Dchall_San_Antonio wrote:gryd, how did they handle that information? Did they seem skeptical?

One of the sales associates did seem a bit skeptical but the other one said she had a couple other customers use it for fertilizer. I had a coupon for 15 dollars off any purchase over 100 dollars. They said that didn't apply to feed but when I told them I was applying it to my lawn they honored it!

MorpheusPA wrote:

Bentface1 wrote:Not to hijack, but what is the better bang for the buck? Cracked corn at $11.79 or SBM at $17.99? Both are 50lb bags. Does the "nutritional value" of SBM to the lawn/soil differ substantially so as to make it a better buy?

SBM for flat feeding value at roughly 7-1-2 (you can argue 7-2-1 and I won't disagree as it's marginal in either case). Corn at 1.65-0.65-0.40 is a terrible feeding, but great for fungal protection and soil transformation.

Cottonseed meal is pretty much identical to SBM and also great for feeding for our Southern folks.

Morph, I'm using organics primarily for soil transformation. Should I just stick with the Soybean Meal or should I throw some cracked corn down as well? Is one better than the other for the soil? FYI - I use lots of Milorganite as well.

gryd wrote:Morph, I'm using organics primarily for soil transformation. Should I just stick with the Soybean Meal or should I throw some cracked corn down as well? Is one better than the other for the soil? FYI - I use lots of Milorganite as well.

Both work. Since you're using (to get 1 pound N) about 15 pounds of soybean per thousand but closer to 60 pounds of corn per thousand, the corn will inject more organic material.

However, the volumes are so high to make an appreciable change that you have to add a lot anyway. A lot of the OM change comes from the grass and increasing bacterial/fungal mass.

Still, it helps. My top-flight year was 1200 pounds per thousand, a lot of that corn. By the time all the feedback processes were accounted for, my OM bounced well over 1%.

For soil transformation, low nitrogen means less stink at large amounts. Corn, sawdust, leaves, and any other high-carbon material is good for that.

Consideration of how much turns to humates eventually is also called for. Most grains are in the 20% conversion range. Leaves are higher. I suspect sawdust is very high but I have no data on that and could very well be wrong. Milorganite is the lowest at about 10% or so.

Thanks Morph! We're getting some much needed rain here so I think I'll drive over to Agway and see what they stock and do some price comparisons!

Same here, it's rained for three hours, one of which so far has been pouring instead of raining. Too bad a lot of that runs off--we're getting it at well over an inch an hour.

I may still have to irrigate, but only to enhance up to an adjusted inch.

So far the rain has been a teaser! I went to Agway and ordered more Soybean Meal. They do have cracked corn in stock so I can purchase that at any time. I do worry that I may attract a lot of birds and give the dog anxiety. That may force me to resort to drastic measures!

gryd wrote:So far the rain has been a teaser! I went to Agway and ordered more Soybean Meal. They do have cracked corn in stock so I can purchase that at any time. I do worry that I may attract a lot of birds and give the dog anxiety. That may force me to resort to drastic measures!

Love that shirt Greg Anytime you want to take a quick trip up the Merritt pkwy, bring your weapon, lots of aquirrels and chipmunks 'roung here!

CTShoreGuy wrote:

gryd wrote:So far the rain has been a teaser! I went to Agway and ordered more Soybean Meal. They do have cracked corn in stock so I can purchase that at any time. I do worry that I may attract a lot of birds and give the dog anxiety. That may force me to resort to drastic measures!

Love that shirt Greg Anytime you want to take a quick trip up the Merritt pkwy, bring your weapon, lots of aquirrels and chipmunks 'roung here!

Thanks Dan! It's a break barrel pellet rifle. I've sent many a squirrel to meet their maker. I draw the line with chipmunks, however. They never bother me much anyway.