# What is the most cost effective way to get your fertilizing done for the lawn?



## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

Which products out there are the most cost effective?

I know urea is very cheap but it also requires low and frequent applications vs coated slow-release Nitrogen.

My guess is always buy in a 15,000 sq ft bag. When on sale the 5,000 sq ft bags often match the price of a 15k sq ft bag (e.g. 15k bag $30 and 5k bag goes on sale for $10).

But let's say you have gone further and purchased some basic chemicals:

1. Pre-emergent like Prodiamine https://www.domyown.com/prodiamine-65-wdg-generic-barricade-p-2495.html
2. Weed Killer Concentrate https://www.homedepot.com/p/Spectra...te-Plus-Crabgrass-Killer-HG-96393-1/205755590

With those two things alone you've significantly reduced your cost as you don't have to buy the overpriced bags of Weed & feed as well as Crabgrass preventer like Scotts with Halts.

At each step we are trading some convenience for lower cost. Personally I think buying the above two chemicals is a good trade off not only in cost but also reduces your environmental impact.

Aside from only buying 50lbs 15,000 sq ft bags is there any other way to reduce cost for granular fertilizer?


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## TommyTester (Jul 3, 2018)

If you can do concentrates, Urban Farm's Liquid lawn is $1 per K. 13-1-2.


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## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

Ok I'll look into that. That may be the cheapest way to go with liquid but I want to pay a little more for more convenience. So I'd like a cheap granular slow-release fertilizer.


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

john5246 said:


> Ok I'll look into that. That may be the cheapest way to go with liquid but I want to pay a little more for more convenience. So I'd like a cheap granular slow-release fertilizer.


Look at Siteone, they usually have very decent prices for 50# bags of various NPK and slow/fast release combinations

Also keep a look out at end of season sales for big box brands. Nothing wrong in using a bag next season if you can get a good off. 
Slow release like milo/baystate/oceangro can be stocked up as well easily

This place is also an excellent area for group buys of different products which decreases the prices of different/great products that otherwise seem too expensive so keep looking at your local area thread.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

I wouldn't say urea requires frequent apps. It depends more on your CEC. In general though, once a month on 5M takes 10 min to spread and maybe 10 min to weigh with a bucket and scale. That's 20 min a month. I don't see that as a lot of time to spend in the lawn. If you have a 5 CEC, then I would do it every 2 weeks. Urea is the cheapest by far compared to anything else.

If you really don't want to spend time in the lawn, I would probably forgo the N apps altogether and use PGR with FAS. You'll be spraying every 3 weeks or so and won't have much mowing to do either while keeping a decent color.

If you wanted to fert but only every 2 months, I would use PCSCU and biosolids or some other organic like corn or alfalfa. At this point, you're trading work for cost.


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## saidtheblueknight (Jul 10, 2019)

john5246 said:


> Which products out there are the most cost effective?


Looks for sales, shop off season and stock up even when you don't need it.

I never purchase fert right when I needed, I plan ahead and look for sales and deals from the local and online stores. By shopping for fert off season, you can usually find it cheaper. I get my spring and summer fert in the fall when they are slashing prices to get rid of old stock for winterizer fert. I shop for said winterizer fert in the spring when they again are slashing prices to get rid of that stuff in time for spring fert. I wait for random coupons from ACE or Aubuchon (or any other small local hardware stores) and stock up on Milorganite. I often check big box stores like Walmart offseason for leftover fert that they slash to a few bux a bag since they don't really have a large outdoor section like Home Depot does, so they need to get that stuff our of there ASAP in preparation for Haloween and Christmas garbage. AM Leonard, and online retailer, often sends out free shipping and 10% off coupons so I use that to get my Andersons fert.

Lots of choices to save money, just have to plan ahead and have a place to store it all.


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## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

uts said:


> john5246 said:
> 
> 
> > Ok I'll look into that. That may be the cheapest way to go with liquid but I want to pay a little more for more convenience. So I'd like a cheap granular slow-release fertilizer.
> ...


That's exactly where I was looking but it's difficult as some products aren't available in all states. What ratio do you recommend or do you have a stock number of a certain 50# bag? I was looking at 24-0-11 for around $36 with 3% iron. That means I'd have to apply 4 lbs per 1000sq ft to get 1 lb of Nitrogen on the ground. So the amount of NPK matters too. It might be cheaper to get something else like scotts green bag 15,000 sq ft bag. I believe that does have some iron in it. You can always add ironite or in my case I have some iron sulfate to spray.

