Definitely the best explanation on the web. And nice to see you haven't become like one of the other lawn gurus pushing their own relabeled products. Though none of there brands do exist here ( the Netherlands) , lawns will need the NPK here as well as in the rest of the world. Please keep up with this good work! Though this clip has been quite long, there are few lawn enthousiast watching your videos and being eager to learn. Thank you!
You may not want to have made this video but it was so well done! Very imformative. When someone asks me what products to use I cringe… “How much time do you have” or “How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go” are the intrusive thoughts in my head and usually it’s right in the middle of my own application which I don’t want the interruption to take my time to explain. I’m very happy you took the time to do this video and explained everything so well!
I really liked your approach here. Help us choose the best fertilizer, given our lawn's particular needs at the time. Of course, the "best" fertilizer, especially for people with big lawns, also has to do with COST. I'd like to see the math about what you are paying for a pound of N,P, or K in each option.
very good point. I'm happy to pay a lot for fertilizers I want to use but inly because I'm working on a space small enough. For the huge lawns cost comes into play for everybody for sure. Perhaps I'll do a cost analysis video sometime. For instance soybean meal is 7% N while Feather meal is 12%. For someone only looking to fertilize with N then feather meal takes you further...but it doesn't give you any P or K. If you need to add those also then extra products need to be applied. Same goes for synthetics. ammonium sulfate is 21-0-0 but if you need to add the other stuff then you have to add SOP or something similar. Costs can get crazy for huge lawns if you aren't being careful.
Thank you for making this video, it was very educational. Please do not stop sharing all of your information. Just because a few people complain…does not negate the rest of us. We value you what you are doing.
Thanks for saying that; it means a lot to hear comments like that. Very few complain so it's not hard to brush off but I always know that many people think about complaining but don't, so if I do hear some complaints I know that there are others that are thinking the same thing. This video though was kinda for me, it's something that I feel needed to be said and it does fit with my values; that's why I decided to make it in this style. Glad to know a lot of people appreciated it.
I get those questions every day. I mowed and fertilized yesterday, but woke up to about 3" of snow this morning so my game is paused in Denver, ha. It'll be gone in no time and back in action.
you're in that frustrating in-between season, I don't miss snow in mid-spring :D People that ask that question almost never understand the complicated answer that could follow. It's like asking what is the best color. LOL
@@TurfMechanic I made a Pinterest page where I link alot of my favorite lawn care videos. I had 50M views of my pins last year and I'm doing my best to push your content and make people aware of your channel!
First spring in new home, I put some fertiliser on my lawn and now I’m into 3 x times a week cutting. The lawn has just gone mental, so now I’m down the rabbit hole of lawn care. Thistle nettle invasion next on my list. I live next to a meadow so it’s going to very hard with seeds blowing on my lawn.
Mix them all together in a cement mixer. One year i just purchased any fertiliser that went on clearance and damaged stock. At the end of the season i mixed them all. The grass went a dark blue green. it was crazy
TKs for the vid. Appreciate everything you say. I for one like to use the Anderson's PGF complete. They have sold me on the prill size. More smaller prills for more complete coverage. It's working for me
I didn't mention prill size at all but I agree, smaller prills make for better coverage, I like that too when I find it, and I also like the pgf complete as a jack of all trades product, I've never bought it but I do mention it occasionally as a viable option for lots of people.
Would you consider compost a fertilizer? I mulched my leaves into my front lawn last year and then put what some compost I had on my front yard about a week ago. I feel like all the worms and things at that up in no time. When I dig into my soil, it’s now really dark. I’ve also heard that starter fert does better about a week after seeding. Let it germinate then starter fert. Not sure if it is true. Once I get my seed up I think I’m going to give the alfalfa meal and kelp a shot.
What this video says has a ton of truth! There is no ‘best’ fertilizer. Timing and your goal or purpose is a lot of it! All that and leaning towards a soil test. Great information!
Thanks for this video, finally I understand a bit ;) what in situation that you have existing lawn, we are in the spring time, but we would also need to add some new seeds - to fill up patches. In that case we should care for new baby grass more than for existing lawn as it can keep up on its own for a while right? so it would be better to use mixture that is in category of "start" fertilizer? what overdose of K would do to existing already rooted lawn?
