0-0-60 fertilizer

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spoon

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My county agaent says I need 100lbs per acre of this stuff according to my soil sample results. YIKES! $840 a ton. Isn't the last number potash? We are getting ready to spread 200 lb of lime per acre. Will that change my fertilizer needs? I'd really like a better priced solution if anyone actually understands all this mumbojumbo of numbers. My neighbor suggested 19-19-19. A guy at work says he always spreads 10-10-10. Me, I'm confused. Help please.
 
If you need 100 lbs of actual potassium, then you would need to apply approximately 167 lbs of the 0-0-60. Basically, those numbers tell you how much you get of each N (Nitrogen) - P (Phosphorous) - K (Potassium) per 100 lbs applied.

That said, I wouldn't simply take the county agents word for it unless he was looking at the results of a soil test for my land. The land in your area may require more P, and that may be what his statement was based on, but I'd still base my fertilization program on actual tests. There are also some recommendations that you split applications of more than 75 lbs of potash.

EC
 
spoon":2zaos0j4 said:
My county agaent says I need 100lbs per acre of this stuff according to my soil sample results. YIKES! $840 a ton. Isn't the last number potash? We are getting ready to spread 200 lb of lime per acre. Will that change my fertilizer needs? I'd really like a better priced solution if anyone actually understands all this mumbojumbo of numbers. My neighbor suggested 19-19-19. A guy at work says he always spreads 10-10-10. Me, I'm confused. Help please.

If your test says you need 60# potassium/ac., you'll need 100#/ac. of potash. That's what I've always been told. Maybe someone else will weigh-in to break the tie betwixt the other poster and me. :) I'm curious about the 200# of lime/ac. That's almost none. In my area this yr. my soil test required 4000#/ac. The lime cost me $22/ton spread.
 
spoon":2gz7uk43 said:
My county agaent says I need 100lbs per acre of this stuff according to my soil sample results. We are getting ready to spread 200 lb of lime per acre. Will that change my fertilizer needs?

If your ph is below 6.5 - - then lime will increase P availability a lot and K availability a little. There are tables to estimate this. Usually a ton of lime per acre is the minimum application.

K is really expensive, and the miners are laying off workers and filling up sheds to drive the price up. You may want to look at buying in hay before you spend a lot of money on K.
 
Thanks for the replies. The agent was using a soil sample to derive his numbers. I'm going with the assumption that he knows what he's doing as I don't. The recommendation was for 100# of 0-0-60 per acre. I dunno about the lime recommendation either except that is what the agent recommended from my soil test. Lime is so cheap that I would have been glad to add a lot more than that if It would do away with the fertilizer. It's only $3.00 a ton @ the quarry I got mine and another $3.00 a ton to have it hauled to the farm. We're renting the buggy to spread the lime from the county for $20.00 a day.
 
Personaly I'm not putting much potash on .I guess my stategey is to wait untill potash comes down some . Seems it's a better time to cocentrate on more cost effective stuff like lime and phosphorus JMHO .


LARRY
 
This is just me but I wouldn't fool with putting 200 lbs of lime per acre. If I was going to do it, I'd put a ton or none. You could go back and take the test again and the test might say you need none since you are so close on your pH.

I'd do what your extension agent is saying. He is saving you money cause if you put what you need based on what your neighbor is telling you - you will have a stroke.

You are getting off lucky. This year's bill is going to be more than the payoff on my house. :???:
 
Just an added thought. Consider where the 200# of lime would put you in the ph range you are shooting for. If it will just put you at the bottom then put more. If it puts you in the middle or higher you could give it a pass for now. I've noticed our recommendations usually put us at the bottom of the recommended ranges.
 
Sorry people, I had a senior moment earlier. I'm putting down 2,000 lb an acre not 200 lb per acre. :roll:
I gotta go to bed it's way past my bedtime. Thanks to everyone who posted up. I'll check back in the am before I go off to work. Sorry Douglas, no way to scan it and I'm too sleepy to find it and type it all in tonite but thanks for the offer.
 
Is this ground for pasture or hay? What is your soil type? 60 pounds of potash is really a modest amount, but if you have a lot of acres, you can mix in a small percentage of KCl with the K2O. Usually KCl is cheaper. You don't want to use much of it because of the chlorine though.
 
dyates":85jxuw7i said:
Is this ground for pasture or hay? What is your soil type? 60 pounds of potash is really a modest amount, but if you have a lot of acres, you can mix in a small percentage of KCl with the K2O. Usually KCl is cheaper. You don't want to use much of it because of the chlorine though.
I am not certain whatsoever, but it seems to me I heard somewhere that potash (0-0-60) is potassium chloride. I could be wrong though. Anyway I'm cutting back my potash applications this year. My agronomist told me that if I have been doing a good job keeping up with my potassium applications in the past years I can go a year with limited or no potassium this year with no adverse effects. High potash prices = low application this year for me!
 
Potash is usually applied in one of two forms, muriate of potash (KCl) or sulfate of potash (K2SO4). The muriate is usually a little cheaper.
 
larryshoat":3qgdqbxd said:
Personaly I'm not putting much potash on .I guess my stategey is to wait untill potash comes down some . Seems it's a better time to cocentrate on more cost effective stuff like lime and phosphorus JMHO .


LARRY

Same here Larry. I have my potash built up. Range from medium to high. This occurred while phosphate was so expensive. Now I'm getting my phosphate and ph back in line.
 
It really depends on what type of graas you are growing and the soil type. Where I live we have deep sands with low natural fertility. If we are growing improved bermudas like coastal, Tifton 85, Jiggs, Russell or any other improved bermuda, then we must keep the potassium levels up or you loose production AND your stand weakens. I always try to remember that 2 tons per acre (4 - 1000 lb rolls) takes 100 units of nitrogen, 40 units of phosphorus and 85 units of potasium out of the soil.

You can write checks on a bank account until you deplete the account, the same thing can happen to a hay field.
 
That's why I asked what his soil type was. Most of the clayey soils we have here don't need as much potash as some of the sandier types.
 
I have no idea how to describe my soil other than it is dirt and it's pretty much brown until you get below the topsoil then it turns a kind of orange color. Does that help? :D I'm 75 miles or so south of you down I 75 Dyates if that helps you any.
 
spoon, being in KY and on I-75 you should not have sandy soils. Many of the soils there have been farmed with tobacco for many years and could need what is recommended.
It may not be possible but if you can send me your latitude and longitude I think I can tell you from an online soil map what you have.
 
If you're in Laurel Co., put the potash on, you need it. Most of the soils are sandy. The creek bottoms can be heavy clay, but not usually red clay. That gray clay is pretty poor, too.
 
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