6/10/2021 – Given the very wet spring and heavy rains the grass is understandably looking pale. In addition, it is trying to push up through the leveling sand and so some fertilizer would be good. Decided to apply AGFA’s 8-8-8 with iron as it has twice the iron as does the 15-0-15.
ACES says here for a low maintenance lawn apply 1/2 lb. nitrogen per 1,000 SF three times per year. So to get 0.5 lb nitrogen with 15-0-15 would require spreading per 1,000 sf 0.5/0.15 = 3.33 lbs/1,000 SF of 15-0-15.
Based on the calculations and tests here for the new spreader it should be set on 3 for one pass or a little over 2 for two passes when running in Gear 1H at 540 RPM.
Very rough area values are:
- Overall 70,000 SF
- Say house, driveway, patios, and grain bin cover about 10,000 SF
- Area to fertilize is 70,000 – 10,000 = 60,000 = 1.4 ac
3.3 lbs/ksf for 60ksf = 200 lbs of 15-0-15 to be spread with lever on 3 and Fergie in 1H at 540 RPM.
Widths of the lawn are:
- Front yard – Rail fence to south edge of sidewalk is 85 ft. and to the house is 100 ft.
- From east wall of the house to the rail fence is 67 ft.
- Diagonally across the backyard is 40 ft.
- Pecan tree row to rail fence is 50 ft.
- From driveway to the east-most lemon tree is 77 ft.
Results
The new spreader covered the planned area before the fertilizer ran out. Very pleased with the fairly accurate application rate. The width of the spread is supposed to be 39 feet for the granule size and that is what it appeared to be. A few granules went beyond the 20′ distance beyond the center of the tractor but not many.
In the Frescati yard and around the Greenhouse I spread some with the Cyclone Seeder. Also spread some across the front of the house to be sure it was all fed.
Used the leaf blower to blow the granules off the back patio, the walkway to the front door and the driveway. All those areas appeared to have the same coverage of granules.
