What is the OM content of your soil? I typically test at 10-14% most of it non decomposed. On problem turf and landscaped areas, I started using a soluble fulvic acid at 3 lb per acre. The claim is that the fulvic acid will make nutrients more available. Positive response has been seen in salty and alkaline soils.

 

2.5% is about as high as I've seen. Most might be between .6-1.6?

Lawns are nice but not reel mower quality. If I could increase the OM I feel lawns would become more healthy.

 

Screamin Green is designated as an Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizer by AAPFCO. http://www.agprofessional.com/resou....com/resource-centers/crop-fertility/enhanced-efficiency-fertilizer-explanation
It has 5 sources of N which release over a 2-3 month period depending on soil type and rainfall. 60% Slow release N; 40% Organic Matter. There are different application rates of 4 to 5 lbs/k for cool and warm season turf. A 3 year study showed it provided the same color and quality as a 28-5-12, using 1/3 the amount of N. The organic matter plays a role in increasing the percent of N reaching the plant without encouraging surge growth. It is not formulated to increase the amount of SOM.
Screamin Green is now available at many SiteOne locations.

 

Thanks. What turf was that study on? Fescue at 3lbs of synthetic N was just as good as 1 lb screaming green? I'd be worried applying such a low N rate annually on my Bermuda.

 

If I had OM that low, my additive of choice would be ones based on humic acid. I get mine as a black powder that readily dissolves. Application rate is also 3 lb per acre in multiple applications per year.

 

I see benefit from humates even with a high OM reading. Most of the OM detected is in the form of material that will not break down soon. Think thatch created by turf on an unbalanced nutritional program. The statement that thatch is created by overfertilizing needs to be book ends with it being created by starved grass as well. Without enough nitrogen and other nutrients in the tissues, stems and leaves resist breakdown.

 

Thanks guys.

Got screaming green prices and should have synthetic Fert prices this week I hope. Prices seem very comparable.

Any users want to give reviews? I like the benefits of what it will bring but might be close to twice the amount of product to spread.

 

Thanks guys.

Got screaming green prices and should have synthetic Fert prices this week I hope. Prices seem very comparable.

Any users want to give reviews? I like the benefits of what it will bring but might be close to twice the amount of product to spread.

Here's the label.

 

I see benefit from humates even with a high OM reading. Most of the OM detected is in the form of material that will not break down soon.

When collecting soil samples, it is important to remove non-decomposed organic matter such as thatch, twigs, etc. in order to obtain a more accurate reading on SOM.

 

I am hoping to add a few apps of bios/humate products as well.

I got a price on screaming green that is very competitive and. Now need to sit down and work it into my program. I can currently do 3 Fert apps as I have it. Will that be enough at the 4-5 lb rate to get the benefits on soil? Being a warm turf guy in use to pumping nitrogen to them.

What I have found is many samples need potassium correction which will be hard to do with the low k in sg. Might need to incorporate a corrective app based on soil sample results and adjust every 2 years.

 

That is precisely what I do. All thatch, roots, etc is picked, then I screen out the non decomposed wood chips that are frequently added as "compost" to a lawn area. Even then, OM reads high, yet there are nutritional issues. Common issues for me are salts, base imbalances and high pH. Never something easy like more nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium. I jump for joy when a result comes back with a low pH. Not hard to add lime.

 

Screaming green has been giving me really great results in st Augustine Good color and not to fast of growth. I would def recommend the product

 

Question for users.

I normally do 3 lbs n on Bermuda, 1.5 lb n centipede, and 2.5-3 lbs n on fescue.

Thinking of the 16-2-3 screamin green. My OM is low so would you stick with those N rates? Not sure about my math but st 3 lbs n that's only 7-8 lbs OM? Thought they said 10 lbs was the target?

 

It depends. You can think long term on OM. The OM in screaming green will still be there when you add the next app. After the first year and in the the second the OM will be higher and male the lawn healthier even when the customer doesn't call for apps anymore. Hek I've even mixed 21-0-0 for a faster green up in Bermuda. But a great thing to add for OM is compost. Just a thought

 

10 to 15 Lbs of OM per 1,000 sq ft per year is the target rate. It's difficult to get there using only Screamin Green in a typical 5 or 6 application program.

This is why it is recommended to add a single application of Aux-i-nite 5-4-0 or Dynamic Duo 4-3-1 going into the summer. You get nearly half of your annual OM requirement in this single application and it enhances the Screamin Green applications that follow.

Your target rates of N are OK but you need a supplement of OM in the program in round 2 or round 3

Any amount of organic matter is better than none at all but for peak efficiency and to fully realize all of the benefits, the 10 to 15 Lb benchmark is significant.


