Alternative to Ironite

grassnut – posted 08 January 2004 16:36

Hello,

I need to add some iron to help out my yellowing lawn and was considering Ironite. However, I just read some articles claiming that Ironite has dangerous levels of lead and arsenic. With two little ones and no telling how many neighborhood kids playing on my lawn, it’s just not worth the risk. Anyone have some good alternatives to Ironite? Scott’s has some fertilizers with Iron added, but also high levels of Nitogen. Don’t really need the extra growth.

Thanks,

Brad

jr – posted 08 January 2004 19:09

Who wrote that nonsense? Pesticide and fertilizer manufacturers have to register thier products with the EPA. The EPA isn’t going to license a lawn supplement meant for homeowner use that’s full of lead and arsenic. I am sure the EPA doesn’t really want runoff from people’s yards going into municipal storm water systems full of toxic heavy metals. You can’t buy lead paint or leaded gas, so why in the world would you think you can buy leaded fertlizer?

grassnut – posted 08 January 2004 23:26

You’re probably right. I should just trust in the EPA and rest assured that they are protecting me. Probably just a bunch of environmentalist’s nazi propaganda anyways. But should you wish to check for yourself, here are a few links I found.

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/risk/ironite.htmhttp://www.watoxics.org/content/pdf/IroniteConsumerFacts.pdfhttp://www.envirolaw.org/poison.htmlhttp://www.meepi.org/files02/ironite.htmhttp://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/1998/04/27/story4.htmlhttp://www.calisafe.org/_disc1/00000010.htmhttp://www.ocweekly.com/ink/03/36/news-pignataro.phphttp://www.rense.com/politics5/waste.htmhttp://www.mineralpolicy.org/media/pdf/20020611_Ironite.pdf

There are many more, but they all pretty much say the same thing.

Thanks,

Brad

seed – posted 09 January 2004 06:48

The EPA does not register fertilizers.

Who regulates and researches fertilizers and their relationship to groundwater and human health would make an interesting story. There is a patchwork of programs among Federal agencies, but the state departments of agriculture have a major interest.

Phil

ted – posted 09 January 2004 11:09

isn’t there better question of why do you need to use ironite? it’s typically used in the south to counteract the high ph’s. why don’t you soil test it for $7 and see if there may be another problem. that way you’re not killing your kids and can have a better lawn in the meantime!!!

grassnut – posted 09 January 2004 22:22

Hi Ted,

Actually, I did have soil test done, but I didn’t pay the extra $3.00 to get the Iron analysis added. Next time I’ll get the “Works”. The main reason I think I need some iron is that my lawn has a yellowish color to it. From what I’ve been reading, that may be indicative of iron deficiency. By the way I do live in the south (Houston area) and my soil test showed a pH level of 7.8, which put it in the high range.

Thanks,

Brad

ted – posted 10 January 2004 11:08

great info. that’s the problem with houston lawns. ironite will help, but do remember that the lawns are dormant now and will start to green up again very soon. of course living in south houston you may have some color to your lawn all winter long depending upon the temps. if you want to lower you ph, you may want to do multiple aps of sulfur- you can buy this at the lesco service center, i believe, in clear lake. that will lower your ph. however i’ve had ph readings in that range before with a great looking houston lawn. as far as the environmental angle goes, i think you’re a little over concerned. people in this industry that have actually dealt with these products and who have developed them, have a completely different take on their safety than some sensationalistic ( is that a word?) media source. relax, my point is that you don’t have to use a multitude of chemicals to have a nice lawn. fertilize and water and mow correctly and you’ll eliminate 90% of your chemical use. for example in the fungus season of late aug. early sept. if you’ll cut back on the watering, use no nitrogen, and remove the clippings, you’ll dramatically reduce your need for fungicides. my approach is to do the basics correctly, including the installation, and reduce your need for chems. but when i need to use a chemical i’m completely confident in their safety. you have no idea how much testing goes on with these products, it’s amazing. i’m a licensed chemical lawn care company owner in houston for 20 years. good luck

beav1875 – posted 11 February 2004 09:11

Try milorganite if you need iron It also has Nitrogen in it as ironite does’nt and its almost as much iron as ironite and wont stain anything

Alex_in_FL – posted 26 March 2004 20:55

My suggestion would be to get a regular fertilizer (lesco maybe) that has 2% iron and fertilize/iron your yard at same time.

Now, to put your mind at ease, don’t worry about the small amount of arsenic in the ironite. It is not going to put you or your kids at risk unless you dine on the ironite or your kids are in the habit of eating a bowl of turf a day.

Lex

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 29 March 2004 08:00

If you have high alkalinity, what happens with iron is the calcium in the soil binds with the iron making it unavailable to the plants. It is still there, though.

I use a product called greensand. It is compost of a mined mineral called glauconite. Glauconite has a lot of unavailable iron in it which throws a lot of people off. What it does is the other components of glauconite will bind with the calcium and release the existing iron in the soil back to the plants. So while the glauconite does not release any of its own iron, it does “provide” iron back to the plants.

In the summer after the big rains, you’ll notice significant yellowing of St Augustine lawns. Greensand is the only solution. Ironite won’t touch the problem because as soon as the iron hits the soil, it gets bound up by the alkalinity.

Lawndude – posted 13 April 2004 03:10

Lesco has a 5-10-20 with 10% iron. Low N and the fe to boot