Great info. Last week I’ve been debating on buying some 10 - 10-10 fertilizer I heard it was a good medium amount to use on my SC Bermuda lawn then I heard someone from one of the box door say that that was enough nitrogen but I do want to green lawn but I wanted to keep my budget intact and just buy one type of fertilizer and use it every other month during enrollment season which your thoughts on a 10 - 10-10?
my three grass types came out of winter all really well this year, and now already it is hard to keep up with the mowing on them - so I was thinking about *not* fertilizing at all this year, or at least not this spring/summer, as in the past years I've gone pretty heavy with a bit of everything ... I just kinda want to see what happens if I let my lawns "sober up" and clean out any buildup of extra things they couldn't use right away; altho I know that added nitrogen doesn't stick around long in the soil(as you said in the video, much of it will gas out into the air, and you can smell it if you have put out a lot) but really only my KBG yard is looking like it might be hungry for some N so far, but the Rye and Fescue grasses seem to be thick and dark(KBG is getting patchy color, but still growing fast atm) ...so what if I just let things go for a season? and then later finally have some soil tests done to see what I actually am lacking or what I have too much of trapped in the soil that my lawn just can't use? but yeah, I get those questions from the walkers by - "is that some special grass seed you grow or something?" or "you must use a lot of chemicals to get it looking like that" but really the thing I found that works the best to do to my lawn is just to do a really good job at mowing it, which is a heck of a lot easier and quicker to do if you just mow often and not wait until your lawn looks bad before you do it great video btw, or at least I liked it and learned a few things
I've experimented over the last 18 months with not using it because people new to my channel are more likely to keep watching a video when it's not there. As a creator we get see see special stats on the backend and it's clear that lots of 1st time viewers to the channel don't watch past that logo and jingle. I like it though, and I've been thinking occasionally of ways to bring back a more subtle use of it. I may experiment with a different use of it this spring.
It is an Eley, it's the stand on the ground version and I LOVE it! I've been thinking about making a video about it and their quick connects because they work so well. I haven't figured out my preferred way to do that yet but I am so glad I bought that reel last year.
@@TurfMechanic I moved into my house 3 years ago and had to replace the expandable hose every year. I hate cheap things. This year, I bought a monster hose (made by the glue people) Now, I was looking for a hose reel. I wanted to buy the Liberty metal reel, but some of the reviews said it broke within a year. That's when I stumbled across Eley. Everyone loved this thing. The model I bought was only $20.00 more than the Liberty (which was 180.00). I don't mind spending top dollar, but it has to last. Then, I looked down the rabbit hole of their accessories. When I saw the hose guide I thought these people get it. I bought the hose guide, wall mount reel, the hand sprayer with 3 attachments and the quick disconnects. It was a lot of $$$$, but I hate poorly made things. You know how you buy a car and now that's all you see. I was like, TurfMechanic has an Eley! Yes, you should do a video it.
thats a problem that lots of people underestimate when they only look for the cheapest fertilizer options. I agree but it wasn't something I wanted to discuss in the video because it's a touchy subject and better suited to a dedicated video.
I don't understand the science enough to say definitely yes but I believe synthetic fertilizers lower the quality of top soil over time. When a lawn (or farm/garden) only uses synthetics then over time they seem to require more synthetics to maintain the status quo without declining. When I use natural sources over a long time the quality of the lawn (and our garden) slowly improves and I have noticed I need to use less fertilizer overall season over season.
Depends on your goal. If you are using it as a supplement or a top-dressing then as much and often as you want since it's not possible to burn. Using it as a Nitrogen source as the goal, then an entire 40 lb bag spread over 1k sqft would give you 1lb of nitrogen. 20 lbs of product would be 1/2 lb nitrogen per 1000 square feet. A lot has to do with your goals.
Actually, your neighbors lawn looks a little better than yours. The one right beside your house. What does he do to his lawn. Btw lol, your answer to your title is great. Thanks for sharing this, even though you didn't want to.
