Hi,


I am hoping that someone can explain this to me. Is there something up
with "Home Depot" and the "Scotts Company" with false bag weight
contents or something??


Here is whats going on. Our house is on 0.11 acres of land, which is
what about 4,700 square feet? This does not include the city owned
treebelt in front of our house, which is about 50 feet long and 6 feet
wide, or the grassy island with a telephone/utility pole, between our
driveway and our neighbors driveway, which is about 6 feet long and 6
feet wide. So including all that, there is probably roughly 5.000 square
feet or so.


Anyway, last year, when we put down the "Scotts Turf Builder Lawn
Fertilizer with Plus 2 Weed Control", that we bought from "Home Depot",
it took 2 bags ( 14.29 pounds each according to the bag ). with the
spreader setting on 5 1/2 like the bag says, to do our entire lawn.


Well this year, we bought a 5,000 square foot bag of "Scotts LawnPro
SUPER Turf Builder Lawn Fertilizer with Plus 2 Weed Control", and this
bag was 17.24 pounds ( according to the bag ), and we had enough to do
the entire lawn with the 1 bag!!


We bought the "Super Turf Builder" at our local hardware store, because
#1 our local hardware store is only like 10 minutes away, compared to
driving 25+ minutes to our closest "Home Depot", and #2 after the
mail-in rebate, they were the same price.


"Home Depot" has the "Regular" Turf Builder for $14.99 a bag, and the
"Super" Turf Builder at the hardware store was $17.99 a bag, with a $3
dollar mail-in rebate.


So my question is, why is it that with the drop spreader setting both
set at 5 and 1/2 both this year and last year, and doing the exact same
areas, why is it that last year we used 2 bags that were 14.29 pounds
each, of the "Regular" Turf Builder to do our lawn, but this year, it
only took 1 bag of the "Super" Turf Builder, which was 17.24 pounds.


At first I thought that maybe the "Super" Turf Builder has bigger
granules, and so it comes out at a slower rate?? But they look the same
size as last year??


Could it be because the the "Super" Turf Builder is 29-2-3, and the
"Regular" Turf Builder is 28-1-4. Does that have to do with how big the
granules are, and how much comes out??


Or is "Home Depot" and "Scotts" in cohoots together or something, and
lying about the weight of the bags, so that customers have to spend more
money and buy more!?


The "Scotts" bags from "Home Depot say the weight of the bag is 14.29
pounds, but maybe it's really only 8 pounds or something!?


Because why is it that last year it took 2 bags of the "Regular" Turf
Builder 14 pound bags, which is over 28 pounds to do our entire lawn,
but this year 1 bag of the 17.24 pound "Super" Turf Builder, from the
hardware store was enough??


Thanks!

On Jun 8, 3:33*pm, (MICHELLE H.) wrote:
Hi,

I am hoping that someone can explain this to me. Is there something up
with "Home Depot" and the "Scotts Company" with false bag weight
contents or something??

Here is whats going on. Our house is on 0.11 acres of land, which is
what about 4,700 square feet? This does not include the city owned
treebelt in front of our house, which is about 50 feet long and 6 feet
wide, or the grassy island with a telephone/utility pole, between our
driveway and our neighbors driveway, which is about 6 feet long and 6
feet wide. So including all that, there is probably roughly 5.000 square
feet or so.

Anyway, last year, when we put down the "Scotts Turf Builder Lawn
Fertilizer with Plus 2 Weed Control", that we bought from "Home Depot",
it took 2 bags ( 14.29 pounds each according to the bag ). with the
spreader setting on 5 1/2 like the bag says, to do our entire lawn.

Well this year, we bought a 5,000 square foot bag of "Scotts LawnPro
SUPER Turf Builder Lawn Fertilizer with Plus 2 Weed Control", and this
bag was 17.24 pounds ( according to the bag ), and we had enough to do
the entire lawn with the 1 bag!!

We bought the "Super Turf Builder" at our local hardware store, because
#1 our local hardware store is only like 10 minutes away, compared to
driving 25+ minutes to our closest "Home Depot", and #2 after the
mail-in rebate, they were the same price.

"Home Depot" has the "Regular" Turf Builder for $14.99 a bag, and the
"Super" Turf Builder at the hardware store was $17.99 a bag, with a $3
dollar mail-in rebate.

