AMMONIUM SULFATE - BEST NITROGEN FOR LAWNS? ALL ABOUT AMMONIUM SULFATE 

Thanks buddy, I really appreciate it!

Thanks! Yes sir, any lawn thats alkaline, I recommend ammonium sulfate

No doubt! It's coming...

I had to cut down the notes I took by half... And even that was a reduction 😂😂

LOL Grass Daddy !

I did research all day and figured out that ammonium sulfate or any quick release nitrogen is toxic to put down when soil temp is below 60 degrees. I put down a bag of lesco 19-0-7 dithiopyr slow release a while back, not on may 15 I'm putting down andersons barricade slow release. Next up to bat is my ferti lome weed out which has slow and fast release. Moral of the story... gotta be 60 ground temp for my weed out

Also, molybdenum is mostly available to the grass when at 7 PH, considered adequate at 6.35 PH, and deficiency can occur at 6 PH or below. Without molybdenum, grass can become twisted and marginal scorching can occur. I am thinking that possibly this is why fast release fertilizer can burn lawn? Because of ammonium sulfate being at a 5.4 to 5.5 PH, this can lower the PH too much too quick and loose function of the molybdenum

Molybdenum is the only micronutrient that has increased availability as the PH increases, 6.5 PH is adequate. Unnecessary applications of molybdenum can be toxic. So this is telling me that everyone with perennial ryegrass should be between 6.35 and 7.5 but if applying quick release, I should throw down some lime to replace hydrogen ions, provide calcium and magnesium to soil.... then pop down my quick release to get my benefits of that. I'm starting to think that instead of organic slow release nitrogen, I can play around with lime and ammonium sulfate to maximize results

LOL!

Soil applied would really just be spreading ams granular. Even spraying it and letting it sit, most of the uptake is still occuring through the roots/soil. Because plants rely on diffusion for foliar uptake, it's pretty difficult to get to or beyond 50% foliar efficiency. Also you're dependent on how long it can stay wet on the leaf blade without drying.

@@TheGrassFactor understood sir. So if most uptake happens via the soil i presume its ok for me to spray with a corse droplet tip and water in the application ? Btw thank you for being such a genuine person and keeping it to the facts

rey3472 read an old friend from Hawaii writing that for years. Worked exactly as described 🤣

Until manufacturers make a 100% AS coated slow release fertilizer, I will never use granules on grass.

Do you run AS all year? if not when do you decide to not run AS

I have a 12 month growing season. So, grass is fertilized at a sliding scale depending on what type of grass and other conditions. Unlike people in the Continental US, 5 different types of grass are grown here under varying climate and soil conditions. The idea of one rate of N and one do all blend will not work here.

Part of the reason, sure. There's also encapsulated urea, which is similar to osmocote, micronutrients, calcium, and potassium sulfate which all aide in color duration

The Grass Factor Good to know and thanks for sharing your knowledge 👍

Also, to note, I’ve used Freedom fertilizer, dethatch, milorganite and now gypsum in the past 3 weeks. My yard looks tremendously better. I’m also installing an irrigation system prior to seeding.

And, I have clay soil! Sorry, for the multiple comments!!! Lol

Calcium nitrate has a liming effect, potassium nitrate is pH neutral.

Aluminum sulfate? No, not advised.aluminum toxicity on turf is a real thing

Mesa is Methylene urea and ammonium sulfate. Methylene urea is a a slow release urea formaldehyde. It releases inconsistently so they add the AMS to give it a quick pop, especially in cool weather, and the methylene urea will hopefully hold the color. I use it as a straight ammonium sulfate. That mix is 10% AMS. Nothing wrong with it,it's a very good fert, it's just too expensive in my area for the result to justify the cost

Makes sense, as a business owner you may not be able to justify its cost. OTOH, as a homeowner whats an extra $15 for something that will last me a season or two :o)

🤣🤣🤣

My favorite place on the i-net!

Yes

@@TheGrassFactor how much lb per gallon

John Malkowic what did you end up doing as my ph is also 7.5

I would apply AMS based on how much N you need

MESA is in a league of it's own!

For Bermuda, Only apply when actively growing. Do not load soils in the off season, so may-september apply monthly or bi-weekly depending on rate

No

On the rare occasion that I am dealing with a 5.5 pH soil and trying to grow Bermuda, my N is from Calcium Nitrate. That will raise pH and be a source of instantly available Calcium. When you said your soil is Sodic, is that high Sodium? If so, the available Calcium will displace and remove the Sodium from your soil.

Last year my first Extension soil test pH came in at 4.9 in the front yard, and 4.4 in the back, and I was trying to growing bermuda, your recommendation is spot on. Alternatively, my Soil Salinity test came back at 5.5 & 5.7 pH respectively(which I think was more accurate), with an ec of 0.21, 138.6 ppm of Total Soluble Salts and a Sodium Absorption Ratio of 0.35, which effectively meant that I had a sodium barrier that was preventing water to percolate through the soil normally. My extension agent and I gathered that due to the high water table and salinity in the groundwater formed this barrier over years. I've been treating the lot with several hundred pounds of Gypsum to bind up some of the Na in the soil, and achieving positive results with reduction in standing water in the lot. If I used to get 1"+ of rain in a few hours, I'd have standing water for DAYS.

You are an example of a case where AS is not a good idea. I have used Calcium Nitrate as the N source on low Calcium soils to the exclusion of other sources with good effects on soil chemistry. Gypsum is not my favorite thing to apply. It moves through existing turf so slowly. Calcium Nitrate at 5 lb per 1000 sq ft per month of growing season works much faster.

