# More even fertilizer distribution



## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

That greens grade milo thread had me thinking....

If I were to use a fertilizer that is 50-0-0, it would be 2 lbs per 1k. If I were to use a 5-0-0, it would be 20 lbs per 1k for the same nitrogen. Everyone knows that...

But it made me think.... Would i get better/more even coverage by using the 20 lbs of 5-0-0 vs the 50-0-0? Does it really matter? Or once it leaches into the soil, does it all kind of spread out good enough, where it doesn't matter one way or the other?


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Allegedly, nitrogen is mobile in the soil. I think you'll probably get a better value, monetarily, using the something like an ammonium sulfate or a urea, than something with a low level of nitrogen per pound.


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## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

Movingshrub said:


> Allegedly, nitrogen is mobile in the soil. I think you'll probably get a better value, monetarily, using the something like an ammonium sulfate or a urea, than something with a low level of nitrogen per pound.


Oh for sure. This was more of a curiosity question. I'll always go with the best dollar value, over trying to get perfectly even coverage.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

I've done that very approach of watering down when it came to spraying pre-em herbicides so I could minimize what was left in my sprayer and to encourage good coverage since I made quite a few passes with the sprayer, but for fertilizer I used whatever was best value. I had applied about 600lb of ammonium sulfate to my yard/15 applications of 1LB of N. It would've been 2400lb of 8-8-8 at a cost of $600 or 600lb of 34-0-0 at a cost of$200.


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## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

I'd definitely go with the cheaper in your case! I've got less than 2k sq/ft, but it does add up. Although, no where near as fast!


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Movingshrub said:


> I've done that very approach of watering down when it came to spraying pre-em herbicides so I could minimize what was left in my sprayer and to encourage good coverage since I made quite a few passes with the sprayer, but for fertilizer I used whatever was best value. I had applied about 600lb of ammonium sulfate to my yard/15 applications of 1LB of N. It would've been 2400lb of 8-8-8 at a cost of $600 or 600lb of 34-0-0 at a cost of$200.


Are you sure it was ammonium sulfate(34-0-0) that you were putting down? 34-0-0 is usually Ammonium Nitrate or it can be urea too! Ammonium Sulfate is usually 21-0-0 :thumbup:


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

gijoe4500 said:


> That greens grade milo thread had me thinking....
> 
> If I were to use a fertilizer that is 50-0-0, it would be 2 lbs per 1k. If I were to use a 5-0-0, it would be 20 lbs per 1k for the same nitrogen. Everyone knows that...
> 
> But it made me think.... Would i get better/more even coverage by using the 20 lbs of 5-0-0 vs the 50-0-0? Does it really matter? Or once it leaches into the soil, does it all kind of spread out good enough, where it doesn't matter one way or the other?


You would theoretically get better(more even) coverage with the 5-0-0 than you would with the 50-0-0 at the rate you were talking about. As you would have more product to spread out but there will be a lot of filler material in that bag that you may not want on your turf, especially if you are mowing reel low. You would also have to factor in prill size(SGN), as the smaller the prill the better the coverage you will get. Another factor to think about is how hydrophobic your soil is as that will also affect how well the fertilizer "spreads out" once it's dissolved. Most soils do not get uniformly wet and have channels that the water will flow through.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

@Mightyquinn

I tried purchasing Ammonium Nitrate but none of the co-ops would sell it to me at my small quantity of 600lb due to the paperwork hassle. Has anyone managed to buy Ammonium Nitrate bags recently?

I used some kind of Ammonium Sulfate + Urea blend that results in a mixture of 33 or 34-0-0

Mentioning fertilizer, I'm still waiting on answer from you on your Ferrous Ammonium Sulfate thread, whenever your schedule allows. 
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=211&start=60


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Movingshrub said:


> Mentioning fertilizer, I'm still waiting on answer from you on your Ferrous Ammonium Sulfate thread, whenever your schedule allows.
> https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=211&start=60


I posted an answer for you :thumbup:


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