I have gotten a few questions about how and what I was going to do this year with spraying ALL my fertilizer apps this year so I figured I would post it here so if anyone else has any questions or suggestions they can put them here.
A little back story, towards the end of last year I was really wanting to do this as I already have a good Sprayer and I already apply stuff at least twice a month. My current stash of fertilizer was getting low and I knew I was going to be needing to stock up again for the coming year. The current fertilizer I was using was a Lebanon NX-PRO Fairway grade fertilizer and was a pretty good fertilizer as it was 22-0-16 and had a very small prill size of SGN 145 and also contained Iron and some Micros and was about 60% slow release. The great thing about this Lebanon fertilizer was that the prill was homogenous, which basically means that the slow release component is the same no matter if you cut or break up the prill, so the slow release isn't effected. But even at that small of a prill size, it still sat on top of my turf for a good week or two before it moved down into the soil, which for me was not good as I use my groomer and catch all my clippings so this really pushed me even more towards the liquid side.
Late last year I started doing some research on the whole topic to see what was actually feasible to do and whether it would be cost effective to actually spray instead of using a granular fertilizer. With my initial searching I was going to use already mixed liquid fertilizer that had a slow release component but that was not economically feasible as the prices were very expensive plus having to pay shipping on top of that, I even inquired at Site One and even though it was a little cheaper it still wasn't viable to go that route.
Enter cheap Urea(46-0-0) and Ammonium Sulfate(21-0-0), these two heavy hitters are both water soluble and provide a big bang for the buck as they can easily be melted down in tap water and sprayed easily, I will get back to these two in a moment. I did a little more research and found that these two can be sprayed fairly easily but require more carrier(water) to be safely applied. Everything I read said to apply with AT LEAST 2-3 gallons of water/K and not to apply more than 1 lb on Nitrogen/K per application as the salts in the fertilizer can dry out the leaf blade and cause temporary browning of the lawn. I also found that after 4 hours of the fertilizer sitting on the leaf it will absorb basically all it can in those 4 hours and then can be rinsed off and into the soil.
![Image]()
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I also stumbled across Nitrogen Stabilizers, which can be added to the mix to help the Urea from volatilization, denitrification and leaching. It basically allows the nitrogen to stay in the soil longer and give a "slow release" effect. This is also the same basic ingredient in UFLEXX and UMAXX fertilizers, if you have heard of them before. I will say that this stuff isn't cheap as you can only buy it in 25 lb buckets but you only need .20-.40 oz. per pound of fertilizer so this bucket will last me 10-15 years
![Image]()
I also needed to add Potassium but I DO NOT need Phosphorus as my recent soil test states that I have plenty in my soil. So I wasn't able to find any Potassium Sulfate (0-0-53*) locally (but I didn't look too hard) but I was able to find it here at Greenway Biotech. It was a little more than what I wanted to pay but I needed it and will buy me some time to hunt some down locally or with in an hour or two drive. I did just recently find it at [IMG=[URL="https://www.pestrong.com/878-sop-sulfate-of-potash-soluble-fertilizer-0-0-52-50-lb.html]Pestrong[/IMG"]SOP 0-0-52 - Where to buy SOP Sulfate of Potash Soluble Fertilizer 0-0-52 - 50 Lb[/URL]] for a little cheaper and I may go this route if I can't source it locally but I would like to get it local to keep the costs down.
![Image]()
The last component to my fertilizer is going to be Iron. I did some extensive research on this too as I wanted to get away from FAS(Ferrous Ammonium Sulfate) and was looking for some chelated iron that would give a more lasting effect in the lawn. I finally decided on DPTA Iron as this looks to be the most suitable chelated iron for my pH level. I may do another write up later about all different types of chelated iron there is and what is suitable for what. DPTA iron will stay stable in soil pH up to 7.0. These types of iron are a lot more expensive than Ferrous Sulfate but will also be more available to the grass for a longer period of time. This is more of a luxury additive and could be omitted if it becomes too cost prohibitive.
![Image]()
Let me wrap this up for now and go over my plan and costs so everyone has a good idea of what's going on. I was going to wait until I actually started using all of this but why not get the info out there and let the great minds we have here go over this.
My plan going forward is to apply 1lb of Urea, AS and PS with 2-4 oz of Iron/1,000 sq/ft(67-0-53) which will give me a little over half a pound of Nitrogen and a half pound of Potassium and I will be adding this when I spray my PGR so every 3 weeks or so I will be applying this to the lawn. I will also be adding the Nitrogen Stabilizer to help lengthen the effects of the Nitrogen. This is all just my base plan and is subject to change depending on the outcomes of my spraying. The one great thing about this plan is I can basically add or subtract anything I want at anytime I want to adjust it to current growing conditions. I also plan to spray in the evenings and water it in the following morning to get at least 4 hours on the leaf surface and to reduce any chance of burning the turf.
