to, a few years ago.

Also, some products that were never advertised as greens grade are or were close to it in size. One being Scotts fertilizer, e.g. 32-0-4, and another being Encap Calcitic Lime (but they've recently increased the particle size a bit for unknown reasons).

Finally, I've noticed smaller particles spread a lot better. Regular Lesco fertilizer or 46-0-0 urea flings everywhere. Greens grade SOP, Scotts products, the Encap Lime, and even the old "standard" Milorganite seem to spread more evenly.


----------



## Bunnysarefat

Yeah and they dropped the iron content to 2 or 2.5% from the previous 4% on the regular grade Milo. I saw their page moderator on facebook claim it didn't matter, clearly it does because they reserve the good stuff for "greens grade." I definitely notice a difference and I'm not really interested in buying Milo anymore. Sad!


----------



## Green

Ware, when you get a chance, can you please post a shot of the analysis? Also curious what the date code was.


----------



## Ware

95mmrenegade said:


> How can I find this product in North Georgia? Called them and they suggested Home depot or Lowes. Neither have the greens grade.


I buy it from Keeling Co.


----------



## MasterMech

At 1.0lb rate, that would be a $140 fert app for me. :?


----------



## Ware

MasterMech said:


> At 1.0lb rate, that would be a $140 fert app for me. :?


Yes, there is definitely a point where Milorganite becomes cost prohibitive for larger lawns.


----------



## gatormac2112

I can't find this stuff anywhere, even the link @Ware provided. Anybody have a link to purchase?

EDIT: Nevermind, they actually have a store in the city where I work


----------



## Ware

https://youtu.be/iWH_ZMo8qgo


----------



## Jacob_S

Didnt know this existed, may have to see if I can locate some of this.


----------



## gatormac2112

@Ware

Went to the keeling company in Madison, Alabama today, they looked at me like I had 2 heads when I asked for Milorganite and Humic acid. They will be no use to me.

Where else can I get greens grade Milorganite?

Looking online a 50lb bag goes for $40-50. You're getting it for $19 so I'm just not going to pay twice what you're paying.


----------



## Ware

@gatormac2112 not all branches may stock it, but it should be in their system. You could try giving them these numbers and see if they can get you some from their warehouse or another store.



That said, I wouldn't lose sleep over it - there are other good fertilizers out there. I use it because I like it and I can source it locally. :thumbup:


----------



## gatormac2112

Ware said:


> not all branches may stock it, but it should be in their system. You could try giving them these numbers and see if they can get you some from their warehouse or another store.
> 
> 
> 
> That said, I wouldn't lose sleep over it - there are other good fertilizers out there. I use it because I like it and I can source it locally. :thumbup:


Thanks John!


----------



## Suaverc118

This stuff is hard to find online. I hope SiteOne has some.


----------



## ryeguy

I don't think you'll ever get a good price for fertilizer online, generally speaking. The shipping costs make it unrealistic to sell cheap.


----------



## Thor865

Don't think this is greens grade but at $15 per 50lb bag at 6-2-0 it'll do the job.

Found at Keeling co as @Ware suggested (there gonna try to get the greens grade)


----------



## Green

Thor865 said:


> Don't think this is greens grade but at $15 per 50lb bag at 6-2-0 it'll do the job.
> 
> Found at Keeling co as @Ware suggested (there gonna try to get the greens grade)


NIce! 4% Fe!


----------



## MsTin

Anyone know where I could get this stuff in the SDFW area?


----------



## NoslracNevok

A sharpie for scale? This is chaos.


----------



## Delmarva Keith

Bunnysarefat said:


> Yeah and they dropped the iron content to 2 or 2.5% from the previous 4% on the regular grade Milo. I saw their page moderator on facebook claim it didn't matter, clearly it does because they reserve the good stuff for "greens grade." I definitely notice a difference and I'm not really interested in buying Milo anymore. Sad!


They just work with the raw material they are supplied. They don't mix in anything additional if the analysis of the final product starts to come in low. Send more spinach to Milwakee. The iron content will rise again. :lol:


----------



## Green

I think I read the iron is something added to cause a biochemical reaction. They supposedly refined the process and need less iron now. Eventually, the greens grade product will be 2.5 percent iron, too, once current stocks run out.

Additionally, Milorganite hinted on their website that all types are going to move to the new 6-4-0 analysis eventually. The good news is, 2.5 percent is still a lot of iron if you're using Milo for its Nitrogen, considering the 16.67 lbs needed to get a pound of N on 1,000 square feet.

Edied to add: if you apply 0.5 lb/M N rate Milo, you get 0.2 lb of iron. If you do the same with a 25-x-x blended synthetic product with 5% iron, you only get half the amount of iron. And the iron in Milo is chelated...assuming my quick math is correct.


----------



## Ware

Green said:


> ...Eventually, the greens grade product will be 2.5 percent iron, too, once current stocks run out.


