Question
I have a farm in East Texas. How many pounds per acre of sugar to fertilize?    Thanks

Answer
Hi Jim;
Again;
Sugar is NOT a fertilizer, nor is it a weed killer.
There are beneficial microbes that enrich the soil.
fertilizers. weed killers and some other chemicals commonly used on a lawn kill these microbes.
Dry molasses, sugar, beer etc, things with natural sugars in them will keep these microbes alive, and apparently they also feed the microbes.
You could till under a sugar cane crop, and that would be a good sugar treatment, or a field of sweet peas or other vegetation high in natural sugars.
I broadcast my sugar by hand. I actually always broadcasyt my chemical fertilizer by hand, when I used chemicals. I can get a more even application than I can with one of those dumb spreaders.
I Don't believe i would cae to broadcast ANYTHING by hand over more than one acre, even uf i were young and healthy.
But, there are 43.560 sq.ft in an acre, and you should use 1 pound per 250 to 300 sq.ft, you would need from 145 to 174 pounds per acre.
I would round it out to 160 pounds per acre.
I could never get an even application with a sprader, and I am assuming there will be even more discrepency in as many acres as you will have to cover, so I would allow more.
NOW, JIM!!!!!
Howard Garrett is ASHAMED of you !!
How come you don't have his books on organic gardening/farming?
I am sure he has one of properties as large as farms, to address the problems peculiar to larger acreage.
I would go with dry molasses.
I use sugar because it comes in smaller bags, I am a lil ole lady with no muscles, and that is easier for me to handle. and to shop for. I can just pick it up when I shop for groceries, and open the bag, walk around the yard broadcasting it, and water it in.
Dry molasses comes in 40 lb bags. That is a bit heavy for me.
I'm sure you would want to buy 100 lb bags and since you will be using a spreader, you would get more accurate settings with the dry molasses than with granulated sugar.
Your feed store you deal at should have dry molasses.
Meantime, get howard
s book.
After all, he is our resident organic guru for Texas.
Go to this site and get his books, or pick them up at the feed store.
I got a doozy when I went a couple of weeks ago to ge alfalfa meal ( to make alfalfa meal tea for my blooming plants).
Last Saturday on Howard's TV show, he was talking about dry molasses, and I wasn't really listening because I like the sugar better, he gave the amounts, and it seems to me he said more dry molasses per sq. ft than I use, sugar.
For Howard Garrett's website, go to
  www.dirtdoctor.com


Charlotte