Spring apps of straight urea vs. Pre-m combo products

[lorenzo piedra]

Let's just say for this cost comparison that a pre-m combo product costs $20/bag and the bag covers 12.5K sq ft and a bag of urea is $10 and covers 23Ksqft.

Cost per 1k sq ft

Pre-m combo=$1.60

Straight urea at a rate of 1/2 lb of N (46K per bag)=$0.22

Any questions?

[lorenzo piedra]

Price for two split apps of pre-m=$3.20 per 1k sq ft

Price for two split apps of 1/2 lb urea=$0.44 per 1k sq ft

Saving per 1k sq ft=$2.76

Savings when maintaining 1 million sq ft of turf= $2760.00 plus labor savings of transporting and handling 75% less physical product.

Any questions?

[Woody]

Kaiser Stone:

I'm not trying to blow smoke here. Aren't you a fan of applying a bit of phosphorus in the spring as well to enhance root growth?

Also, you seem adverse to using pre-em's, choosing to control weeds post emergent to provide a better growing environment for grass. I'm intrigued, because I have some places that could use a good overseeding of a snow mold resistant KBG (they have irrigation, so a springtime overseed is a possibility).

So your methods involve developing a strong, healthy turf (which will in and of itself be quite resistant to weed infestation if properly maintained), and dealing with post emergent weeds on an as-needed basis. Let me ask, when dealing with weeds on such properties, do you just use a backpack sprayer and spot-spray as needed, rather than spraying down the whole turf? This would seem to follow, as it would take less material, and on some occassions, less time.

Woody

[ohreallythanks]

when i can find a weed in my lawn..i just pluck it out...or spot spray to test the spray......i will be checking out this urea thing..haven't hurd of it yet..thx ...i currently do the split pre-e treatment

[lorenzo piedra]

The June application is broadcast liquid low volume mixed in 15 gal batches.

The fertilizer is water soluble and contains equal parts of N, P, K.

If you have never applied "Miracle Grow" in June you are not going to believe how this application keeps the turf green even through periods of summer drought stress.

The two granular urea hits push the turf to regenerate and when mowed at 2.5 inches the weed seeds (esp. crab) are going to be suppressed somewhat in that lush canopy.

What you have is three applications for the price of much less than one Pre-M application.


PS you could just make app 3 a 1/2 lb of "K" of 5-10-31w/10%FE and spot spray for weeds.

So if a bag of the above is $11 and covers 32K your fert cost for round 3 would be $0.35 per 1k sq ft.

Total cost of fert for 3 rounds is $0.79 per 1k sq ft.

[ohreallythanks]

i see the urea as only a supplement to my pre-em if needed.....guess i need to test it to see how long it will green b4 another treatment is needed

[Ric]

i see the urea as only a supplement to my pre-em if needed.....guess i need to test it to see how long it will green b4 another treatment is needed

Oh Rightly

I believe you are missing the whole point of Professors Stones Post. He is simple pointing out the cost factor of not using Pre-emerge herbicide. Whether you use straight urea or a complete blend is not really the issue here. It is the lack of a root pruning chemical that will make up the difference of lack of a complete blend of Fertilizer. Turf Uses much more Nitrogen than any other element and in his clay soil he doesn't need to apply a great amount of those other elements. Clay soil will hold Chemical better than any other soil.

Now between the lines you should read. If you know what you are doing and do it at the right time it will cost you less for better results. Post Emerge spot treatments will not up set natures balance as great as Broadcast pre-emerge treatments. Once you start down the excessive chemical application road it throw Mother nature out of balance further and further. This requires more and more chemicals and cycle keeps going on and on.

Professor Stone has done a great job of self educating himself to proper agronomic practices. He doesn't let the Chemical Manufacture over sell him Chemicals and get him in trouble with the Tree Huggers. Remember Lesco or every you use is in business to SELL chemicals. They are going to do just that, SELL whether you need it or not.

[ohreallythanks]

thanks cir ric ...i'm sure i missed the point...thats why i came back with what i found so that hopefully cir would straigthen me out!! thx cir ric sa lot...

[GreenUtah]

ahhhh...in a perfect world where everyone waters and mows correctly and no one ever, never ramp edges their turf for that "pillow" look. Pre-M is nothing more than an insurance policy for the commercial sprayer who has to leave the other two thirds of cultural practice to a homeowner/property manager that has very little interest in following your agronomic advice. So the question now goes beyond the cost of raw materials when you compare the idea of putting out fires to not letting them start in the first place.