Lawn Fertilizer rip off and getting worse by the year.

Christ I must be getting old because I seem to be posting here in the rant forum an awful lot lately (get off my grass:-)
We bought our home in 1993 and at that time Lawn Fertilizer came in bags of 24 Kg or 12Kg and the pellets were the size of BB's if not just a bit bigger.

The bags back then said to set your rotary spreader to 4 for good coverage and so I did and I got the good coverage and a nice green healthy lawn as promised.

Over the years they have shrunk the bags almost every two years to the point now the biggest bag is 12 Kg and the smaller bags are 6 Kg.

The pellets now are miniscule yet on the bag they say to set your rotary spreader to setting 8 now which would cause a major need for an Olympic sprinter to cover your lawn before all the Fertilizer is gone.

So today without much fanfare I bought a 12 Kg bag and a 6 Kg bag and thought I was good to go.

For the first time in 20 years of Fertilizing my grass I came up short and big time short too.
I had to go out and buy another 6Kg bag and then I just made it.

Total cost for us was about $80.00 after tax......this is just nuts.

The brand I bought was CIL Golf Green and I looked at the Scotts but their smaller bags are now only 5.75Kg's.

We love our yard and love our grass and plants but there is going to be a cut off time in the near future if things keep shrinking if you will.

Greedy bastards I say what do you folks think?

Regards, Iwinder

I feel you, I am only a new home owner but i went to get weed prevention and grass patching seed, for the weeds i basically have to make a small mountain of the stuff on the weeded area and the seed .... there are more seeds mixed in then there is dirt. Plus it all cost me a chunk. Thinking getting astro turf would just be easier.

Originally posted by MrAoxx
I feel you, I am only a new home owner but i went to get weed prevention and grass patching seed, for the weeds i basically have to make a small mountain of the stuff on the weeded area and the seed .... there are more seeds mixed in then there is dirt. Plus it all cost me a chunk. Thinking getting astro turf would just be easier.

Astro turf might just be the ticket, thing is though I like my grass and I love the smell of it when I cut it.

But as I said above it might just be time to think outside the box and your suggestion has great merit.

Your post is much appreciated.

Regards, Iwinder

reply to post by Iwinder


I wish my biggest problem was grass.

You could paint the yard green like some people in the arid states do. Saves on water, fertilizer, labor, etc. But you don't get the new mown lawn smell. I know that's not what you want to do. Just tossing it out there.

Originally posted by Magister
You could paint the yard green like some people in the arid states do. Saves on water, fertilizer, labor, etc. But you don't get the new mown lawn smell. I know that's not what you want to do. Just tossing it out there.

That is a possibility but our lives are simple here, we love to play in the dirt and love to see the results at the end of spring.

I am unemployable and the yard is my sanity sanctuary if you will, the wife just loves the flowers and tends to them daily.

I hate to think we might have to give this up due to costs and taxes and "shrinkage of Fertilizer packages"

Regards, Iwinder

Try calling your local Zoo, or check out a chicken, turkey or dairy farmer in your area. They usually have poo for cheap or in some cases free. Two tips. Transport in open bed pickup truck. Take last years, in the case of the farm animals. This years will still be fragrant. and strong enough to burn the lawn rather than benefit it. Spread, water and then mow your heart out.

Have you considered composting?

I know you don't want to cover your lawn with compost - but you could make compost tea.. I don't do it myself (my lawn is luxurious without fertilizer!) but I talk with folks at the co-op who highly recommend it. I use compost and tea for my vegetable garden, it's organic and works very well.

Vote with your wallet!

on a similiar topic...
have you noticed that the 'potting soil' they sell is just ground up wood?
there's almost no dirt in it!

I'd switch to organic fertilizer.

Better for the lawn...better for the soil, better for the environment.
The soil needs nutrients, and other things that certain fertilizer companies don't provide.
Feeding the lawn is only part of the equation.
The soil can be dead even if your grass is green.


ETA
As a plus, we actually fertilize less.
I think Scotts recommends 4x a year.......pretty sure we only do 3 times....
Also, we use a mulching mower and cut high to keep the soil cooler and moister, cuts down weeds and looks better.

reply to post by Iwinder


Do you have access to seaweed? Seaweed has all the elements necessary for most plant nutrition, and all in the right proportion, right down to the trace elements (molybdenum, boron, etc.) If so, you can let the seaweed bake in the sun until dry and then crush it; I use six ten-lb. weights on a barbell to roll across the dried seaweed to break it up. It won't crush up into powder, but a seaweed meal. I mix it 5:1 by volume water:seaweed meal to make my own miracle grow. From there, you could use a hose broadcaster to spread it over your lawn (or garden!)

I've had occasion to test various types of seaweed both with a home quantative test and with an accredited lab, and other than turtle grass, most seaweed seems to be composed of the same elements in the same ratio Turtle grass tests out higher in nitrogen -- otherwise pretty much the same.

Originally posted by Iamschist
Try calling your local Zoo, or check out a chicken, turkey or dairy farmer in your area. They usually have poo for cheap or in some cases free. Two tips. Transport in open bed pickup truck. Take last years, in the case of the farm animals. This years will still be fragrant. and strong enough to burn the lawn rather than benefit it.