She has a mostly warm season grass mixed with some fescue and weeds. It looks really good on mondays and tuesdays just before it gets mowed on Wednesday mornings (they use a gardener service). The Kikuyu over there looks pretty rough on wednesday afternoons and Thursdays because it is scaled compared to its thick thatch layer that hasn't been thinned out. My side lawn next to her's has been scalped for the past month during a lawn leveling project. That video will be out in less than a week. As of today (not the visual in this video) the KBG in my side lawn is a lot taller and far more vibrant looking. It's just part of the process of scalping and leveling. I show it all, the good and the bad in my videos. I think it helps people learn more and better understand expectations.
there's some truth to that IMO but many lawns are very thin coming out of winter so the extra fertilizer can help thicken them up paster to cover as much dirt as possible before temps get high. It's not so cut and dry. I like giving fert/top dressing material in early spring because I like to core aerate in early spring. This gives me a great opportunity to push goodies into the soil profile and to incrementally increase my organic matter content and CEC. if you need to thicken up grass however then synthetics come into play because they work in cooler soil than organics or urea.
yeah, pretty much. It's a biosolid, which means it's basically the processed excrement of the great people of Milwaukie. That's why it smells so GREAT! :D
Definitely the best explanation on the web. And nice to see you haven't become like one of the other lawn gurus pushing their own relabeled products. Though none of there brands do exist here ( the Netherlands) , lawns will need the NPK here as well as in the rest of the world. Please keep up with this good work! Though this clip has been quite long, there are few lawn enthousiast watching your videos and being eager to learn. Thank you!
You may not want to have made this video but it was so well done! Very imformative. When someone asks me what products to use I cringe… “How much time do you have” or “How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go” are the intrusive thoughts in my head and usually it’s right in the middle of my own application which I don’t want the interruption to take my time to explain. I’m very happy you took the time to do this video and explained everything so well!
EB Stone makes a lawn food in ganular form. I’ve been using it for about 3 years with great results and it’s organic so it’s safe for kids and dogs.
My local store sells lots of eb stone products but not the lawn food. I'll definitely ask them if they can stock it. Thanks for the comment.
I really liked your approach here. Help us choose the best fertilizer, given our lawn's particular needs at the time. Of course, the "best" fertilizer, especially for people with big lawns, also has to do with COST. I'd like to see the math about what you are paying for a pound of N,P, or K in each option.
very good point. I'm happy to pay a lot for fertilizers I want to use but inly because I'm working on a space small enough. For the huge lawns cost comes into play for everybody for sure. Perhaps I'll do a cost analysis video sometime. For instance soybean meal is 7% N while Feather meal is 12%. For someone only looking to fertilize with N then feather meal takes you further...but it doesn't give you any P or K. If you need to add those also then extra products need to be applied. Same goes for synthetics. ammonium sulfate is 21-0-0 but if you need to add the other stuff then you have to add SOP or something similar. Costs can get crazy for huge lawns if you aren't being careful.
Thank you for making this video, it was very educational. Please do not stop sharing all of your information. Just because a few people complain…does not negate the rest of us. We value you what you are doing.
Thanks for saying that; it means a lot to hear comments like that. Very few complain so it's not hard to brush off but I always know that many people think about complaining but don't, so if I do hear some complaints I know that there are others that are thinking the same thing. This video though was kinda for me, it's something that I feel needed to be said and it does fit with my values; that's why I decided to make it in this style. Glad to know a lot of people appreciated it.
I get those questions every day. I mowed and fertilized yesterday, but woke up to about 3" of snow this morning so my game is paused in Denver, ha. It'll be gone in no time and back in action.
you're in that frustrating in-between season, I don't miss snow in mid-spring :D People that ask that question almost never understand the complicated answer that could follow. It's like asking what is the best color. LOL
@@TurfMechanic I made a Pinterest page where I link alot of my favorite lawn care videos. I had 50M views of my pins last year and I'm doing my best to push your content and make people aware of your channel!
Spring Snow is a fantastic hydrator! Protects from freezing (usually)
First spring in new home, I put some fertiliser on my lawn and now I’m into 3 x times a week cutting. The lawn has just gone mental, so now I’m down the rabbit hole of lawn care. Thistle nettle invasion next on my list. I live next to a meadow so it’s going to very hard with seeds blowing on my lawn.
Mix them all together in a cement mixer.