![Image]()
COSTS
Urea $15 for 50 lbs @ SiteOne
Ammonium Sulfate $22.55 for 50 lbs @ SiteOne
Potassium Sulfate $45 for 25 lbs @ GreenwayBiotech.com
DPTA Iron $50 for 5 lbs @ Pestrong.com
U-Plus Nitrogen Stabilizer $193* for 25 lbs @ SiteOne
* When I inquired about this product there, they had never heard of it and didn't know exactly what it was and I didn't know exactly how much a bucket of it was going for. After they punched in the item number and brought it up, the guy was like "Is this stuff made of gold!!!" :lol: He said it goes for $300 but said to hang on and did some things on the computer and came back with the price quoted above which was WAY better. I think he gave me the contractors pricing on it which was greatly appreciated đź‘Ť
I have enough Nitrogen to last me a good 2-3 years, the only thing I will need to buy more of is the Potassium Sulfate and Iron so my fertilizer budget is greatly reduced and if I can find the Potassium Sulfate locally it will even bring my cost of application down even more.
Cost per application over 8K of lawn
Urea=$2.40
Ammonium Sulfate=$3.61
Potassium Sulfate=$14.40
Iron=$10.00
U-Plus=$1.53
TOTAL=$31.94
This is the first time I have actually added everything up and it seems a little high but it's still way cheaper than going with pre packaged liquids and If I can source my Potassium Sulfate locally it will dramatically cut down on the costs and as you can see also is that even with the initial high cost of the U-Plus, it's price per application is relatively low. I understand that what I am doing is not for everyone but I am always willing to try something new that may give me an edge and take it to the next level.
I'm sure I left something out or forgot to mention something but If I remember I will just add it to the thread đź‘Ť
UPDATE JUNE 2023
I've been asked by a few members whether I still use all this stuff or not so I figured I would update the first post here. I'm just going to update here and leave the original post even though I know some of the links probably don't work anymore.
Since I posted this, I have torn out my Tifway 419 and upgraded to TifGrand which for the most part has been amazing as it is much easier to keep mowed low and has a nice dark green color. Here is what I am currently spraying:
Ammonium Sulfate- I was originally going to omit this from my regiment as it was very temperamental and would cause leaf tip burn fairly easily but due to a recent discovery that my soil is very Sulfur deficient, I've incorporated it back into my program for the foreseeable future.
Urea- I'm always going to have this on hand as it is very versatile and pretty safe to use.
Main Event Iron- This is a lot more cost effective to use over the other chelated irons out there and seems to do a good job and is also basically the same thing as Feature as they are basically interchangeable. I have held off using this so far this year as my soil tests show that my Iron levels are more than sufficient.
PGR(T-Nex & Anuew) I also have Paclo but not applying that this year- Last year I was using a combination of T-nex/Anuew/Paclo and getting about 300 GDD out of the mix which was nice but I feel like the Paclo really shuts the grass down so I have only been using T-nex and Anuew so far this year.
Sili-K- I bought this stuff several years ago on a whim as I wanted to see if it would help with the lawn or not. It's basically Potassium and Silicon. The Silicon is suppose to help strengthen and stiffen the leaf blades, which it does seem to do as the lawn seem a little stiffer and not as soft after using it. I had to buy it directly from the manufacturer in a 2X2.5 gallon pack. I still have one jug left and probably won't be buying this again as it's not worth the cost.
Potassium Nitrate- This is the most cost effective Potassium source I have been able to find that is water soluble and you get a little extra Nitrogen with it too.
Bifen- Still using this for bug control in the lawn but may look into something different once I run out of it, seems to still work quite well but want to change my AI as I have been using this stuff for around a decade or more.
Imidacloprid- Still using this for grub and sub surface bug control but will switch over to Coragen(Chlorantraniliprole) when my supply is done.
Tournament Ready/Medalist- I am using up the last of my Tournament Ready that I bought years ago and will be switching over to Medalist as it is a more cost effective Wetting Agent and will hopefully work just as good as I don't need all the "extras" in TR as it's more designed for putting greens than the Tee Box/Fairway HOC I keep my lawn at.
Lesco U-Plus- I have to say that this Nitrogen Stabilizer has not impressed me at all as I have not seen any difference with using it verses not using it, so I think the story is still out on it, I will probably keep messing around with it in the future to see if there is a noticeable difference with or without it.
I have also used some Soluble 20-20-20 from Southern AG because of a recommendation from a soil test. I would also like to add that if you are planning to use a spraying program, you are going to need to do some leg work on your own to source as much of this stuff as possible locally or purchase enough to get free shipping as the shipping costs is what is going to kill you. This can be a very cost effective way of applying stuff to your lawn and you can customize it to fit your needs which is why it is so compelling to me at least. If there is anything else you would like me to add or expand on please let me know and I will either add it here or make a new post about it.