So my question is, why is it that with the drop spreader setting both
set at 5 and 1/2 both this year and last year, and doing the exact same
areas, why is it that last year we used 2 bags that were 14.29 pounds
each, of the "Regular" Turf Builder to do our lawn, but this year, it
only took 1 bag of the "Super" Turf Builder, which was 17.24 pounds.

At first I thought that maybe the "Super" Turf Builder has bigger
granules, and so it comes out at a slower rate?? But they look the same
size as last year??

Could it be because the the "Super" Turf Builder is 29-2-3, and the
"Regular" Turf Builder is 28-1-4. Does that have to do with how big the
granules are, and how much comes out??

Or is "Home Depot" and "Scotts" in cohoots together or something, and
lying about the weight of the bags, so that customers have to spend more
money and buy more!?

The "Scotts" bags from "Home Depot say the weight of the bag is 14.29
pounds, but maybe it's really only 8 pounds or something!?

Because why is it that last year it took 2 bags of the "Regular" Turf
Builder 14 pound bags, which is over 28 pounds to do our entire lawn,
but this year 1 bag of the 17.24 pound "Super" Turf Builder, from the
hardware store was enough??

Thanks!

Why not ask Scotts before posting here?

On Jun 8, 3:33*pm, (MICHELLE H.) wrote:
Hi,

I am hoping that someone can explain this to me. Is there something up
with "Home Depot" and the "Scotts Company" with false bag weight
contents or something??

Here is whats going on. Our house is on 0.11 acres of land, which is
what about 4,700 square feet? This does not include the city owned
treebelt in front of our house, which is about 50 feet long and 6 feet
wide, or the grassy island with a telephone/utility pole, between our
driveway and our neighbors driveway, which is about 6 feet long and 6
feet wide. So including all that, there is probably roughly 5.000 square
feet or so.

Anyway, last year, when we put down the "Scotts Turf Builder Lawn
Fertilizer with Plus 2 Weed Control", that we bought from "Home Depot",
it took 2 bags ( 14.29 pounds each according to the bag ). with the
spreader setting on 5 1/2 like the bag says, to do our entire lawn.

Well this year, we bought a 5,000 square foot bag of "Scotts LawnPro
SUPER Turf Builder Lawn Fertilizer with Plus 2 Weed Control", and this
bag was 17.24 pounds ( according to the bag ), and we had enough to do
the entire lawn with the 1 bag!!

We bought the "Super Turf Builder" at our local hardware store, because
#1 our local hardware store is only like 10 minutes away, compared to
driving 25+ minutes to our closest "Home Depot", and #2 after the
mail-in rebate, they were the same price.

"Home Depot" has the "Regular" Turf Builder for $14.99 a bag, and the
"Super" Turf Builder at the hardware store was $17.99 a bag, with a $3
dollar mail-in rebate.

So my question is, why is it that with the drop spreader setting both
set at 5 and 1/2 both this year and last year, and doing the exact same
areas, why is it that last year we used 2 bags that were 14.29 pounds
each, of the "Regular" Turf Builder to do our lawn, but this year, it
only took 1 bag of the "Super" Turf Builder, which was 17.24 pounds.

At first I thought that maybe the "Super" Turf Builder has bigger
granules, and so it comes out at a slower rate?? But they look the same
size as last year??

Could it be because the the "Super" Turf Builder is 29-2-3, and the
"Regular" Turf Builder is 28-1-4. Does that have to do with how big the
granules are, and how much comes out??

Or is "Home Depot" and "Scotts" in cohoots together or something, and
lying about the weight of the bags, so that customers have to spend more
money and buy more!?

The "Scotts" bags from "Home Depot say the weight of the bag is 14.29
pounds, but maybe it's really only 8 pounds or something!?

Because why is it that last year it took 2 bags of the "Regular" Turf
Builder 14 pound bags, which is over 28 pounds to do our entire lawn,
but this year 1 bag of the 17.24 pound "Super" Turf Builder, from the
hardware store was enough??

Thanks!

The formulation of 29-2-3, etc has nothing to do with the particle
size. It's just the percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
in the product. I'm assuming both products gave the spreader setting
as 5 1/2? If so, any one of a number of things could be
responsible:

The spreader has somehow suddenly drifted way off calibration,
possibly because something is loose.

