# Thinking about getting into tank spraying Urea



## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

Next Sunday will be 14 DAG for my fall overseed of my 35k sqft TTTF and it'll be time for it's first mow and to begin spoon feeding N. My soil test showed an abundance of P and K, so not really any need for that. I reached out to my supplier about picking up some fertilizer and they have 46-0-0 for $35/50# bag and 10-6-4 for $29/50# bag.

Initially I was going to get the 10-6-4 because my hollow wheeled Scott's DLX spreader struggles to put down anything over 20% N precise enough to allow for .5#N/M applications, let alone .25#N/M.

I'm am aiming to put down two ~.25#N/M applications a week apart, followed by bi-weekly ~.5#N/M applications until the end of the growing season.

The back of the napkin math started to show that I'd be spending a pretty significant sum of money if I went with the 10-6-4, and to be honest the thought of spreading all of that over my 35k sqft didn't sound fun either.

Enter my realization from a previous post here on the ability to dissolve and tank spray urea. My 21 gallon tow behind sprayer made easy work of my Tenacity application, so this should be just as easy (in my head.) I'm hoping someone could double check my math, and provide any advice on things I might be missing.

A 50# bag of 46-0-0 over 35k sqft comes out to .65#N/M. So I'll buy a single bag, and apply half of it (25#) for the first two weeks, putting down .32#N/M each application. Is this too strong for newly overseeded turf? Should I go with a lower rate than I would normally because this is a foliar app?

After that, I'll just continue to apply a 50# bag (or maybe a little less) bi-weekly across the entire 35ksqft.

It's amazing how much simpler, cheaper, and easier this sounds to me. I just want to make sure I'm not overlooking anything. In my head it might make sense to use a lower rate on newly overseeded turf, but .3#N/M application rates are pretty low anyway so I'm not sure.

I've read a bit in previous posts on this subject and the consensus is not to irrigate for 4 hours to allow for foliar absorbtion, but to irrigate at some time after that (between 4 and 24 hours) to avoid injury? (Not sure about this, specifically.)

How does this sound? Am I missing anything here? My biggest concerns are obviously frying my yard and wasting time/money. Any advice, tips, and tricks would be greatly appreciated.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Spraying urea is small amounts is very easy and practical, especially on a small lawn.

Here is the math based on spraying 1/4lb N per K - I always assume Urea is 50% N to make the math easy:

0.25lb N needed / 0.50 urea = 0.5lb Urea for every 1,000 sq. ft

0.5lb Urea x 35 (your area in square feet) = 17.5lb Urea total.

I spray at night and water it in the next morning. I have never sprayed more 0.25lb N. Spraying higher amounts brings leaf burn into play.


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## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

Harts said:


> I have never sprayed more 0.25lb N. Spraying higher amounts brings leaf burn into play.


Okay, so keep it under .25#N/M applications when applying foliar. I might be able to make 0.5#N/M granular applications work to get my bi-weekly applications, but we'll see.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Spreading over 35K is a task but much easier than, say 2500 sf simply because you'll be able to fill your hopper full. It's just time consuming.


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## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

I found MQ's Liquid Lawn Fertilizing Plan in the warm season forum. I'm in the process of reading it through, but from what it sounds like the liquid apps are in fact more potent, which agrees with what @Harts said about not exceeding .25#N/M.

Based on this, I'm thinking of stepping down my rates to ~.1-.15#N/M for my first two weekly applications, and from there just making bi-weekly .25#N/M applications.

This will result in less overall N applied throughout the growing season of course, but since it's being directly absorbed by the leaf blades my thinking is it will be more or less equivalent to applying .25#N/M for two weeks, and .5#N/M biweekly thereafter.


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## Dot3 (Jul 30, 2020)

https://www.grainews.ca/features/liquid-fertilizer-and-melting-urea/

Might have to copy and paste this. It's a huge amount but scalable.

We make a 50% urea solution at work. It's an endothermic reaction once you get to a certain percentage. I'm planning to dissolve some at 50% at home, maybe 5 gallons or whatever will work in a pot on a burner. Then I'll dilute from there once I'm ready to spray


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

I never put granular urea down at less then 1lb N per 1000. To few prills can result in a speckled lawn.


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

You can also use diesel exhaust fluid. It's basically a 15-0-0, it's urea and deionized water.

19oz per k is .25lb/n/m


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Good article. Foliar works. It bypass the soil.


