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Where can I get some "triple 17"? I used it years ago and loved the way it made my grass extra green.Lowes and box stores do not have this stuff.
Any balanced fertilizer (like 17/17/17, 40/40/40 or 10/10/10) is exactly the same. The amount needed for a given area changes. The first number is what makes your grass green...nitrogen.
Also, phosphorus runoff gets into waterways and makes water weeds grow. Blindly using it is not a good idea. Farmers in Vermont are now monitored for how much runs off from their farms, but it is generally agreed that the homeowners are by far the worst offenders. Secondarily, it is NOT a limitless resource, and excess use will over time cause the price to skyrocket.
Most areas have a free service by the state or county extension service, where master gardeners will guide on what mixes to use, based upon soil needs.
There is math involved and you shouldn't just look at the 3 numbers.
A 10-10-10 bag means there's 10% of each in the bag.
17-17-17 means there is 17% of each in the bag.
but how much does the bag weigh??
A 20 pound bag containing 17-17-17 (17% nitrogen) has 3.4 pounds of actual nitrogen in the bag (20 pounds x .17).
A 45 pound bag containing 10-10-10 (10% nitrogen) has 4.5 pounds of actual nitrogen in the bag. (45 pounds x .10).
So you can see you get more fertilizer with the heavier bag even though the numbers are lower.
Now figure out how many square feet your lawn is and how much nitrogen you want to put down. 1 pound per 1000 sq ft is pretty heavy but good. So you can figure out how much coverage you have with the bag.
And if you want that green color think Nitrogen and Iron. Not Phosphate and Potassium
We were told to think of fertilizer numbers as Up, Down, and all around. The nitrogen for the leaves, the phosphate for the roots and the potassium for all around health.
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