# Milogranite Question



## Killmeh (Mar 1, 2018)

I know the bag says you do not have to water it in, but what are the pros/cons of watering or not?

and if you do water it in, how much water is sufficient?


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

I wish I had an answer. I spread milo and have never thought about watering it in. That's just another reason I love it because that's one less thing I have to do :lol:


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## Bunnysarefat (May 4, 2017)

I think it takes numerous waterings to begin to break down the biosolids. So watering it in immediately will only very slightly speed up the uptake of the nutriuents to the plants. Better to just stick to a consistent watering schedule or apply before you plan to water anyway.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Milo does contain some water soluble Nitrogen, so watering it in would help activate any WSN content.

Note the percent WSN can vary depending on the Milo product and when you bought it. Here are two different bags I have in my garage:

 ​
@DJLCN gave me a bag of the standard (non greens grade) Milo this morning in exchange for some 120-grit lapping compound and some tools I loaned him! No crypto currency here, but select forms of Nitrogen fertilizer are perfectly acceptable. :lol:


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## Killmeh (Mar 1, 2018)

So not watering in won't hurt anything correct? Cause I hate watering lol.

Watered it in this time but supposed to get some rain later this week!


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Killmeh said:


> So not watering in won't hurt anything correct? Cause I hate watering lol.
> 
> Watered it in this time but supposed to get some rain later this week!


Nope. You're all good. Let the rain take care of it from now on!


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

It's very important to water it on extremely hot muggy days. Otherwise you will not benefit from the increased intensity of the unique aromas. You paid for that aroma, get your money's worth.  :nod:


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## ATLawn (May 25, 2017)

One latent effect of watering in could be simply washing the granules down into the soil profile. If you've got a dense and/or tall canopy, you might have some granules sitting on top of the grass instead of down in the canopy base. Will this have a significant effect on the overall results? I don't think so, just a thought!


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

Ridgerunner said:


> It's very important to water it on extremely hot muggy days. Otherwise you will not benefit from the increased intensity of the unique aromas. You paid for that aroma, get your money's worth.  :nod:


Constantly high humidity here in Houston. Let me tell you, I can definitely small it in the heat of the day.


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## Killmeh (Mar 1, 2018)

Ridgerunner said:


> It's very important to water it on extremely hot muggy days. Otherwise you will not benefit from the increased intensity of the unique aromas. You paid for that aroma, get your money's worth.  :nod:


Funny story, first time I put it out, the wife came home at dark hopped out her car and said "did you buy some cows?! what is that smell"

told her its the smell of hopeful grass!


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## Darrell (Mar 22, 2018)

How bad is the smell? How low no dies it last?


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Darrell said:


> How bad is the smell? How low no dies it last?


Did you mean how good is the smell?


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## Rockinar (Jul 21, 2017)

Darrell said:


> How bad is the smell? How low no dies it last?


It smells like roses. I wish it lasted forever!

Kidding. It doesn't smell like s**t really. It smells "musty" to me. Like a load of laundry you forgot to take out of the washing machine 4 days ago and you discover it. You're like "Whewww.......umm...yeahh....that's going to have to be rewashed a few times". It won't make you gag. But it's not something you won't notice.


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

It's almost like the smell of really dank mulch. Like the garden section at your local big box store.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

My kids, when it's in the spreader, like to help me spread it by hand throughout the yard. That grosses my wife out, I love it :lol:


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## Killmeh (Mar 1, 2018)

oh god! i can see why kids would love it though.


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## Redtenchu (Jan 28, 2017)

I was embarrassed of the smell for the first time I used it. After complete domination of my area. I now enjoy the smell.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

I love all of the descriptions of the smell. Haha


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

It legit smells like a sewage treatment plant. I enjoy it.


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## Confederate Lawn (Apr 4, 2018)

How long before you're supposed to see results from the Milorganite?


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## Topcat (Mar 21, 2017)

Confederate Lawn said:


> How long before you're supposed to see results from the Milorganite?


It typically takes about a week or two to see results. I am in Charleston, and had not put any down just yet. I am trying to wait til the temps stabilize in the 70 - 80 range since the warmer temps will stimulate more growth and more uptake of the nutrients the fertilizer provides. I still have one spot about 3' in diameter smack dab in the middle of my lawn that is slowly greening up.

The huge temp swings we've been having at night is causing havoc with my green up.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Topcat said:


> ...warmer temps will stimulate more growth and more uptake of the nutrients the fertilizer provides...


+1, this has been my experience with fertilizer apps early in the season.


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

Confederate Lawn said:


> How long before you're supposed to see results from the Milorganite?


Yard will green up very nicely within a week due to the iron. However, long term growth will occur over several weeks. Slow release nitrogen will be very good for the grass growth.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Confederate Lawn said:


> How long before you're supposed to see results from the Milorganite?


It requires microbial activity to break it down in the soil. Higher soil temps = higher microbial activity. It's been pretty cool here near Savannah. Haven't hit 70°F in the soil temps yet, therefore I'm holding out until it hits the mid 80's.


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## Confederate Lawn (Apr 4, 2018)

Colonel K0rn said:


> Confederate Lawn said:
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> 
> > How long before you're supposed to see results from the Milorganite?
> ...


I saw your blog post about your yard reno! Very cool and great job! I'm probably going to have to end up doing that I have a feeling. but I'd say about 60% of my lawn is actual lawn and not weeds (wishful thinking) I'm in your same climate up here in the Charleston area. I remember just a couple weeks ago, My wife had to put her ferns in due to frost.. I may have been a little pre mature on my Milorganite application. I did it last week Thursday. I may do some Post emergent and then maybe some more with some overseed... I dunno..