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## Justmatson (Apr 4, 2020)

Stuofsci02 said:


> I never put granular urea down at less then 1lb N per 1000. To few prills can result in a speckled lawn.


Thats a heavy dose... how often have you done that?
How crazy did the grass grow after that?

I've been doing .5lb/n from urea in granular form, bi-weekly. Cutting daily now and getting ½" clippings. Using my manual reel. Getting a better cut, can drop hoc slower and I enjoy it!

I've been thinking of dropping a pound of N. This week would be the perfect opportunity. Cooler and lots of rain.

How long does the fast growth last after a pound of N? Month+?


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Justmatson said:


> Stuofsci02 said:
> 
> 
> > I never put granular urea down at less then 1lb N per 1000. To few prills can result in a speckled lawn.
> ...


I have done it lots. Just did it last Saturday. I only do it in the fall. Yes the grass will grow, but I am using pgr on the part I reel mow. In the back I am cutting every two days.


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## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

ABC123 said:


> You can also use diesel exhaust fluid. It's basically a 15-0-0, it's urea and deionized water.
> 
> 19oz per k is .25lb/n/m


I honestly thought you were joking initially, but after stumbling around I am realizing that this is legit. Thanks!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@Justmatson most scott/commercial products do 0.75lb N/ksqft at bag rate. They do have some slow release but 1lb of N/ksqft is not crazy high. But make sure your overlaps are good and your watering.

Less amount at higher frequency will always give better response. Like eating three 600 calories meals a day vs one 1800 calories.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@dleonard11122 DEF is legit. I use a different rate than ABC123 (10oz = 0.1lb N/ksqft), so now I will check my math.

DEF has some advantages. It is pure water with already dissolved urea, so pour and spray. No filter or waiting and easy to buy at walmart/menards. But cost is higher than a bag of urea.


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## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

g-man said:


> @dleonard11122 DEF is legit. I use a different rate than ABC123 (10oz = 0.1lb N/ksqft), so now I will check my math.
> 
> DEF has some advantages. It is pure water with already dissolved urea, so pour and spray. No filter or waiting and easy to buy at walmart/menards. But cost is higher than a bag of urea.


Thanks. Cost is a huge factor in why I'm considering this. While my wife already knows I'm crazy for the amount of time that I'm spending on the lawn, I don't think she'd be on board with spending $100 every other week to drop .5#N in a high quality granular fert.

Since making this post, I've discovered the discussions in the Soil Fertility section of the forum. If you think this is more appropriate for there, please feel free to move it.

I've decided I'm going to go ahead with trying a 50# bag of Urea and spraying it. Across 32.5k sqft I'll get 4 applications of ~.18#N/M down out of one bag. That will get me to mid October. From there, I plan on assessing how things are going.

At that point I might splurge to pick up 100# of 22-0-4 with iron & humics from my local supplier for one final application of the year. Or, if things are going well and the weather is holding out I could get another 4 weekly applications from another 50# bag of urea.

All in, I'm looking at between $70-100 for the totality of my fall fertilizer.

I'm also considering picking up some FAS, 6-0-0 FEature, or another iron/micro booster just to really give things a pop, but I may hold off on that for another time.

Should I take consideration into timing my foliar fertilizer applications and mowing schedule?


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## npompei (Sep 8, 2019)

Hey @dleonard11122 where in Southern Jerz are you? I'm in Bucks County, PA, so figure maybe 2hrs from you. We have local Ag stores around here and I can get Urea (46-0-0) for $14 a bag. It may be worth searching for some farm/ag stores around you vs. where you are getting it from currently. You're paying almost 2.5x the cost. You could find a place and store up on a bunch of bags to keep. It won't go bad as long as you keep it dry. Just a suggestion.

I've got 30k so not far off your lawn. I've been spreading my Urea apps with my spreader and I go over it in 2 directions to make sure it covers properly and haven't had any issues. But I did just pick up a tow sprayer so in a few weeks I'm going to give that a go! Just mowed my overseed for the first time the other day so I'm about ready to put some Urea down but this lack of rain here is killing me.


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## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

thanks @npompei, I have seen that you can get 46-0-0 much cheaper from places like Tractor Supply. I'm currently sourcing it from Turf Trade in Mullica Hill. Their primary customers are golf courses, and the sales rep mentioned 'pea grade' fertilizer, so i'm not sure if that's a reason for the extra markup or not. Also obviously not sure if it's worth it either.