Spread, water and then mow your heart out.

I am getting lots of positive feedback and I am absorbing it all!.
Great idea, we don't have zoo's around here but there are some farms.

I seen the bagged Manure for sale at the garden centers but it is not cheap and we have a good sized yard.

Good advice on getting year old stuff and not the recent batch.

Thanks,
Regards, Iwinder

Originally posted by TinkerHaus
Have you considered composting?

I know you don't want to cover your lawn with compost - but you could make compost tea.. I don't do it myself (my lawn is luxurious without fertilizer!) but I talk with folks at the co-op who highly recommend it. I use compost and tea for my vegetable garden, it's organic and works very well.

Vote with your wallet!

Thanks for that information above, yes indeed we do compost heavily actually. We don't produce enough each year for the lawn but it all ends up in our plant beds and pots.

The wife says she will look into the compost tea and see what it is all about.

Thanks for adding to the mix here.

Regards, Iwinder

Originally posted by tinhattribunal
on a similiar topic...
have you noticed that the 'potting soil' they sell is just ground up wood?
there's almost no dirt in it!

We certainly have noticed that, we end up picking out a lot of chunks of wood from every bag before using it for our pots.

Those bags have shrunk too, they used to be 25 Litre bags now they are 20 Litre bags.

Also to add the price of the Fertilizer has gone up every year as the size has gone down, same for the bagged soil.

Regards, Iwinder

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
I'd switch to organic fertilizer.

Better for the lawn...better for the soil, better for the environment.
The soil needs nutrients, and other things that certain fertilizer companies don't provide.
Feeding the lawn is only part of the equation.
The soil can be dead even if your grass is green.


ETA
As a plus, we actually fertilize less.
I think Scotts recommends 4x a year.......pretty sure we only do 3 times....
Also, we use a mulching mower and cut high to keep the soil cooler and moister, cuts down weeds and looks better.

edit on Fri May 17 2013 by DontTreadOnMe because: (no reason given)

If organic fertilizer is cheaper then I will switch to it next application.
I only fertilize twice a year now, I first cut out the early spring application (March) and so no difference.
Two years later I cut out the Fall application and same result ....no noticeable difference.

So I just fertilize now and then again In mid July and things seem just as good.

Yep we have a true mulching mower and it is set at 3 inches, I cut often and water frequently with our well water which the plants and lawn really really like.

Thanks for your post and thoughts.
Regards, Iwinder

Originally posted by argentus
reply to post by Iwinder

 

Do you have access to seaweed? Seaweed has all the elements necessary for most plant nutrition, and all in the right proportion, right down to the trace elements (molybdenum, boron, etc.) If so, you can let the seaweed bake in the sun until dry and then crush it; I use six ten-lb. weights on a barbell to roll across the dried seaweed to break it up. It won't crush up into powder, but a seaweed meal. I mix it 5:1 by volume water:seaweed meal to make my own miracle grow. From there, you could use a hose broadcaster to spread it over your lawn (or garden!)

I've had occasion to test various types of seaweed both with a home quantative test and with an accredited lab, and other than turtle grass, most seaweed seems to be composed of the same elements in the same ratio Turtle grass tests out higher in nitrogen -- otherwise pretty much the same.

Excellent post!......That is very interesting from a die hard gardeners perspective :-)

Unfortunately we do not have access to seaweed, bu the sounds of what you post I would love to try it.
Do you just harvest your own seaweed or purchase it?

Thanks,
Regards, Iwinder

reply to post by Iwinder


I'm fortunate enough to be able to just pick it off the beach when it floats in. I used to wash the salt off before drying, but I don't any longer; our plants live in a salt environment, and I'd rather attrition occur when they are small, rather than when I've put time into their growth. Those plants that are hardy enough to live are almost naturally-selected toward life in the salt environment, and the homemade growth solution and seaweed meal give them everything they need.

Shredded coconut husk (cocopeat) is great for water rentention, acting much like peat moss, and also has a bit of growth hormone in it. Good stuff.

Since you don't have access to these things, you might benefit from building a tumbling composter; fairly simple to build, and composts faster than a fixed compost bin, especially if you activate it. Once you have good, rich compost, you can then add it to water in a bin for growth solution. You may have to find a source for the trace elements like fish meal.

Originally posted by argentus
reply to post by Iwinder

 

I'm fortunate enough to be able to just pick it off the beach when it floats in. I used to wash the salt off before drying, but I don't any longer; our plants live in a salt environment, and I'd rather attrition occur when they are small, rather than when I've put time into their growth. Those plants that are hardy enough to live are almost naturally-selected toward life in the salt environment, and the homemade growth solution and seaweed meal give them everything they need.

Shredded coconut husk (cocopeat) is great for water rentention, acting much like peat moss, and also has a bit of growth hormone in it. Good stuff.

Since you don't have access to these things, you might benefit from building a tumbling composter; fairly simple to build, and composts faster than a fixed compost bin, especially if you activate it. Once you have good, rich compost, you can then add it to water in a bin for growth solution. You may have to find a source for the trace elements like fish meal.

Your reply is much appreciated I guess when we win the lottery we will buy Ocean side and live high on the seaweed.

Yep we are big on the Peat as it is natures sponge.....
Regards, Iwinder