If the supplemental application with 5-4-0 or 4-3-1 is not feasible, I recommend that he up-sell this application to his customers as a topdressing in addition to the full program. He can sell this along with spring aerations and his lawns will be on autopilot the rest of the summer.

 

10 to 15 Lbs of OM per 1,000 sq ft per year is the target rate. It's difficult to get there using only Screamin Green in a typical 5 or 6 application program.

This is why it is recommended to add a single application of Aux-i-nite 5-4-0 or Dynamic Duo 4-3-1 going into the summer. You get nearly half of your annual OM requirement in this single application and it enhances the Screamin Green applications that follow.

Your target rates of N are OK but you need a supplement of OM in the program in round 2 or round 3

Any amount of organic matter is better than none at all but for peak efficiency and to fully realize all of the benefits, the 10 to 15 Lb benchmark is significant.

If the supplemental application with 5-4-0 or 4-3-1 is not feasible, I recommend that he up-sell this application to his customers as a topdressing in addition to the full program. He can sell this along with spring aerations and his lawns will be on autopilot the rest of the summer.

Phasthound,

I've heard of Screamin Green...what would you recommend for a cool season plan and at what intervals?

 

I used a pallet last year as an experiment. Really liked the results on Bermuda, color was very good. I just couldn't justify the cost. $16/ bag , <10K sqft. I switched to, I think, 28-3-10 w/bio solids from Andersons and was happy with that also. My supplier went to Howard fert this year and i went back to straight synthetic, eh, ok.

 

Yes the N needed on Bermuda makes it a tough sell for me.

I have some fescue that I am thinking of giving a try on. OM might help get it though the summer without looking so bad.

Would love an option for us warm guys. I'm sure fertilizer resrictions will increase over next few years and having a plan would be nice.

 

How are you,I am planning on doing a bridge program this year using the screaming green and other tech terra products.You stated the amount of organic matter should be at 10-15 lbs per 1,000 and that just using the screaming green alone would not suffice
I plan on starting early this year in March doing my dethathing,aeration and lime applications(weather permitting)
Can I apply the aux-I-nite or the dynamic duo at this time or will it be to cold
Thank you
Impulse

 

How are you,I am planning on doing a bridge program this year using the screaming green and other tech terra products.You stated the amount of organic matter should be at 10-15 lbs per 1,000 and that just using the screaming green alone would not suffice
I plan on starting early this year in March doing my dethathing,aeration and lime applications(weather permitting)
Can I apply the aux-I-nite or the dynamic duo at this time or will it be to cold
Thank you
Impulse

Look into Milorganite.

 

Milorganite is great stuff. Def recommend it.

 

So is "One Ap" just the opposite of what you guys are suggesting?

 

Milorganite is great stuff. Def recommend it.

Eh....

 

Explain. Why

 

How are you,I am planning on doing a bridge program this year using the screaming green and other tech terra products.You stated the amount of organic matter should be at 10-15 lbs per 1,000 and that just using the screaming green alone would not suffice
I plan on starting early this year in March doing my dethathing,aeration and lime applications(weather permitting)
Can I apply the aux-I-nite or the dynamic duo at this time or will it be to cold
Thank you
Impulse

10 to 15 Lbs of OM per 1,000 sq ft per year is the target rate. It's difficult to get there using only Screamin Green in a typical 5 or 6 application program.

This is why it is recommended to add a single application of Aux-i-nite 5-4-0 or Dynamic Duo 4-3-1 going into the summer. You get nearly half of your annual OM requirement in this single application and it enhances the Screamin Green applications that follow.

Any amount of organic matter is better than none at all but for peak efficiency and to fully realize all of the benefits, the 10 to 15 Lb benchmark is significant.

2 apps Screamin Green in spring at 4lbs/k
1 app Dynamic Duo (composted poultry manure & biosolids) or Aux i nite (biosolids with Auxin) early June at 10lbs/k. or as an upsell with spring or fall aeration & seeding
2 apps Screamin Green in fall at 4lbs/k

 

So is "One Ap" just the opposite of what you guys are suggesting?

Entirely different animals.

 

Barry > I prefer your recommendations, and I am not a fan of One App. My land grant folks agree too. Feeding at regular intervels provides LCO's much more control & helps deal with unexpected variables such as weather.

 

If (per thousand sqft) you use 15 pounds of Milorganite (5-2-0) then that is .75 pound nitrogen and 0.3 lb phosphate total 1.05.
That leaves 13.95 pounds organic matter.
Seems like over time you would have a lot.