A little back story, towards the end of last year I was really wanting to do this as I already have a good Sprayer and I already apply stuff at least twice a month. My current stash of fertilizer was getting low and I knew I was going to be needing to stock up again for the coming year. The current fertilizer I was using was a Lebanon NX-PRO Fairway grade fertilizer and was a pretty good fertilizer as it was 22-0-16 and had a very small prill size of SGN 145 and also contained Iron and some Micros and was about 60% slow release. The great thing about this Lebanon fertilizer was that the prill was homogenous, which basically means that the slow release component is the same no matter if you cut or break up the prill, so the slow release isn't effected. But even at that small of a prill size, it still sat on top of my turf for a good week or two before it moved down into the soil, which for me was not good as I use my groomer and catch all my clippings so this really pushed me even more towards the liquid side.
Late last year I started doing some research on the whole topic to see what was actually feasible to do and whether it would be cost effective to actually spray instead of using a granular fertilizer. With my initial searching I was going to use already mixed liquid fertilizer that had a slow release component but that was not economically feasible as the prices were very expensive plus having to pay shipping on top of that, I even inquired at Site One and even though it was a little cheaper it still wasn't viable to go that route.
Enter cheap Urea(46-0-0) and Ammonium Sulfate(21-0-0), these two heavy hitters are both water soluble and provide a big bang for the buck as they can easily be melted down in tap water and sprayed easily, I will get back to these two in a moment. I did a little more research and found that these two can be sprayed fairly easily but require more carrier(water) to be safely applied. Everything I read said to apply with AT LEAST 2-3 gallons of water/K and not to apply more than 1 lb on Nitrogen/K per application as the salts in the fertilizer can dry out the leaf blade and cause temporary browning of the lawn. I also found that after 4 hours of the fertilizer sitting on the leaf it will absorb basically all it can in those 4 hours and then can be rinsed off and into the soil.
I also stumbled across Nitrogen Stabilizers, which can be added to the mix to help the Urea from volatilization, denitrification and leaching. It basically allows the nitrogen to stay in the soil longer and give a "slow release" effect. This is also the same basic ingredient in UFLEXX and UMAXX fertilizers, if you have heard of them before. I will say that this stuff isn't cheap as you can only buy it in 25 lb buckets but you only need .20-.40 oz. per pound of fertilizer so this bucket will last me 10-15 years
I also needed to add Potassium but I DO NOT need Phosphorus as my recent soil test states that I have plenty in my soil. So I wasn't able to find any Potassium Sulfate (0-0-53*) locally (but I didn't look too hard) but I was able to find it here at Greenway Biotech. It was a little more than what I wanted to pay but I needed it and will buy me some time to hunt some down locally or with in an hour or two drive. I did just recently find it at [IMG=[URL="https://www.pestrong.com/878-sop-sulfate-of-potash-soluble-fertilizer-0-0-52-50-lb.html]Pestrong[/IMG"]SOP 0-0-52 - Where to buy SOP Sulfate of Potash Soluble Fertilizer 0-0-52 - 50 Lb[/URL]] for a little cheaper and I may go this route if I can't source it locally but I would like to get it local to keep the costs down.
The last component to my fertilizer is going to be Iron. I did some extensive research on this too as I wanted to get away from FAS(Ferrous Ammonium Sulfate) and was looking for some chelated iron that would give a more lasting effect in the lawn. I finally decided on DPTA Iron as this looks to be the most suitable chelated iron for my pH level. I may do another write up later about all different types of chelated iron there is and what is suitable for what. DPTA iron will stay stable in soil pH up to 7.0. These types of iron are a lot more expensive than Ferrous Sulfate but will also be more available to the grass for a longer period of time. This is more of a luxury additive and could be omitted if it becomes too cost prohibitive.
Let me wrap this up for now and go over my plan and costs so everyone has a good idea of what's going on. I was going to wait until I actually started using all of this but why not get the info out there and let the great minds we have here go over this.
My plan going forward is to apply 1lb of Urea, AS and PS with 2-4 oz of Iron/1,000 sq/ft(67-0-53) which will give me a little over half a pound of Nitrogen and a half pound of Potassium and I will be adding this when I spray my PGR so every 3 weeks or so I will be applying this to the lawn. I will also be adding the Nitrogen Stabilizer to help lengthen the effects of the Nitrogen. This is all just my base plan and is subject to change depending on the outcomes of my spraying. The one great thing about this plan is I can basically add or subtract anything I want at anytime I want to adjust it to current growing conditions. I also plan to spray in the evenings and water it in the following morning to get at least 4 hours on the leaf surface and to reduce any chance of burning the turf.