The stuff I've seen around here already is. :thumbsup:


----------



## Green

Ware said:


> Green said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...Eventually, the greens grade product will be 2.5 percent iron, too, once current stocks run out.
> 
> 
> 
> The stuff I've seen around here already is. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Come to think of it, I think you told me that recently! Well, the transition to 2.5% iron is almost done, it seems. 6-4-0 is the next big change currently happening...


----------



## Bunnysarefat

Delmarva Keith said:


> Bunnysarefat said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah and they dropped the iron content to 2 or 2.5% from the previous 4% on the regular grade Milo. I saw their page moderator on facebook claim it didn't matter, clearly it does because they reserve the good stuff for "greens grade." I definitely notice a difference and I'm not really interested in buying Milo anymore. Sad!
> 
> 
> 
> They just work with the raw material they are supplied. They don't mix in anything additional if the analysis of the final product starts to come in low. Send more spinach to Milwakee. The iron content will rise again. :lol:
Click to expand...

I work in their industry and I think they probably do add something during their process to thicken or coagulate their sludge. I know someone based out of WI that works with us as a consultant, I have been meaning to ask him about it, but I heard from one of his coworkers that it had to do with their plant's use of ferric chloride, a common wastewater additive for sludge processing that contains large amounts of iron.


----------



## Bunnysarefat

Green said:


> I think I read the iron is something added to cause a biochemical reaction. They supposedly refined the process and need less iron now. Eventually, the greens grade product will be 2.5 percent iron, too, once current stocks run out.
> 
> Additionally, Milorganite hinted on their website that all types are going to move to the new 6-4-0 analysis eventually. The good news is, 2.5 percent is still a lot of iron if you're using Milo for its Nitrogen, considering the 16.67 lbs needed to get a pound of N on 1,000 square feet.
> 
> Edied to add: if you apply 0.5 lb/M N rate Milo, you get 0.2 lb of iron. If you do the same with a 25-x-x blended synthetic product with 5% iron, you only get half the amount of iron. And the iron in Milo is chelated...assuming my quick math is correct.


Yes ferric chloride is the additive. See my previous reposnse as I'd heard some inside baseball on this plant in recent months. I'll add that it's possible they bring it back. Things change in this industry in unexpected ways and sometimes systems fail. Hopefully other plants will come online and be selling this stuff soon so we aren't all having to buy this stuff from the same dang place in basically Canada. Others are in the process it just takes a long time to build the stuff.


----------



## Delmarva Keith

Bunnysarefat said:


> Delmarva Keith said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Bunnysarefat said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah and they dropped the iron content to 2 or 2.5% from the previous 4% on the regular grade Milo. I saw their page moderator on facebook claim it didn't matter, clearly it does because they reserve the good stuff for "greens grade." I definitely notice a difference and I'm not really interested in buying Milo anymore. Sad!
> 
> 
> 
> They just work with the raw material they are supplied. They don't mix in anything additional if the analysis of the final product starts to come in low. Send more spinach to Milwakee. The iron content will rise again. :lol:
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I work in their industry and I think they probably do add something during their process to thicken or coagulate their sludge. I know someone based out of WI that works with us as a consultant, I have been meaning to ask him about it, but I heard from one of his coworkers that it had to do with their plant's use of ferric chloride, a common wastewater additive for sludge processing that contains large amounts of iron.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it's public information that they improved the process they were using such that it now requires less ferric chloride and that is why the common stuff shipping now has a reduced iron content. But send them spinach - the iron content will come right back up! :mrgreen:


----------



## Bunnysarefat

Delmarva Keith said:


> Bunnysarefat said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Delmarva Keith said:
> 
> 
> 
> They just work with the raw material they are supplied. They don't mix in anything additional if the analysis of the final product starts to come in low. Send more spinach to Milwakee. The iron content will rise again. :lol:
> 
> 
> 
> I work in their industry and I think they probably do add something during their process to thicken or coagulate their sludge. I know someone based out of WI that works with us as a consultant, I have been meaning to ask him about it, but I heard from one of his coworkers that it had to do with their plant's use of ferric chloride, a common wastewater additive for sludge processing that contains large amounts of iron.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I'm pretty sure it's public information that they improved the process they were using such that it now requires less ferric chloride and that is why the common stuff shipping now has a reduced iron content. But send them spinach - the iron content will come right back up! :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

The Milo campaign online sure didn't highlight the reason they switched very well. I all saw them say was basically "LOL yeah 2.5% is just as good as 4%." Maybe send them a bunch of tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide like we are dealing with. Then there won't be any miloganite to be bought which will open up the competition.


----------



## BermudaBud

Does anyone know where I can purchase Greens Grade Milo? Can't seem to find it anywhere. I am in Austin, TX.

Thanks in advance!


----------

