Fusion

[Five Seasons]

I'm going to plant about an acre of fusion this spring. The pH is good, it's old farm land but was left to grow this past year so I need to mow before I spray and till. Right now it's pretty muddy and WTI recommends April-June to plant. Has anyone planted clover or fusion and when did you get after it? I recognize I need to mow, spray, till, spray again and then disc before I even put seeds in the ground.

[G-Man]

49 minutes ago, Belo said:

I'm going to plant about an acre of fusion this spring. The pH is good, it's old farm land but was left to grow this past year so I need to mow before I spray and till. Right now it's pretty muddy and WTI recommends April-June to plant. Has anyone planted clover or fusion and when did you get after it? I recognize I need to mow, spray, till, spray again and then disc before I even put seeds in the ground.

Last time i planted fusion was in May after turkey hunting in am.  The plot is now 5 years old but I killed the chicory out of it after 3 years when weeds were getting bad And it's pure clover now

Edited March 16, 2022 by G-Man

[suburbanfarmer]

You can spread some whiteclover (2#/acre) now and prep the bed. Then mow and spray in May and plant fusion on top.

[E J]

Every one does things a little different. I personally prefer to plant my clover plots in early September with a cover crop of whitetail institutes oat mix. The weed pressure is less this time of year. You won't have a lot of clover during this hunting season but it will come on like gangbusters next spring. You could spend this summer working on killing weeds a couple times or put a buckwheat cover crop in to smother them out as long as you kill the buckwheat before it goes to seed.

[onlybrowning]

I’ve used Fusion for several years, starting when it was called it’s previous name. You’ll be fine planting it after you can get in there and work the ground. It’s all about getting it established before it’s dry in my opinion.


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[Cabin Fever]

I broadcasted Fusion into my backyard plot last spring. Did no ground prep what-so-ever (other than a soil test and broadcast some fertilizer), broadcasted seed into my existing spotty lawn and never sprayed, just mowed. Figured I'd just have to be satisfied with what came up. It grew great, thick and lush! 

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by Cabin Fever

[Five Seasons]

28 minutes ago, suburbanfarmer said:

You can spread some whiteclover (2#/acre) now and prep the bed. Then mow and spray in May and plant fusion on top.

I'm not sure I can spread anything right now, the goldenrod is still chest high in some spots. 

[Five Seasons]

My soil sample calls for 34-0-0, I'll need only 88 pounds but I can't find this shit anywhere other than lowes and damn that can't be the best way to go about it or is it? I see liquid fertilizer too but not sure I want the hassle of that eventhough I just bought a sprayer. I know I'm early but stuff I've waited on like my sprayer and cultivator have all gone out of stock or up in price so I'm trying to jump on it now.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Scotts-Turf-Builder-Annual-Program-9-42-lb-4000-sq-ft-34-0-0-Lawn-Fertilizer/1000666037

 

[Otto]

There must be a local farm supply or co-op in your area.  You could always use 34-0-0 which should be easier to find too.  

[suburbanfarmer]

5 hours ago, Belo said:

I'm not sure I can spread anything right now, the goldenrod is still chest high in some spots. 

If you can walk thru it, you can frost seed clover. and before the green up mow the golden rod down

[Five Seasons]

15 hours ago, Otto said:

There must be a local farm supply or co-op in your area.  You could always use 34-0-0 which should be easier to find too.  

yeah that's what I'm going to look for, I was just looking online and that's all I found, I'm in webster.

10 hours ago, suburbanfarmer said:

If you can walk thru it, you can frost seed clover. and before the green up mow the golden rod down

I've invested quite a bit in some farm equipment to till it up. I know many do very well with frost seeding but I want to try my hand in being a suburban wannabe farmer haha

[suburbanfarmer]

3 hours ago, Belo said:

yeah that's what I'm going to look for, I was just looking online and that's all I found, I'm in webster.

Did you try Agway store on Empire?

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, suburbanfarmer said:

Did you try Agway store on Empire?

no i will do that. I have time but i'm worried about shortages later so I'll check around this weekend.

[Cabin Fever]

There's a big fertilizer place in Phelps, where I've gotten fertilizer in past year. They have even mixed some up to what I specifically needed. I just called them to see if they have any of the 34-0-0 that you need. She said this isn't something typical they mix. She said they have 43-0-0, which is pretty much straight urea. They should have it in 50lb bags late next week. She said she doesn't have a price yet for 50lb bags, but to expect it to double from last year. From past dealings with them, they have always been quite a bit cheaper than buying from a store. 

It might be a hike for you to Phelps. If you're interested, I drive right by the place 2-3x/week and can pick it up for you and we can meet up somewhere for you to get it.

This is the place and contact info. If you're interested, give them a call late next week.

PHELPS SUPPLY, INC. - Home

[moog5050]

2 hours ago, suburbanfarmer said:

Did you try Agway store on Empire?

Agway on Empire tends to not have much for fertilizer in my experience but worth a try.

[moog5050]

6 hours ago, Belo said:

yeah that's what I'm going to look for, I was just looking online and that's all I found, I'm in webster.