If you were going with a 24-0-11 when do you apply it and how much? Would you use that only until the fall nitrogen blitz and switch to Urea? 
I think May 1st and June 1st are good application times for my area. I'm probably going to put down a half app in July too since I got hit hard by rust. That will leave me with another half app for August which I will apply with prodiamine. Then Sept we switch over to Urea.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

...along the lines of what was stated above:

1. Look for end of season/out of season sales
2. Straight urea (46-0-0) is generally the cheapest N (about $20 per 50 lb bag). If you have large areas to cover and want to apply a slower release high N number, look for UMAXX 46-0-0, with stabilized urea. You can get good large area coverage and it's soluable. Many GCs use it in their spray rigs with PGR on greens to apply .25 lbs N per app on a monthly basis.
3. Seek out turf wholesale suppliers/Agricultural suppliers in your area. You can generally obtain better pricing for commercial products that don't have fancy photos on the bag. You also obtain common specialty products such as SOP from them.
4. Build a rapport with your local GC Super or Sportsfield mgr., to pick their brain for their best suppliers/contacts.


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

john5246 said:


> .
> 
> That's exactly where I was looking but it's difficult as some products aren't available in all states. What ratio do you recommend or do you have a stock number of a certain 50# bag? I was looking at 24-0-11 for around $36 with 3% iron. That means I'd have to apply 4 lbs per 1000sq ft to get 1 lb of Nitrogen on the ground. So the amount of NPK matters too. It might be cheaper to get something else like scotts green bag 15,000 sq ft bag. I believe that does have some iron in it. You can always add ironite or in my case I have some iron sulfate to spray.
> 
> ...


The bag you choose should probably be based on what your soil tests shows and what you need to add. That will help improve the overall health.
Iron is almost always helpful so if you can find that in a bag, that's great, otherwise a liquid application on 5k lawn shouldn't be too difficult.

Whatever product you choose, see how.much slow and fast release component they have. Places like SiteOne note that very clearly. That sill probably dictate how much you can apply. Also whether you have irrigation will determine that as well.

As a general guide, I will put down a combo of slow and fast release in mid spring with biostimulant ( prime example is carbon x - I put down 0.5lb/month- this is lower than the nitrogen blitz). Summer months I would put down slow organic alternative (for me this is baystate fertilizer). 
Even though I do have irrigation I do not like mowing 3 times a week in the heat of summer so that helps. Lol

Late summer early fall - a mix of slow and fast release and transition to AMS initially and then urea later.

Please keep in mind that I try keeping my costs down because I have a 24k lawn so costs explode sometimes. 
You can use some higher quality products (which are more expensive but better results) and have a great looking lawn

One piece of advise. Go slow in buying stuff. Look at a few places before pulling the trigger. 
Look at co-OP stores. Nutrien AG should have a store near you. Urea and AMS are typically around $15 a bag (great value and will last you a while)

Also compare pricing of liquid prodiamine spray- I feel its more cost effective and I get a more uniform coverage.


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## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

uts said:


> john5246 said:
> 
> 
> > .
> ...


For me I found the idea to not fertilize in July to be wrong. I had been doing it for over 15yrs with scotts products...specifically the "summer guard" which has bug killer in it. We never had a big problem with rust until this year when I decided I would only put down Milo during July.


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

The cheapest way IMO is to not be dead set on any particular brand or product and dont buy anything until very late in the season. Then drive around it your local Lowes, HD, Walmart, etc. They will knock down leftover fertilizer to a borderline ridiculous degree. Those #25-50 bags of fertilizer will cost them a fortune to store for the next 5 months, so they just want them gone. I have purchased bags of scotts, lesco, etc for the price of a cup of coffee. Know what you need for the next season and buy it all at a discount.

In terms of weed control, yes that Prodiamine is likely the best bang for your buck. For post emergence, I like the WeedBGon + Quinclorac for 95% of the weeds I see in my lawn. If you are not blanket spraying, which you shouldnt need to do often, the 32oz bottle of concentrate should last you a while and is not a lot of money. The spectracide product you posted is similar.


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