One year i just purchased any fertiliser that went on clearance and damaged stock. At the end of the season i mixed them all. The grass went a dark blue green. it was crazy
TKs for the vid. Appreciate everything you say. I for one like to use the Anderson's PGF complete. They have sold me on the prill size. More smaller prills for more complete coverage. It's working for me
I didn't mention prill size at all but I agree, smaller prills make for better coverage, I like that too when I find it, and I also like the pgf complete as a jack of all trades product, I've never bought it but I do mention it occasionally as a viable option for lots of people.
Would you consider compost a fertilizer? I mulched my leaves into my front lawn last year and then put what some compost I had on my front yard about a week ago. I feel like all the worms and things at that up in no time. When I dig into my soil, it’s now really dark.
I’ve also heard that starter fert does better about a week after seeding. Let it germinate then starter fert. Not sure if it is true.
Once I get my seed up I think I’m going to give the alfalfa meal and kelp a shot.
When my neighbors ask me what I'm doing to the law, I tell them I'm mowing, watering, and watching Turf Mechanic.
lol, love it!
What this video says has a ton of truth! There is no ‘best’ fertilizer. Timing and your goal or purpose is a lot of it! All that and leaning towards a soil test. Great information!
I've been really glad to see many comments today echoing the tone of this comment. Thanks for adding your thoughts!
Thanks for your informational lawn care videos, you're great 👍 at what you do for we beginners 😊
You did a great job explaining everything, I really enjoyed. Thank you. Keep doing a good work. I will follow you.
Thanks for this video, finally I understand a bit ;) what in situation that you have existing lawn, we are in the spring time, but we would also need to add some new seeds - to fill up patches. In that case we should care for new baby grass more than for existing lawn as it can keep up on its own for a while right? so it would be better to use mixture that is in category of "start" fertilizer? what overdose of K would do to existing already rooted lawn?
Great info. Last week I’ve been debating on buying some 10 - 10-10 fertilizer I heard it was a good medium amount to use on my SC Bermuda lawn then I heard someone from one of the box door say that that was enough nitrogen but I do want to green lawn but I wanted to keep my budget intact and just buy one type of fertilizer and use it every other month during enrollment season which your thoughts on a 10 - 10-10?
my three grass types came out of winter all really well this year, and now already it is hard to keep up with the mowing on them - so I was thinking about *not* fertilizing at all this year, or at least not this spring/summer, as in the past years I've gone pretty heavy with a bit of everything ... I just kinda want to see what happens if I let my lawns "sober up" and clean out any buildup of extra things they couldn't use right away; altho I know that added nitrogen doesn't stick around long in the soil(as you said in the video, much of it will gas out into the air, and you can smell it if you have put out a lot) but really only my KBG yard is looking like it might be hungry for some N so far, but the Rye and Fescue grasses seem to be thick and dark(KBG is getting patchy color, but still growing fast atm) ...so what if I just let things go for a season? and then later finally have some soil tests done to see what I actually am lacking or what I have too much of trapped in the soil that my lawn just can't use?
but yeah, I get those questions from the walkers by - "is that some special grass seed you grow or something?" or "you must use a lot of chemicals to get it looking like that" but really the thing I found that works the best to do to my lawn is just to do a really good job at mowing it, which is a heck of a lot easier and quicker to do if you just mow often and not wait until your lawn looks bad before you do it
great video btw, or at least I liked it and learned a few things
Like & sub! Thanks for being so kind and helping me in the store with my “nut grass” problem!
Awesome! 😎 I never tire of talking to people about this stuff 😁
Brian, what happened to opening your videos with your logo and jingle? Missing it in your latest videos. Keep up the good work!
I've experimented over the last 18 months with not using it because people new to my channel are more likely to keep watching a video when it's not there. As a creator we get see see special stats on the backend and it's clear that lots of 1st time viewers to the channel don't watch past that logo and jingle. I like it though, and I've been thinking occasionally of ways to bring back a more subtle use of it. I may experiment with a different use of it this spring.
Is that an Eley! I just bought one, can't wait to hang it up!
It is an Eley, it's the stand on the ground version and I LOVE it! I've been thinking about making a video about it and their quick connects because they work so well. I haven't figured out my preferred way to do that yet but I am so glad I bought that reel last year.
