My yard is small so I'll need to store my mixtures. Any advice on containers, temperatures, time it can be stored?

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Milk jugs (plastic) work well. I store in the garage, which is wildly fluctuating on temperature, but I wouldn't allow it to freeze. Time...I have no idea. I've never found the maximum on that!

I got a 'fridge in the garage, you think if I keep it in there it'll last a couple of years?

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If you want to fridge store it, that's cool (!). It's certainly not going to hurt.

The humic acid doesn't decay, so that's not an issue. Kelp does, but it still works. My kelp right now is kind of smelly because I usually re-mix before completely done with the old stuff, and I haven't cleaned the plastic bottle I use in ages. I really should do that, I suppose.

The soil conditioner has so much soap in it that I don't think it can grow bacteria at all. Certainly I've stored over the winter with no issues.

Five drops of common household bleach per gallon will keep almost anything sterile. That's not enough to worry about when applying it to your lawn, either.

Is it OK if I accidentally put down 5 ounces of the Kelp Help on 1,000 sq. ft.?

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Yup just water it in good.

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+0.99 Simpson.

I tend to exceed the recommended amounts by...well, quite a bit. Suffice to say that five per K won't hurt, but I'd water it off the grass and into the soil.

.01 to Morph wash it off any plants and into the soil.

MORPH do you keep your kelp and humatic in the same jug?

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Oh good. I let my mind wander what seemed like a second. I looked down and was already almost out. I always water my yard with my hose and daydream. This time I forgot this wasn't a normal watering session. Bwah!! I've never had a yard look this!

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simpson wrote:.01 to Morph wash it off any plants and into the soil.

MORPH do you keep your kelp and humatic in the same jug?

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Yes and no.

Yes because I have an old milk jug of half humic acid and half kelp. I tend to use that on the lawn.

No because I also have separate old containers (which used to hold Nature's Magic), one of which has kelp and the other has humic acid. I sometimes use that on the lawn, more often on the gardens where I mostly need the kelp.

So all things considered, I can have 2 gallons of kelp, 2 gallons of humic acid, and 1 gallon of mixed concentrate around at all times. Given how much I pour on everything, that doesn't last long.

Oh good. I let my mind wander what seemed like a second. I looked down and was already almost out. I always water my yard with my hose and daydream. This time I forgot this wasn't a normal watering session. Bwah!! I've never had a yard look this!

No harm, no foul. I'm guessing results have been good with the stuff?

Morpheus, how much and how often are you applying?

Um, a lot and very often...

OK, I don't recommend this for most people, but my soil biology's way up to it. I drop about 4 ounces per week of each (kelp, HA, conditioner) on average. More right before large rainstorms, so I've scheduled Saturday for another huge drop as we're expected to get major rainfall Sunday.

Absolutely! I've done the Milorganite, Kelp Help, and Soil Conditioner. Your analysis of my soil test was prob. 4 months ago, so the soil likely isn't dramatically different, but the grass looks unbelievable. I'm near Houston, so everyone's lawn's are hurting. I really don't see how my Bermuda could look any better. All your info. has been the key!

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I noticed my local hardware store has corn gluten meal. I've read up on it some and was thinking I might start using it next year. Whaddya think?

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Good! In four months soil can change pretty nicely with resource additions, so I'm sure any Andy and I suggested are helping a lot by now. Even calcitic lime should be working well by this point, and that's one of the slowest.

Kelp seems to help protect against drought and temperatures (hot and cold) although research results are mixed on that point. It certainly encourages bacteria and fungi. The humic acid helps retain a little water in the soil via electrostatic attraction, and definitely feeds fungi (both of those can be proven easily). The soil conditioner breaks up the soil, letting the kelp, HA, any rain you're getting, irrigation, and air into the mix.

It takes a while, but the three-pronged attack does help a lot.

I noticed my local hardware store has corn gluten meal. I've read up on it some and was thinking I might start using it next year. Whaddya think?

As a feeding it can't be beat at 9-0-0 (give or take) if the price is right. Around here, it isn't right and I use soybean meal instead (7-1-2 or so) because the price per unit of nitrogen is cheaper.

As a pre-emergent reports vary widely, and most around here don't seem to care for it. For that reason, I've never tried it. Plus the expense in my area, so I just use Guardrail.

I store my Soil Conditioner in a 1 gallon metal paint can with lid (I bought a new one at HD). I store my Kelp Help in a 2 gallon plastic paint bucket with lid (also bought at home depot). The Kelp Help with Humates stinks by now, but I store it all inside my house, and the lids on the cans seems to do just fine at confining the odor.

jltmaxx wrote:I noticed my local hardware store has corn gluten meal. I've read up on it some and was thinking I might start using it next year. Whaddya think?

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You might want to see if you can get cotton seed mill. It is around 13 or so for a 50 pound bag here in Dallas. SBM runs 16. I alternate among cotton seed meal, SBM, alfalfa pellets, and cracked corn.

I am already planning on continuing to drop Milorganite through November this year and then in the spring all the way up to the reno next year. Would it also be beneficial to start putting down kelp help on a regular basis next spring and continuing leading up to a planned 2012 reno?

It certainly won't hurt...and probably will help a little. The effects are slow and minor at first, but build over time.