Whoever applied it spread it out in a wider pattern one time vs the
other

One product could have had clumps because of poor storage


Whatever it is, it's almost certainly not that HD is cheating you on
the weight. The missing piece of info is which was the correct
amount of product for the area? I also think your estimate of 5000
sq ft is way high. You added a small area for the strip by the
street and some small common area, but what about the footprint of the
house? The driveway? Beds around the house, etc. It would be
very unlikely that a house sitting on .11 acres could have a 5000 ft
lawn. More likely it would be half that. Also, while that tree
belt may in fact be owned by the city and not included in your .11
acres, very often it is included and owned by you, just that the city
has an easement on it.

Whenever I apply product, I use the setting as a starting point. But
then I keep an eye on how fast it's going out and adjust as necessary.

MICHELLE H. wrote:

I am hoping that someone can explain this to me. Is there something up
with "Home Depot" and the "Scotts Company" with false bag weight
contents or something??

snipped for brevity

The "Scotts" bags from "Home Depot say the weight of the bag is 14.29
pounds, but maybe it's really only 8 pounds or something!?

Highly unlikely. People would notice, quickly.

Because why is it that last year it took 2 bags of the "Regular" Turf
Builder 14 pound bags, which is over 28 pounds to do our entire lawn,
but this year 1 bag of the 17.24 pound "Super" Turf Builder, from the
hardware store was enough??

Possibly, you didn't use the setting that you thought you did with the
fertilizer from Home Depot.

Or the fertilizer from the unnamed hardware store had the same size
granules, but a higher moisture content, either due to manufacturing, or
more likely, exposure after leaving the factory. Wetter granules of a
given size would flow considerably slower through your spreader.

--
Tony Sivori
Due to spam, I'm filtering all Google Groups posters.

Yes, the spreader setting was set at 5 1/2 both times, because that it
what the each bag calls for, even though one is "Regular" Turf Builder,
and one is "Super" turf builder.


Both bags say to set my "Scotts Accu-Green 1000 Drop Spreader" to 5 and
1/2, and thats what it was on this year, and well as last year, 5 and
1/2 both times.


Does the 3 pound weight difference have anything to do with it? Because
if so, how is it that last year we used 28 pounds, and this year we only
used 17 pounds on the same exact areas!?

Another poster in a different group told me that the numbers on the
front of the bag, did have something to do with it? Here is what he told
me:


The other poster wrote:



"The numbers refer to the percentage of the three primary nutrients
contained in the fertilizer. It is always listed as a percentage of
weight in the following order: Nitrogen (N); Phosphors (P); Potassium
(K). For established lawns, nitrogen is the major nutrient that greens
the grass and stimulates blade growth. In short, nitrogen makes the
grass grow and makes you mow. Phosphorus stimulates the production of
roots, runners, and stolons, to multiply grass plants and make a denser
turf. Potassium also works on root development as well as winter
hardiness. Nitrogen tends not to persist in the soil; it will move
downward or run off, and cheaper forms of nitrogen will oxidize to a
degree into the atmosphere if it is not watered in soon after
application. Over-application of nitrogen can also result in burning the
turf. Phosphorus and potassium are much more stable elements that move
slowly through the soil, so they usually don't need to be applied at
anywhere near the same rate as nitrogen.



Nitrogen is the element used by the industry to calculate coverage for
any particular fertilizer product. For the typical lawn, the average
rate of application is 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet, though
the rate can vary between 1/2 pound and 1 pound depending on the
manufacturer's specifications. But the rule of thumb for the homeowner
is: 1 lb/1000 square feet.



So - to determine the minimum recommended coverage of any bag of lawn
fertilizer, you just need to figure out how many pounds of nitrogen are
in the bag. It's easy. Multiply the percentage of nitrogen by the weight
of the bag. The "Super" Turf Builder analysis 29-2-3, and the weight is
17.24 pounds. 17.24 times 29 percent is 4.9996, so there's basically 5
pounds of nitrogen in that bag; thus, the minimum (and in this case,
recommended) coverage is 5000 square feet.


