Zero nitrogen fertilizer-WHERE?
Whitetail Deer
I live in NW corner of Ct. I can't find a store that sells a zero or low nitrogen fertilizer for clover. Where can this be bought in Ct? A few years ago bought a mix from a farm store in Glastonbury with 0 nitrogen. They gave me a mix based on a soil test I handed them . They no longer do it based on new ct laws. Any help with this? What is everyone else buying?
What dose your soil test say.. I use 2-10-40 with borax. Very low on nitrogen and the clover likes the borax.. Call some farm stores to see if they have or came get zero to a low N fertilizer. How much do you need???
You can buy Phosphate and Potash separately by the 50# bag at farm stores.
I just fertilized with 0-44-0 and 0-0-50 that I got from southern states. Not sure about Ct but as the others have mentioned, you have to go to a place that you would consider a "farm" store and not your local home depot. The kind of place that has a warehouse out back with the good stuff and not just what the guy needs for his suburban yard.
Teeton, never heard that about borax. What does it do for clover and why does it like it? I just planted 3 food plots in clover so very interested in your thoughts.
My local feed store doesn't carry it, but I was able to order a pallet of it and just leave it there and pick it up as I need it. Takes me a couple years to use a pallet, but didn't have much choice.
Box, here a link to some info on it. My co-op carries it 2-10-40 w/boron.. My plots with kura and kopu II clovers do very well with the 2-10-40 with boron/borax in Northeast Pa.. I would read up on kura and kopu II clovers to see if they would work in your area. I have one plot now 6 years that's at least 65/70% clover..
Kura clover i planted 23 years ago and a client has had theirs the same amount of time and it's still thriving BUT...BUT...KURA takes 2 years to establish good and it's a finicky bugger in that you need your ground to be worked up well and it's not the most competitive of plants. Some have established it with trefoil, others with the slow growing clovers. I used chicory when i did it as i was int he early stages of QDM and always am trying to add inches to the deer population.
I typically use a 9-0-26 which is 1/2 ammonium sulfate and potahh in a 50-50 blend. I have excessive phosphorus, and am very sulfur deficient in my area due to the power plants being cleaned up and less of that "free fertilizer" dropping down from the sky.
So many people focus on nitrogen and don't consider that you might be feeding the weeds as much as the plant. We want the rapid growth and in many cases we aren't putting enough potash on the ground for what we are planting.
I am more than happy to interpret soil sample results for those who want to drop me an email.
Nutritionist, I planted it (kura) in the spring with the kopa II clover. The Kopa II clover was planted on the lite side. I did plant it with some feed grade oats just to keep the deer off the clover. I don't remember the dates but did spray it for grass the first year to kill the oats and grass. I do cut them 3 times a year, only right after a rain.. I also spray them for weeds and/or grass about once a year or so. My ph was 6.5 at the time of planting. I don't remember what my n, p and k where. But my p was very high and my k was low.. I need to do a soil test this spring to see how all's going.. Hopefully my ph is still ok.. But kura is known to grow in lower ph, which is nice... I'm not sure of your goals. But if a plot is still 30% clover I still think it's a good plot. Years back when my plots got below to 30% clover it was now long before it (clover) was just about taken up but the other plants.. At 30 % the deer are still in it everyday picking the clover out and at 30% it never ran out of clover all summer and fall. Come later winter when plants stopped growing the deer were still in it. So for me no plots get replanted till the deer start to slow the use of the plots and I see them in my other plots that have more clover in them. Then it's soil test, disc, lime, disc, fert disc, plant.. The kura has been hands down the longest lasting plot at 6 years that's still at 70% clover. Most of my other plots that had other clovers at 6 years where only maybe 30% clover. This year it's going on 7 years I hope it still 70% clover come this (2014) fall.. :)
Nitrogen will not hurt the clover. Although clovers are legumes, they will also utilize nitrogen that is already in usable form. In fact, the clover will utilize that source of nitrogen first, then when it is depleted, it will use the nodules to convert atmospheric nitrogen to usable form. If you did not inoculate the clover or use pre-inoculated seed, it is doubtful that there are enough nodules to produce sufficient nitrogen for optimal growth without nitrogen supplementation.
I did by the 5-20-20 at Agway in Manchester.
What will happen if I use regular 10-10-10 on a very small mostly red clover plot?
Or do I need a much higher potash or phosphorus %?
I got some 0-20-20 the other week here in Ga in 50lb bags.
Just because legumes don't need nitrogen doesn't mean it is harmful to include a fertilizer with "some".
Besides ..it's not about the number but the UNITS...for example. One needs so many units of N(nitrogen), p(phosphorus) and K(potassium). If one put only 50 lbs per acre of a 10-10-10 , how does it compare to putting 200 lbs per acre of a 5-20-20 with micros?
Nitrogen in my area of Wisconsin is only part of any equation. We are super sulfur deficient in many areas and so we tend to have "stunted growth". There is a relationship to sulfur and nitrogen and further more in plants and nutrition and the amino acid balances.