 

If (per thousand sqft) you use 15 pounds of Milorganite (5-2-0) then that is .75 pound nitrogen and 0.3 lb phosphate total 1.05.
That leaves 13.95 pounds organic matter.
Seems like over time you would have a lot.

Over time, the organic matter is decomposed by microbes and becomes humus. These are the advantages that are not achieved with conventional fertilizers alone.

From Wikipedia:
Benefits of soil organic matter and humus[edit]

• The process that converts raw organic matter into humus feeds the soil population of microorganisms and other creatures, thus maintains high and healthy levels of soil life.[18][19]
• The rate at which raw organic matter is converted into humus promotes (when fast) or limits (when slow) the coexistence of plants, animals, and microbes in soil.
• Effective humus and stable humus are further sources of nutrients to microbes, the former provides a readily available supply, and the latter acts as a longer-term storage reservoir.
• Decomposition of dead plant material causes complex organic compounds to be slowly oxidized (lignin-like humus) or to break down into simpler forms (sugars and amino sugars, aliphatic, and phenolic organic acids), which are further transformed into microbial biomass (microbial humus) or are reorganized, and further oxidized, into humic assemblages (fulvic and humic acids), which bind to clay minerals and metal hydroxides. There has been a long debate about the ability of plants to uptake humic substances from their root systems and to metabolize them. There is now a consensus about how humus plays a hormonal role rather than simply a nutritional role in plant physiology.[30][31]
• Humus is a colloidal substance, and increases the soil's cation exchange capacity, hence its ability to store nutrients by chelation. While these nutrient cations are accessible to plants, they are held in the soil safe from being leached by rain or irrigation.[17]
• Humus can hold the equivalent of 80-90% of its weight in moisture, and therefore increases the soil's capacity to withstand drought conditions.[32][33]
• The biochemical structure of humus enables it to moderate - or buffer - excessive acid or alkaline soil conditions.[34]
• During the humification process, microbes secrete sticky gum-like mucilages; these contribute to the crumb structure (tilth) of the soil by holding particles together, and allowing greater aeration of the soil.[35] Toxic substances such as heavy metals, as well as excess nutrients, can be chelated (that is, bound to the complex organic molecules of humus) and so prevented from entering the wider ecosystem.[36]
• The dark color of humus (usually black or dark brown) helps to warm up cold soils in the spring.

 

Phasthound
Thank you for your helpful answers,it is refreshing when someone actually answers the questions you ask.
I'm also planning on applying liquid seaweed and molasses along with the screaming green. What is your opinion on that? Also do you or anyone have any opinions on using pelletized compost.
Thank you
Impulse

 

Phasthound
Thank you for your helpful answers,it is refreshing when someone actually answers the questions you ask.
I'm also planning on applying liquid seaweed and molasses along with the screaming green. What is your opinion on that? Also do you or anyone have any opinions on using pelletized compost.
Thank you
Impulse

Seaweed or Kelp specifically Ascophyllum Nodosum is a good source of micronutrients, amino acids and plant growth hormones. Molasses is a complex sugar food source for bacteria. Bacteria eats it and excretes excess N which is plant available and provides a quick green up. Pelletized compost is ok, the manufacturing process reduces the active biomass. It is still a good food source foe existing soil microbes.

 

Phasthound
Thank you again I'll be in touch
Impulse

 

It's all about the OM dish boy. U can get or add k in other means

 

It's all about the OM dish boy. U can get or add k in other means

Your straw man argument is meritless. No one is disputing the need of OM. There are better sources of OM that don't have pharmaceuticals, cost less and have K .

 

I too am going the humic acid route this year. Doing multiple applications. I believe I saw a research report saying "spoon" feeding of humic or other biostimulant was better than all at once. So I've got 3-4 apps worked in.

I almost pulled the trigger on screamin green to support this but based on soil samples looked at the winter it just did not meet the macro needs I was seeing. My K levels were lower than I would have liked.

I'm also looking at organic filler for my fertilizers and even though the there is a lose once applied I'm hoping the some will get to root zone and help feed the soil during the summer.

 

I too am going the humic acid route this year. Doing multiple applications. I believe I saw a research report saying "spoon" feeding of humic or other biostimulant was better than all at once. So I've got 3-4 apps worked in.

I almost pulled the trigger on screamin green to support this but based on soil samples looked at the winter it just did not meet the macro needs I was seeing. My K levels were lower than I would have liked.

I'm also looking at organic filler for my fertilizers and even though the there is a lose once applied I'm hoping the some will get to root zone and help feed the soil during the summer.

What humic acid product are you using?