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Confederate Lawn said:


> Colonel K0rn said:
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> > Confederate Lawn said:
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Thanks, I appreciate it. It's been a learning experience that's for sure. Just as a heads up, most warm season grasses don't require an overseeding, since they tend to grow using stolons (runners) and rhizomes (base of the plant). St. Aug/Centipede/Bermuda all grow by this method. If you have any of these live plants actively growing, there's no need to overseed. Our cool season brethren have to overseed annually to keep up the plant density, where our warm season grasses will continue to replicate without it. So don't be misled into thinking that you'll need to overseed.

In your case, I'd give some serious thought to what type of lawn you want to have, and how much work you're willing to put into it. Different species require different cultural practices and inputs. For example, Bermuda can handle being cut short, has great heat tolerance, tends to like about 1 # of N per month on average. Centipede, on the other hand requires much fewer inputs, and less frequent mowings. St. Aug likes a high HOC. I know you're considering your options when it comes to handling the "garden salad", and you'll find lots of people here that will give you some information so you can have all the information you need to make sure that you're not needlessly spending more money than you have to in order to get your desired results. Just read up, ask questions and be open to suggestions, something I wish I would have done more of!


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## w0lfe (Mar 19, 2018)

How many bags would you guys recommend on 8500 sq ft?


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

w0lfe said:


> How many bags would you guys recommend on 8500 sq ft?


36 lbs per 2500 sq ft.

SO...

122.4 lbs total, which is 3.4 bags. Buy 4 bags and you will have some extra for the next app.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

w0lfe said:


> How many bags would you guys recommend on 8500 sq ft?


Standard Milo is 5% Nitrogen, so to get:

0.5 lb of N per thousand, you would need 85 lb of Milo

0.75 lb of N per thousand, you would need 127.5 lb of Milo

1.0 lb of N per thousand, you would need 170 lb of Milo​
With Milo I just round up or up down to the nearest whole bag that is closest to my target N rate. It is mostly slow release, so I don't mess with partial bags.


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## w0lfe (Mar 19, 2018)

Ware said:


> w0lfe said:
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> > How many bags would you guys recommend on 8500 sq ft?
> ...


Great, I appreciate it man. I would probably go for the 1 pound. I never thought I would try this stuff, until I discovered this board a few weeks ago. It seems most that try it, keep going back. My lawn surely could use a nitrogen boost, so I'm debating on putting down milo now and then maybe 46-0-0 in May?


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

w0lfe said:


> Ware said:
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> > w0lfe said:
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Why not mix them? I supplement Milo apps with MESZ, SOP, etc, all the time. Tailor your apps to what your lawn needs.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

@w0lfe it's definitely not the cheapest source of Nitrogen, but I don't find it cost prohibitive for a lawn my size, and it has worked well for me.

Keep in mind it contains no K, so you may need to supplement based on soil test results.


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## w0lfe (Mar 19, 2018)

Spammage said:


> w0lfe said:
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> > Ware said:
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I never thought of mixing, I guess to the worry that I would end up applying too much nitrogen using the combination of the two, or having to figure out a different ratio to apply if using both


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## w0lfe (Mar 19, 2018)

Ware said:


> @w0lfe it's definitely not the cheapest source of Nitrogen, but I don't find it cost prohibitive for a lawn my size, and it has worked well for me.
> 
> Keep in mind it contains no K, so you may need to supplement based on soil test results.


Gotcha.. I guess always seeing that "6" for nitrogen on the milo bag shy'd me away from it, thinking that it isn't nearly enough to compare withthe 46-0-0


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

w0lfe said:


> Gotcha.. I guess always seeing that "6" for nitrogen on the milo bag shy'd me away from it, thinking that it isn't nearly enough to compare withthe 46-0-0


I'm kinda the opposite - I prefer the more thorough coverage I get with lower N content products. With something like 46-0-0, which is all fast release, you probably wouldn't want to apply more than 0.5 lb/M at a time... which is only ~9.25 lb of product.


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## w0lfe (Mar 19, 2018)

Ware said:


> w0lfe said:
> 
> 
> > Gotcha.. I guess always seeing that "6" for nitrogen on the milo bag shy'd me away from it, thinking that it isn't nearly enough to compare withthe 46-0-0
> ...


I never thought of it that way, but it makes perfect sense. I'll start looking around for a good deal on it around okc..


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

w0lfe said:


> Ware said:
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Precisely why I mix. For 8500sf, you could mix 17 lbs with two bags of Milo would give you just under 1lb N per 1000 with about equal percentage fast and slow release. It's also easier to spread 10lbs of product per 1000 with even and complete coverage vs. 3-4lbs. Even just mixing one bag of Milo with the 17 lbs of urea makes spreading easier and provides a little slow release product.


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## w0lfe (Mar 19, 2018)

Spammage said:


> w0lfe said:
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> > Ware said:
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I'll probably give that a try... I've never used Milo so will I have any issue with different granular size between the two in my spreader dispersing?


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

Mix ahead of time in a wheel barrow or garden cart and then put the mix in the spreader. As long as the prill size is at least moderately close, you shouldn't have any issues. The only one I have ever been concerned about is the MESZ, because the prill size is very large.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

For what it's worth I rotate. Milorganite, commercial fertilizer from a landscape supply, Scott's green back, Scott's with iron, etc. and also humic acid.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

If mixing, pay attention to SGN differences. I used to have a link (that, of course, I can't find) to an article that showed the different throw patterns by SGN and they are quite significant differences. Plus, I would expect some separation in the hopper of different SGN fertilizers due to the the vibration from movement of the spreader.
FWIW, see SGN compatibility Chart:
https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/fabe-5501


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