# Unorthodox sources of carbon/fertilizer



## frekwentflier (Oct 27, 2020)

I put down a couple of bags of cracked corn yesterday, and it got me thinking about all the other lawn "food" sources I've read about here. Alfalfa, coffee, and milk to name a few. This took me down the rabbit hole of what other common grocery store items might be useful. For example, I have an old bag of dog food that we found tucked away in the basement. It has to be over 5 years old, so I wouldn't feed it to my pup. Would you throw that down on the lawn? The nuggets are small enough I think it would go thru my spreader.  How about cat food? Bird feed?

What other "food" sources have people on this forum spread? We might be sitting on gold mines of fertilizer in our pantries.


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## SquirtandBurn (6 mo ago)

I just went down this rabbit hole a few weeks ago. The reason being is I have a new construction home and want to get some organic material in the soil. I was looking at the products marketed to lawns and the main ingredient was corn. The price IMO isn't worth for milled corn marketed to lawns. So that got me thinking why not just buy a few bushels from a local farmer. I'm not sold on using biosolids anymore. Once some data comes out about levels of PFAS in biosolids maybe I'll change my mind. I got a 5 gallon bucket of corn mixed with fines from a farmer that normally just dumps back into one of his fields. Cost me bottle of Pepsi. I milled it all down and put it down 20 lbs per 1,000. I'll get a 55 gallon drum from him this fall. But from what I have gathered if it's "organic" it will break down. The finer it is the faster it will break down. I would put that bag of dog food down. Might gets some animals eating it but no bid deal. If it was marketed for lawns it would probably be $40 for 15lb bag &#129315;


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## nemesis256 (Mar 27, 2021)

Definitely not bird seeds, you're going to get them growing instead.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Or you could use the method of converting 5-8lbs of NPK into 80lbs of incorporated OM/M every year.


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## Pannellde (7 mo ago)

I am a homebrewer and it's been recommended i apply my spent grains to my lawn. I'd rather feed the deer with them.


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

A new coner to the scene is wood pellets they make for smokers 
The pellets blow up like alfalfa does when wet

Supposedly the fungal stuff that wood atteacts is really good for the soil 
Aforementioned sources technically arent wood


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## Want2BS8ed (Jun 25, 2021)

I have a neighbor that spread decomposed zebra and giraffe poop last fall…

Helps when your family owns the local zoo! Thought it was kinda cool but felt sorry for him in the end. They used a front end loader to fill several pickup trucks loads and scooped a bunch of gravel in the process that had to be picked by hand.


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## Phids (Sep 24, 2020)

There's a source of organic material that Doc recommends, which is 16% Layer Crumble Poultry Feed, available at Tractor Supply:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tractor-supply-dumor-16-layer-crumble-50-lb-3006316-306

I have used this several times and the cost is not too bad at under $20 for a 50-lb. bag. The feed spreads very nicely in a broadcast spreader, and it basically dissolves when water touches it.

If you want nitrogen, Princess Cut's Youtube Channel recently had a how-to video about applying diesel fluid to a lawn because it's made of about 32% Urea. You can get a few gallons at Walmart for around $10, which makes it quite affordable.


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