I've invested quite a bit in some farm equipment to till it up. I know many do very well with frost seeding but I want to try my hand in being a suburban wannabe farmer haha

Try countrymax

[moog5050]

2 hours ago, Belo said:

no i will do that. I have time but i'm worried about shortages later so I'll check around this weekend.

If you want urea for nitrogen, why not just plant clover with whatever else you have planned.  It adds nitrogen back.    I never use anything but 15-15-15 (easy to find) if I want to fertilize and always had good crops on both parcels.   Never had a soil test but I know my place is quality black muck and Mendon had crap soil. Still grew well.   Disclaimer: I claim no expertise, just offer based on limited experience.   Lol

[Nomad]

I texted the farmer where I hunt as they have a large operation and lots of contacts. He said , “ that will be a hard one, everything is tight .”

If I were you I’d grab that stuff from Loews while I could .

[Five Seasons]

15 hours ago, moog5050 said:

If you want urea for nitrogen, why not just plant clover with whatever else you have planned.  It adds nitrogen back.    I never use anything but 15-15-15 (easy to find) if I want to fertilize and always had good crops on both parcels.   Never had a soil test but I know my place is quality black muck and Mendon had crap soil. Still grew well.   Disclaimer: I claim no expertise, just offer based on limited experience.   Lol

I did a soil test and that's what it calls for. I understand that it doesn't need to be an exact science and 88 pounds an acre of nitrogen tells me that if I can't get it, I'll still probably be just fine and I'm sure a 15-15-15 or similar wouldn't exactly kill my crop either. There is currently just a fallow field there now, I chose fusion because I wanted to plant clover and it's my understanding that both deer and turkey like chicory too.

14 hours ago, Nomad said:

I texted the farmer where I hunt as they have a large operation and lots of contacts. He said , “ that will be a hard one, everything is tight .”

If I were you I’d grab that stuff from Loews while I could .

yeah that's exactly my fear right now. Will see what I can find this weekend. Buying 9 pound bags from Lowes at that price seems just stupid.

[stubborn1VT]

I wouldn't spend the money on that much fertilizer.  The clover only need a tiny bit of nitrogen before it starts making its own.  The chicory could use some nitrogen to start, but then it will get it from the clover. 

If you want to follow the recommendation, just get a couple 40lb bags of urea.  I hate to think of what fertilizer is going to cost...

[wolc123]

7 hours ago, Belo said:

I did a soil test and that's what it calls for. I understand that it doesn't need to be an exact science and 88 pounds an acre of nitrogen tells me that if I can't get it, I'll still probably be just fine and I'm sure a 15-15-15 or similar wouldn't exactly kill my crop either. There is currently just a fallow field there now, I chose fusion because I wanted to plant clover and it's my understanding that both deer and turkey like chicory too.

yeah that's exactly my fear right now. Will see what I can find this weekend. Buying 9 pound bags from Lowes at that price seems just stupid.

Seems odd to put in that much nitrogen.  I think fusion is a blend of clover and chicory.  Clover fixes its own nitrogen (gets it for free from the air which is mostly made up of nitrogen), so I aways minimize or eliminate any nitrogen that I add with fertilizer to any clover plot.  

[Five Seasons]

So I made some stops yesterday and my overall conclusion of fertilizer is just that I'm a bit early. Agway was all out, guy said he had 1 bag of some 45-0-0 but that it was bought. Country max looked like they were just that day taking pallets out of storage or off the truck, most still wrapped in plastic. Clerk said more over the next 2 weeks. Lowes actually has some 28-0-2 bags of scotts "green max" that will fit the bill, but only the small bags out, big bags still in the rafters. Still hundreds of bags so I can wait. 

I'm just nervous because the sprayer I was waiting to buy jumped $200 in price and the cultivator set I wanted is now out of stock. This economy is like none my 38 year old ass has ever seen and I hate to say it, but I think the sooner you buy stuff the less likely you are to be the one left without it, even if that means storing it for longer or possibly missing a spring sale. 

Edited March 22, 2022 by Belo

[Nomad]

27 minutes ago, Belo said:

hate to say it, but I think the sooner you buy stuff the less likely you are to be the one left without it, even if that means storing it for longer or possibly missing a spring sale. 

Bingo .

the stuff I use to keep my ash trees alive, isn’t sold or now shipped to NY. I’ve $1000 worth of the stuff in my Outback that I had shipped to me in Fla.

[LET EM GROW]

The rule of thumb for spring planted perennial plots like this is to terminate in April on a warm day and plants are green and actively growing, then plant soon after.. The idea behind these planting dates is strictly due to soil moisture and cool ground temps. When ground temps get to warm and dry, clovers don't germinate as well. So anytime from April -June with ideal planting conditions will suit you fine.. The earlier the better though to have a good fall plot. Also, Keep from spraying anything on first year clovers. These clovers set roots before really showing stem growth, so in many instances its best to use a nurse crop, like oats(which turkey love in Spring) or Spring Wheat, to aid in weed competition.. Mow before these mature and seed out..    

If your going to fertilize, I would use foliar liquids, or humics/seed starter like this.. save yourself the hassle of looking for fertilizer. This company offers everything you need, and has the best on the market.  

https://www.grandparayoutdoors.com/product-page/humic-booster-7-5lbs

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by LET EM GROW