The 'Regular' Turf Builder was a 14.29 pound bag with an analysis of
28-1-4. 14.29 times 28 percent is 4, meaning there's four pounds of
nitrogen in that bag, so the minimum coverage is 4000 square feet. But
in this case, the manufacturer decided to declare the bag covered 5000
square feet, just by deciding to apply less nitrogen than the standard
guidelines. They can do that, and a comparison of the two products means
an application of regular Turf Builder supplies 25% percent less
nitrogen than the Super Turf Builder. If you wanted to go by the
standard 1 lb N/1000 square feet guideline, you could just apply the
Regular Turf Builder at a somewhat heavier rate than the manufacturer's
suggestion. Just be careful not to apply too heavily, or you risk
burning the lawn. And never forget to water it in well within 24-36
hours after application. That not only reduces the risk of burning, but
it ensures that the maximum amount of nitrogen goes into the soil,
instead of oxidizing into the atmosphere. You paid for all of it, so
water it all in".

On Jun 10, 1:36*pm, (MICHELLE H.) wrote:
Another poster in a different group told me that the numbers on the
front of the bag, did have something to do with it? Here is what he told
me:

The other poster wrote:


He didn't tell you that the NPK numbers on the front of the bag were
responsible for one product going through the spreader faster than the
other. He was just explaining what the numbers are and that with one
of those products you get more nitrogen than the other. That is due
to the Super Turf Builder having 1% more nitrogen and the bag being
substantially larger. That's why they call one product Super.

It has nothing to do with the fact that if both products that you
applied indicate that they should contain enough product to cover 5000
sq ft with the spreader set to 5 1/2, then that is approx how much
coverage you should get, That is IF the spreader is functioning
correctly, the coverage overlap is the same, the walking rate is the
same, one product isn't clumped up compared to the other etc. Just
allowing more overlap can easily make a big difference in how far the
product goes.

What he is saying would account for you noticing that the lawn was
GREENER using the higher nitrogen content application, but not that
you used a lot more of one than the other applying them per the
directions.






"The numbers refer to the percentage of the three primary nutrients
contained in the fertilizer. It is always listed as a percentage of
weight in the following order: Nitrogen (N); Phosphors (P); Potassium
(K). For established lawns, nitrogen is the major nutrient that greens
the grass and stimulates blade growth. In short, nitrogen makes the
grass grow and makes you mow. Phosphorus stimulates the production of
roots, runners, and stolons, to multiply grass plants and make a denser
turf. Potassium also works on root development as well as winter
hardiness. Nitrogen tends not to persist in the soil; it will move
downward or run off, and cheaper forms of nitrogen will oxidize to a
degree into the atmosphere if it is not watered in soon after
application. Over-application of nitrogen can also result in burning the
turf. Phosphorus and potassium are much more stable elements that move
slowly through the soil, so they usually don't need to be applied at
anywhere near the same rate as nitrogen.

Nitrogen is the element used by the industry to calculate coverage for
any particular fertilizer product. For the typical lawn, the average
rate of application is 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet, though
the rate can vary between 1/2 pound and 1 pound depending on the
manufacturer's specifications. But the rule of thumb for the homeowner
is: 1 lb/1000 square feet.

So - to determine the minimum recommended coverage of any bag of lawn
fertilizer, you just need to figure out how many pounds of nitrogen are
in the bag. It's easy. Multiply the percentage of nitrogen by the weight
of the bag. The "Super" Turf Builder analysis 29-2-3, and the weight is
17.24 pounds. 17.24 times 29 percent is 4.9996, so there's basically 5
pounds of nitrogen in that bag; thus, the minimum (and in this case,
recommended) coverage is 5000 square feet.

The 'Regular' Turf Builder was a 14.29 pound bag with an analysis of
28-1-4. 14.29 times 28 percent is 4, meaning there's four pounds of
nitrogen in that bag, so the minimum coverage is 4000 square feet. But
in this case, the manufacturer decided to declare the bag covered 5000
square feet, just by deciding to apply less nitrogen than the standard
guidelines. They can do that, and a comparison of the two products means
an application of regular Turf Builder supplies 25% percent less
nitrogen than the Super Turf Builder. If you wanted to go by the
standard 1 lb N/1000 square feet guideline, you could just apply the
Regular Turf Builder at a somewhat heavier rate than the manufacturer's
suggestion. Just be careful not to apply too heavily, or you risk
burning the lawn. And never forget to water it in well within 24-36
hours after application. That not only reduces the risk of burning, but
it ensures that the maximum amount of nitrogen goes into the soil,
instead of oxidizing into the atmosphere. You paid for all of it, so
water it all in".