In a word, "No." It's oversimplified in the sense that yes, you can make items that contain plenty of potassium. But they'll also destroy your soil pH, contain heavy metals, and have other problems. I've heard the delightful advice of using...well, I won't tell you as you might be tempted to do it anyway.

That's lovely, it does contain tons of potassium, and it also contains--as noted--every heavy metal the item ever concentrated. And, also as noted, a very, very high pH. It's a terrible idea.

The reason fertilizers cost something is because they're chemically purer and controlled in terms of what they do contain.

If you're also short of phosphorus, you can feed with 10-10-10 fertilizer at the correct times to slowly correct the potassium balance as well, realizing that bahia isn't particularly demanding of that either... But without seeing the soil test, I couldn't be sure of what you need.

Not that I'd recommend potassium chloride. :-) But you could use it if you had to. But potassium sulfate shouldn't be all that much more expensive in the ag grade, either.

The one gal jug is 82.00 but looking today i did find some smaller packages but the shipping put it way over the top. Now that i know some of the product names ill check the local farm stores to see if they have any. Thanks for the reply :)

"Gallon?"

Potassium sulfate or potassium chloride will be much cheaper in solid form and is easy to spread using a hand-held whirlygig spreader or other spreader set at a very low number.

I watched a video where he used the gal jug but only used 8oz at a time, so i guess over time it pays for itself but i cant afford that right now. I am getting a spreader this week and i found some P. sulfate online so maybe the local stores will have it too since i am in rural Texas.

What i find interesting is that where i killed the dallis grass is all brown and has been for a few weeks now, and the bahia grass is starting to grow through it again all by itself, no seed. I thought about ripping out the old dead dallis grass by hand but then i was like well if the bahia is growing let it grow maybe the dead weed will help as it rots.

When i seeded the other side i have both bare spots and dead dallis spots and i just seeded right over them both thinking if the seed gets down in the dead weed it will help it germinate. I will see what happens in a week or so if it pops or not.

I will pick up one of these this week as well.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Soil-Test-Kit/999989630

Don't bother, the kits are a waste and I won't read the answers because they're never accurate. It's one case where spending a few bucks and sending it off to Logan Labs for a formal test is worth it.

There could, theoretically, be almost 2 oz of KCl in that 8 oz of liquid. Which is highly unlikely, but let's run with it and give them the benefit of the highly-improbable doubt. Since I'm doing that, I'm making the math easier and calling it 1 oz exactly of potassium by weight (which is still off-the-charts-high).

To hit 1 pound of potassium per thousand square feet--about the minimum application I would use, less than that is pointless and indicates that no potassium is required--would require 16 of those 8 ounce units, or 1 * 16 ounces of potassium for 16 oz, or 1 pound of potassium, 32 ounces of potassium chloride, 128 ounces of solution, or 1 gallon.

Unless they're using 1 gallon of their solution per thousand square feet, the stuff is pretty much snake oil and you might as well simply be watering the lawn with your hose.

Which would mean that three gallons of solution on your property would be required to apply one pound of potassium per thousand square feet.

Minimum. Because KCl can only be dissolved at 0.22 pounds per pound of water, and 1 gallon of water weighs 8.8 pounds. 1 gallon of solution can only dissolve 1.9 pounds of KCl, which will contain somewhat less than 1 actual pound of potassium.

Absolute maximum.

That's the simple math.

And the math's worse with potassium sulfate.

Thank you very much for that information, i will not get that kit but ill try to remember to stop by the local AG place in town to pick up a real test kit.

All test kits are crap. QED. Send it off to a soil testing lab. You'll spend about the same and get an actual answer.

Agreed. Don't waste your time with a DIY test. Get a real test. If you haven't done a test, you don't know what your soil needs. Your need for potassium was decided how? I assume you're in Texas. A&M Extension does economical soil testing. That's a REAL test. http://soiltesting.tamu.edu/ -- "Routine Analysis" - pH, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, and S, $12/sample (not including shipping).

Hi i tried to have this uploaded yesterday but my net went out. I took a video which i hope will explain what im dealing with. Yes i am in E. Texas and the Extension office does have official real soil testing that i can get from them. I decided to add some potash because this used to be just a field and it sat forever with no prep at all. But the grass was really rough looking when i first got the land in Feb this year. So thought since most of the time Bahia just likes alittle potash once in a while that i would give it some just to help it out, there was no science behind my decision, sorry...

Here is the video i made... i hope this helps you see what i have here.

I decided to add some potash because this used to be just a field and it sat forever with no prep at all.

Fields don't necessarily need a little potassium. Only a soil test will tell you.

But the grass was really rough looking when i first got the land in Feb this year. So thought since most of the time Bahia just likes a little potash once in a while that i would give it some just to help it out.

Bahia, if that's what you have, would only need a little potassium if the soil was deficient in potassium.

Has your grass ever gone to seed? Do you know what King Ranch Bluestem plants look like? It grows fairly low but suddenly sends up an 18-inch seed head. This plant has taken over every highway median and field across rural Texas. It would not surprise me if that is what you are calling bahia. My yard in Bandera had KR bluestem, but the St Augustine has mostly pushed it out. I still get the stuff outside my dense turf and in the thinner areas where it hasn't 'densified' yet.

Fortunately, of all the additions done blindly, potassium and calcium are the two you can get away with even if you didn't need them. A temporary excess won't do actual, long-term damage.

But don't bother doing it again without a proper soil test. The only real reason to add potassium is because a test shows you need potassium.