when is to late to put out fertilizer

[plbcattle]

when is to late to put out fertilizer. what do you normally put per acre(pounds)i have read far to many post about getting a soil sample and putting the prescribed lime and fertilizer for years, only to have the soil sample come back the same as before adding the chemicals to the ground. anyone experienced this. is fertilizing worth the cost or would you be better off overseeding existing pastures for more grass

 

[Chuck]

Depends on where you live, soil type, present fertility and what you want to do.I would say it would be pretty rare to put the recomended products on for years and not get a result. Most reputable agronomy people don't have you bank huge amounts of nutrients in the soil. It costs too much and you will lose a lot before the plants can utilize it. Might even be counter productive if you get too wild. Every crop, whether it is grass, grain or your yard at the house takes what it needs out of the soil, so generally you will find the prescribed recipe is to maintain good fertility for what you are trying to accomplish. I would expect that even if your ground is not deficient and you don't need buildup that after you take crops off you will end up back needing to add again before long. Not soil testing is a giant crapshoot. Going for a week in Vegas might be cheaper. Overseeding probably won't do it. A larger number of plants are then competing for the same amount of resources.

 

[jerry27150]

you can put fertilizer on at any time, but nitrogen will only work for 30 days or so , depending on conditions.argued with some on here before about the soil tests . i have seen guys take samples from field & from their cellar & come back the same.they used to claim most grass crops take around 200 lbs of fertilizer from the ground each year. personally, since fertilizer has gotten higher , i let the legumes fertilize the grass. experts claim there is not much difference in yield from grass that is fertilized & grass & legume mixed without fertilizer. i used to put 2-300 lbs of triple 15 or 17 a year & always got good growth. they also say if you can only afford fertilizer or lime, put down lime. lime takes a few months to work though, but it makes any nutrients in the soil more available. there was a program of rfd the other night saying you could fertilize for heavy stocking rates but sometimes it is more profitable to keep fewer cows & use less. that's what i have been figuring also. kind of like when i was dairying, some guys would go for feeding cows to get over 20,000 lbs of milk, but some of those guys went broke because it cost them to much to do that. there is always a balance somewhere.

 

[sidney411]

PBL - If your soil samples come back prety near the same each year then you are probably fertilizing the most cost effective way you can. You are putting out what the grass is using up each year. That way you aren't getting a buildup in the soil that is not utilized in that years time. If you plant more grass and don't fertilize you will be shooting your self in the foot. The extra grass will use up the available nutrients in the soil and your soil test will get worse. I usually put out around 200# per acre on pastures and 3-400# on the hayfield. The reasoning behind that is the cows aren't grazing the hayfield and depositing their fertilizer back on that field, they are depositing it on the pastures. Everything that is taken from the hayfield is not put back so more has to go on to start with.

 

[Hawk]

when is to late to put out fertilizer.

Fertilizer works best when the grass is actively growing, so I would say that when the grass goes dormant during the middle of summer time it is too late to get much bang for your buck. This will certainly vary from one location to another and from one year to another. I normally put out 250 lbs./acre on coastal bermuda and in my opinion it is well worth the money.