@@TurfMechanic I moved into my house 3 years ago and had to replace the expandable hose every year. I hate cheap things. This year, I bought a monster hose (made by the glue people) Now, I was looking for a hose reel. I wanted to buy the Liberty metal reel, but some of the reviews said it broke within a year.
That's when I stumbled across Eley. Everyone loved this thing. The model I bought was only $20.00 more than the Liberty (which was 180.00). I don't mind spending top dollar, but it has to last. Then, I looked down the rabbit hole of their accessories. When I saw the hose guide I thought these people get it. I bought the hose guide, wall mount reel, the hand sprayer with 3 attachments and the quick disconnects. It was a lot of $$$$, but I hate poorly made things.
You know how you buy a car and now that's all you see. I was like, TurfMechanic has an Eley! Yes, you should do a video it.
One thing to note is that some mainstream fertilizers damage the soil and create a vicious circle of always needing something else.
thats a problem that lots of people underestimate when they only look for the cheapest fertilizer options. I agree but it wasn't something I wanted to discuss in the video because it's a touchy subject and better suited to a dedicated video.
Innova works great!
I'm a fan for sure, easiest way to use soybean meal on the lawn of them all. :)
I almost cant watch….I finally put my first fertilizer down yesterday 😬
you probably put down the best fert of them all! LOL
@@TurfMechanic LOL…interestingly it was actually one of the ferts you talked about. The JG Veri-Green 🙂
Amazing video
Does synthetic fertilizer harm the microbes??
I don't understand the science enough to say definitely yes but I believe synthetic fertilizers lower the quality of top soil over time. When a lawn (or farm/garden) only uses synthetics then over time they seem to require more synthetics to maintain the status quo without declining. When I use natural sources over a long time the quality of the lawn (and our garden) slowly improves and I have noticed I need to use less fertilizer overall season over season.
How much alfalfa meal per 1k sq/ft?
Depends on your goal. If you are using it as a supplement or a top-dressing then as much and often as you want since it's not possible to burn. Using it as a Nitrogen source as the goal, then an entire 40 lb bag spread over 1k sqft would give you 1lb of nitrogen. 20 lbs of product would be 1/2 lb nitrogen per 1000 square feet. A lot has to do with your goals.
Actually, your neighbors lawn looks a little better than yours. The one right beside your house. What does he do to his lawn.
Btw lol, your answer to your title is great. Thanks for sharing this, even though you didn't want to.
She has a mostly warm season grass mixed with some fescue and weeds. It looks really good on mondays and tuesdays just before it gets mowed on Wednesday mornings (they use a gardener service). The Kikuyu over there looks pretty rough on wednesday afternoons and Thursdays because it is scaled compared to its thick thatch layer that hasn't been thinned out. My side lawn next to her's has been scalped for the past month during a lawn leveling project. That video will be out in less than a week. As of today (not the visual in this video) the KBG in my side lawn is a lot taller and far more vibrant looking. It's just part of the process of scalping and leveling. I show it all, the good and the bad in my videos. I think it helps people learn more and better understand expectations.
Is there any truth to the belief that you shouldn't fertilize in early spring because the grass has stored up nutrients over winter?
there's some truth to that IMO but many lawns are very thin coming out of winter so the extra fertilizer can help thicken them up paster to cover as much dirt as possible before temps get high. It's not so cut and dry. I like giving fert/top dressing material in early spring because I like to core aerate in early spring. This gives me a great opportunity to push goodies into the soil profile and to incrementally increase my organic matter content and CEC. if you need to thicken up grass however then synthetics come into play because they work in cooler soil than organics or urea.
Wait your saying organic people poo is in milorganite?
yeah, pretty much. It's a biosolid, which means it's basically the processed excrement of the great people of Milwaukie. That's why it smells so GREAT! :D
@@TurfMechanic😂😂😂
Soooo which one is best?😂
you know, the one that's obviously better than the others :D
I'm still waiting for someone to put dog pee in a bottle and sell it back to homeowners. Apply at 8 oz per thousand
ohh god, i hope that never happens LOL
How much do ya want for that dog pee to cover 12 acre?
I get 20 compliments a day I even get women flirting i got the best lawn in the states by far