For slow moving things, you could always core aerate before to help. I know, extra step...

@@rey3472 y

A saturated solution of AS is ~5 or 5.5, adding FS to it will drop it further to about 4. But just because you're at 4 doesn't mean you're at an appropriate molar ratio, so I would use mass for rates rather than pH

@@TheGrassFactor oh Matt....over my head....But thanks man!!! I MISS these individual vids you used to throw out. they were Great! I hope all is well!

Potassium phosphate is lowest salt indexand delivers p & k. Ammonium phosphate isn't bad either, delivers n & p. Sulfate of potash is good for just K

No, not that I'm aware. Oddly, I do see it as an ingredient listed in antivenoms

@@TheGrassFactor I heard another guy on a YT channel briefly mention something about ammonium sulfate as a pesticide for scorpions, but I can't find anything online to confirm that. Thanks for writing back.

Propeat is all Ammonium sulfate. Home Depot has it online.

@@joelcolon5060 thanks Joel

Depends on the composition of the NPK fertiliser. Look at the ingredients. Does it contain nitrates or urea?

Hello David, My suggestion for your lawn, is to use Blood fish and bone, that will green everything up and do it gently for you. Also consider using a soil microbe application, i.e. Bacteria and beneficial fungi as I see you mention using humics, humic acid is preferred by mycorrhiza fungi, which will aid your lawn in drought. I hope that helps in some way. If you are still not getting the green you want, go for some Mg.

@@dalewoodhams8364 Thanks for the suggestions. I did however applied the ammoniumsulphate. The organics I have laying around are blood and bonemeal based, so will be applying next week when the hottest days are gone. As for tge fungi and bacteria, already applied these. Not sure how these affect the Ph. Mg is also applied monthly. The turf is greening up, so far now. Seems like the ammoniumsulphate is doing it's job, but only a very short amount of time before it is neutralized. Ph rised a bit again, but probably won't get near 7 this summer. Probably will have to baby the turf to supplement the high ph by leaf fertilizing when there is a colder spell.

Hello @@C7pherr, I wonder what signs your grass is showing? Do you really need to add Mg? My best solution considering your reply, is to add a top layer of worm compost, with the bone meal, then add some new mixed grass seed. If you have the opportunity of being able to visit a proper grass seed supplier, find their best seed sack, for your needs and lick a finger, dip it in to the seeds, pull it out and count the number of different types of seed that you see. A long time ago, grass always included clover and the school mix had chamomile included. I'm not clear on what type of lawn you wish to have, are you looking for a bowling green, golf green perfect look or are you just wanting a hard wearing lawn? You say that your lawn's PH is reading 8.5 after a mistake with adding lime, best not to repeat that. What you might not know or learn, is that plants set their own ph, meaning that the same plant will control and change the electrical flow and ph readings at different root levels for different needs. Also visit your local fuel station or fishing shop and grab a bucket of soil worms, you call them red wigglers and night crawlers I think? Set them loose on your lawn after a good watering during an evening to help with lawn aeration and then give your lawn another dose of fungus and bacteria. Grass is more fungus dominated. Then sit back and enjoy.

@@dalewoodhams8364 Thanks for the abundance of information! No need to worry, the grass is dense and green. But mostly thanks to aireation and ammoniumsulphate. Bacteria are added monthly, the product also contains Mg, as for fungi, these were added massively last year. I didn't know it contained lime also, so that was the culprit. Compost last October, peat in April. Heat is here now, it was the last week to try to correct the pH. But if the plant manages their own conductivity in the soil, I probably shouldn't worry for the time coming. Thanks again!

7-10 days

Also how long to leave it on the blades before irrigation before it becomes a problem at .2 lbs N?

Depends on carrier volume but 24hrs is fine

Trey Smallwood AMAZON

Old comment so you may have already figured this out, but yes, you can spread the granular AMS. I buy 51 pound bags of sprayable AMS from Rural King for less than $15 a bag. This is way, WAY cheaper than Amazon. I first purchased it to add to my glyphosate spray to reduce the effects of hard water. I now spread the granular AMS as a nitrogen fertilizer.

In low sulfate soils and high pH soils, corn would respond really well to ammonium sulfate

@@TheGrassFactor Thanks!

Aluminum is very toxic to plants. Ammonium sulfate is a better choice. Or Citric Acid, or elemental sulfur, or a combination of the 3.

NUC? 🤣

As in nuclear physics.... Which I disagree with. I totally understand your explanations. 🤓

@@TheGrassFactor I know in the Navy, nuking something is making it way more difficult than it needs to be. It comes from guys who work in the nuclear power engineroom who tend to be smart. I will say, doing that stuff in my previous career has made lawn care/pH control much easier!

Gene Manning` I apologize. Honestly, my target audience is for the advanced homeowner or in-industry professional. I'm not very good at teaching, so I use this channel to further my own knowledge to help further the knowledge of those in the industry.

no apologies needed brother. i love all your videos and gave me some pretty good knowledge and info from a DIY homeowners point of view. i figured this video was more for the advanced most likely commercial guys. keep up the great videos!

I'm a DIY homeowner and love this stuff!! 👍👍

LCN always says “ repetition is the key”

Gene Manning` I was like 🤔💥brain exploded.

Mail@thegrassfactor.tv

@@TheGrassFactor thanks just sent it, thank you for the response!