COSTS
Urea $15 for 50 lbs @ SiteOne
Ammonium Sulfate $22.55 for 50 lbs @ SiteOne
Potassium Sulfate $45 for 25 lbs @ GreenwayBiotech.com
DPTA Iron $50 for 5 lbs @ Pestrong.com
U-Plus Nitrogen Stabilizer $193* for 25 lbs @ SiteOne
* When I inquired about this product there, they had never heard of it and didn't know exactly what it was and I didn't know exactly how much a bucket of it was going for. After they punched in the item number and brought it up, the guy was like "Is this stuff made of gold!!!" :lol: He said it goes for $300 but said to hang on and did some things on the computer and came back with the price quoted above which was WAY better. I think he gave me the contractors pricing on it which was greatly appreciated đź‘Ť
I have enough Nitrogen to last me a good 2-3 years, the only thing I will need to buy more of is the Potassium Sulfate and Iron so my fertilizer budget is greatly reduced and if I can find the Potassium Sulfate locally it will even bring my cost of application down even more.
Cost per application over 8K of lawn
Urea=$2.40
Ammonium Sulfate=$3.61
Potassium Sulfate=$14.40
Iron=$10.00
U-Plus=$1.53
TOTAL=$31.94
This is the first time I have actually added everything up and it seems a little high but it's still way cheaper than going with pre packaged liquids and If I can source my Potassium Sulfate locally it will dramatically cut down on the costs and as you can see also is that even with the initial high cost of the U-Plus, it's price per application is relatively low. I understand that what I am doing is not for everyone but I am always willing to try something new that may give me an edge and take it to the next level.
I'm sure I left something out or forgot to mention something but If I remember I will just add it to the thread đź‘Ť
UPDATE JUNE 2023
I've been asked by a few members whether I still use all this stuff or not so I figured I would update the first post here. I'm just going to update here and leave the original post even though I know some of the links probably don't work anymore.
Since I posted this, I have torn out my Tifway 419 and upgraded to TifGrand which for the most part has been amazing as it is much easier to keep mowed low and has a nice dark green color. Here is what I am currently spraying:
Ammonium Sulfate- I was originally going to omit this from my regiment as it was very temperamental and would cause leaf tip burn fairly easily but due to a recent discovery that my soil is very Sulfur deficient, I've incorporated it back into my program for the foreseeable future.
Urea- I'm always going to have this on hand as it is very versatile and pretty safe to use.
Main Event Iron- This is a lot more cost effective to use over the other chelated irons out there and seems to do a good job and is also basically the same thing as Feature as they are basically interchangeable. I have held off using this so far this year as my soil tests show that my Iron levels are more than sufficient.
PGR(T-Nex & Anuew) I also have Paclo but not applying that this year- Last year I was using a combination of T-nex/Anuew/Paclo and getting about 300 GDD out of the mix which was nice but I feel like the Paclo really shuts the grass down so I have only been using T-nex and Anuew so far this year.
Sili-K- I bought this stuff several years ago on a whim as I wanted to see if it would help with the lawn or not. It's basically Potassium and Silicon. The Silicon is suppose to help strengthen and stiffen the leaf blades, which it does seem to do as the lawn seem a little stiffer and not as soft after using it. I had to buy it directly from the manufacturer in a 2X2.5 gallon pack. I still have one jug left and probably won't be buying this again as it's not worth the cost.
Potassium Nitrate- This is the most cost effective Potassium source I have been able to find that is water soluble and you get a little extra Nitrogen with it too.
Bifen- Still using this for bug control in the lawn but may look into something different once I run out of it, seems to still work quite well but want to change my AI as I have been using this stuff for around a decade or more.
Imidacloprid- Still using this for grub and sub surface bug control but will switch over to Coragen(Chlorantraniliprole) when my supply is done.
Tournament Ready/Medalist- I am using up the last of my Tournament Ready that I bought years ago and will be switching over to Medalist as it is a more cost effective Wetting Agent and will hopefully work just as good as I don't need all the "extras" in TR as it's more designed for putting greens than the Tee Box/Fairway HOC I keep my lawn at.
Lesco U-Plus- I have to say that this Nitrogen Stabilizer has not impressed me at all as I have not seen any difference with using it verses not using it, so I think the story is still out on it, I will probably keep messing around with it in the future to see if there is a noticeable difference with or without it.
I have also used some Soluble 20-20-20 from Southern AG because of a recommendation from a soil test. I would also like to add that if you are planning to use a spraying program, you are going to need to do some leg work on your own to source as much of this stuff as possible locally or purchase enough to get free shipping as the shipping costs is what is going to kill you. This can be a very cost effective way of applying stuff to your lawn and you can customize it to fit your needs which is why it is so compelling to me at least. If there is anything else you would like me to add or expand on please let me know and I will either add it here or make a new post about it.