Either way, the price of the urea isn't hurting my wallet too bad. If things go well I might try and find some for cheaper. How many #N/M are you generally putting down when you do your apps?

I hear you on the lack of rain. The temps dropped out quick and the rain vanished after summer ended.


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## npompei (Sep 8, 2019)

dleonard11122 said:


> thanks @npompei, I have seen that you can get 46-0-0 much cheaper from places like Tractor Supply. I'm currently sourcing it from Turf Trade in Mullica Hill. Their primary customers are golf courses, and the sales rep mentioned 'pea grade' fertilizer, so i'm not sure if that's a reason for the extra markup or not. Also obviously not sure if it's worth it either.
> 
> Either way, the price of the urea isn't hurting my wallet too bad. If things go well I might try and find some for cheaper. How many #N/M are you generally putting down when you do your apps?
> 
> I hear you on the lack of rain. The temps dropped out quick and the rain vanished after summer ended.


Gotcha ok. Nice to have a good turf place you can get knowledge from regardless!

So I'm putting down roughly 16-17lbs of Urea roughly every 7-10 days depending on the weather. Of course, I just did my overseed a little over 3 weeks ago so I haven't started spoon feeding just yet. That said, I threw down some 10-20-5 last week as my soil test shows I'm super deficient in P & K. Actually, put down 0-45-0 and 0-0-60 not long after seeding to help out as well. Grass has really come back hard this week, it looks great and still have some areas that need to fill in. I'm seeing rain maybe Sun-Mon so I'll be throwing down my first round of N then - can't wait!

That said, I'm hoping the following week to try dissolving the Urea and spraying. See how that does. And from what I read, it's 1gal of water per 1,000sq ft. right? So with my smaller sprayer, I'll have to make 2 passes which works out just fine actually with how I have my sprayer calibrated. At least, to my small knowledge of spraying ha.

I'd like to get some FEature put down in about 2 weeks also - it's sitting in my garage lonely... Wonder if I could mix in some Urea with the FEature?! Anyone?!


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## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

From what I've been reading, 1 gal carrier per 1k sqft is fine for spraying Urea, but the recommendation is to wash off excess after 4 hours. This rinses any remaining N down to the soil.

FEature and Urea at the same time also looks totally fine. I am considering doing the same.


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## Allan-00 (Aug 6, 2019)

@dleonard11122 This thread is exactly what I am considering doing myself now. Any feedback on how things have been going?


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## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

I haven't started yet, looking to make my first app this weekend.

Off the bat though I can tell the math and money works out in it's favor.


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## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

I just heard back from my local supplier and they stock 6-0-0 Main Event. As long as they don't come back with a price greater than $20 for a 3lb bag, I'll probably add that to my mix and use that strictly on the front lawn for the fall and next spring. Looking forward to seeing what a shot of iron does to the best parts of my lawn.

Edit: just heard back and decided to add the 6-0-0 Main Event.


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## nnnnnate (Apr 23, 2020)

I started applying 1 pound urea per 1000 per week on 8/17. It has done amazing to fill in holes and spread the KBG where it was lacking. I bought a battery backpack sprayer a few weeks ago and on 9/15 I was able to spray the urea rather than spread it dry. I added liquid "Quick Green Iron" that my local farm store sells at the label rate (2-4 oz per 1000) and was blown away at how dark the grass was even the next day. I also added dye to help me get it sprayed uniform. Last night I did another application of the urea with dye. The first time I sprayed I watered it in the next morning. Last night I sprayed around 1900 and watered it about 2200.

It takes a little longer to mix then spray and clean up than to broadcast it dry but I'm still happy with how it goes. I think I'll continue to spray unless I'm really short on time or something like that. I'm not using a PGR or anything and it hasn't been growing crazy fast or anything. Our temps are still fairly hot for us, like mid 80s daytime and down into the low 60s at night but I think that will drop here soon. I'm trying to mow every 3 or 4 days and it's been a little tricky to find the time to do that but its working out mostly.


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## npompei (Sep 8, 2019)

dleonard11122 said:


> I just heard back from my local supplier and they stock 6-0-0 Main Event. As long as they don't come back with a price greater than $20 for a 3lb bag, I'll probably add that to my mix and use that strictly on the front lawn for the fall and next spring. Looking forward to seeing what a shot of iron does to the best parts of my lawn.
> 
> Edit: just heard back and decided to add the 6-0-0 Main Event.


