No More Milorganite (For Me)
Occasionally in the online lawn care groups, the question is posed, in one form or another, “Is Milorganite worth the hype?” Rather than choosing to write replies on each post, I think this is a good place to record my thoughts and experiences.
*Note: This blog post is meant to suppliment this video.
A brief description
Milorganite is a bio-solid “organic” fertilizer produced in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The name itself implies its makeup: *Milwaukee-Organic-Nitrogen.* Milorganite can be found at local hardware stores, nurseries, and even Wal-Mart, which is where I purchased it when I was using it regularly as they always had the lowest price - $10.57/bag.
Milorganite’s popularity increased dramatically thanks to Allyn Hane’s recommendations, and because of the results that were achieved and shared throughout the ever-growing DIY lawn care community. Since then, demand has been competing with supply, and prices have steadily increased - $18/bag is the most I’ve seen, $25/bag is the most I've heard of anyone actually paying for it.
My experience
I was first introduced to Milorganite, like many, while watching Allyn’s videos. Let me be completely clear that I have absolutely nothing against the product or the company. I think it’s a great product. I know from experience that it delivers really nice results, and I think that creating a bio-solid fertilizer, and doing so in an enviornmentally sustainable way, is a great recycling program that other cities should consider adopting.
I used Milorganite for 3+ years before I decided to switch to other products. And when I say I was using it, I mean I was *using* it. Like, full on *"Throw'er down! Let's hope for the best"*, 15lbs/1000 sq. ft applications about once a month. I started using it because it is marketed as “fool proof,” or in other words, a non-burning fertilizer. It’s a perfect beginner fertilizer for the average homeowner who wants to start learning how to properly apply granular products on their lawn because it doesn’t burn, and you get nice results, which is a great confidence booster.
The turning point for me was in spring of 2019 when I did my first soil test. At the time I was beginning to understand the concept of feeding the soil, and I knew that a soil test would provide better insight into what was going on beneath the turf.
The results of that test came in and I was pretty surprised. I saw that I had really high phosphorus levels, and with the prices going up and it becoming harder to find, I decided it was time to move on from Milorganite as my primary choice of fertilizer. I did only one application of Milorganite in 2019 on July 4 weekend, per tradition. I don’t foresee using it in the future, however. From that point forward, I’ve planned on using products with extremely low, or zero amounts of phosphorus, among other things.
Conclusion
If you're just getting into DIY lawn care, Milorganite is a great product to start with. But having been used to paying around ten bucks a bag, I would find it hard to pay much more. Search for deals, or see if there is a local competitor with a similar product available in your area. Several of those products have become available in the last couple of years.
Using Milorganite taught me a lot about the basic concepts of learning to apply fertilizer (e.g. how much to apply, what spreader settings work best). It’s a great product to start with because you won’t mess up your lawn, you’re getting organic material into your soil, and you’re going to see results. But once you learn more about what exactly your soil needs or has a surplus of, you start taking those things you’ve learned about application and translate that to other great products that can produce just as good if not better results.
If you want to take that next step in your lawn care journey, consider completing a soil test. Learn how to read and understand the results, and find products that contain the nutrients that are more specific to your soil’s needs. There are a lot of great products on the market, including organic products, that will for sure provide your lawn and soil with what it needs to dominate the neighborhood.