You going to add this to Urea when spraying or just run it solo? Was thinking of maybe doing Urea one week, then FEature the other? But that's basically 2x the amount of time needed.

OR like I was thinking, add it right in with the Urea? Then maybe dial back a few lbs of the Urea?


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## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

I'm planning on adding the Main Event right in with the urea every 3rd week.

Someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but the N from the 6-0-0 is pretty inconsequential at the rate we are applying.

My plan is to apply the 46-0-0 at .38#/M. This works out to 4 even applications from one 50# bag over my 32.5ksqft. Each app will put down .18#N/M.

When I add the Main Event to my front lawn apps, I'll use 1.6oz/M, or 1 lb of product for my entire 10ksqft front lawn. This gives me 3 even apps out of the one 3lb bag. 1lb of 6-0-0 is .06#N, and spread over 10ksqft it's only .006#N/M. So I'm really not worried about any of the extra N from the Main Event.


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## npompei (Sep 8, 2019)

Yep ok makes sense! Keep us updated, hopefully we get rain next week so I can put it down safely without my makeshift irrigation!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

+1 urea plus the main event at those rates will work. If you do 0.8-1g/ksqft of carrier, you don't even need to water it in.


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## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

@g-man I'm going to stick with 1 gal carrier/ksqft since that's what I had success with on my first Tenacity app. This practice should let me get my apps more and more dialed in. The plan is to apply in the evening and then just run the irrigation in the morning.


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## npompei (Sep 8, 2019)

g-man said:


> +1 urea plus the main event at those rates will work. If you do 0.8-1g/ksqft of carrier, you don't even need to water it in.


Ohhhhhh really?! I had no idea. Well then, that really makes things easier! Wow. Ok, doing this next week


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## npompei (Sep 8, 2019)

You guys using a NIS with your Urea & Iron apps? I cannot find anywhere that says to or not to use a surfactant?!?!?


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## Pezking7p (May 23, 2020)

npompei said:


> You guys using a NIS with your Urea & Iron apps? I cannot find anywhere that says to or not to use a surfactant?!?!?


I sprayed FAS last week, no issues wetting the grass without any surfactant.


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## npompei (Sep 8, 2019)

[/quote]

I sprayed FAS last week, no issues wetting the grass without any surfactant.
[/quote]

OK thanks. In my head it makes sense to use it and also, not to ha. You want it to stick to the blade, so use a surfactant right? But you also want some going down into the soil. So you don't!

I'll stick with not using it. I'm sure it'll be fine


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## thebmrust (Jun 29, 2020)

What's your process to dissolve the urea prior to spraying?


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## Babaganoosh (Apr 21, 2019)

I didn't think there was a need to spoonfeed tttf. I thought that was reserved for grasses that spread.


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## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

@thebmrust I fill my mixing tank with half of the amount of water I intend to use, dump in the weighed out urea, and then add the other half of water. If it doesn't looked completely dissolved after that, I'll turn my pump on bypass and give it a stir from the top of the tank. I plan on investing in a drill attachment stirrer to make this process easier.


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## thebmrust (Jun 29, 2020)

Ahhh it's as simple as I was hoping.

I have a large area myself and was contemplating liquid vs granular applications for some things.

Thanks for sharing.


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

thebmrust said:


> What's your process to dissolve the urea prior to spraying?


I bought one of those empty 1 gal cans for storing paint. I put in my 2 lb urea (so 0.25N per 1K per gallon x 4). This allows me to spray 4K at a time with my 4 gal backpack sprayer.

The benefit of the paint can is it's small enough to fit directly on a kitchen scale. Set it on. Hit tare. Pour in 2lbs. Half fill with warm water. Close lid & shake for 30 secs. Add additional warm water to fill, and bam - mixed in 60 seconds.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

IMO, I wouldn't want to drag a hose around. May depend on yard size. I'll spray Miracle Gro for fun at some point.


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## Dargin (Aug 22, 2020)

AndyS said:


> thebmrust said:
> 
> 
> > What's your process to dissolve the urea prior to spraying?
> ...


I've just been mixing it straight in the tank, but I like the can idea a lot. Gonna grab one next time I hit the hardware store. Nice tip!


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## Heymoose7 (Oct 14, 2020)

So if you spray .5 lb urea /1gal / 1000sqft what would be the amount of Main event mixed in per gal/1000sq ft?


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