Applying UltraGrow liquid fertilisers and soil conditioners is easy once you know what to do. There are many different liquid fertilisers on the market, each with unique application instructions, rates and ratios. We want to make it super simple, so you can spend more time enjoying your garden not working on it.

There are plenty of options available from recycled hose-end sprayers to top-of-the-line pressure spray packs when it comes to the application method. You can even simply use a watering can! The great thing about fertilising your garden is it is so simple, yet the results are amazing. Your application method may depend on what you have on hand in the shed, but all equipment is different, and the trick is knowing how much mixture is applied and how fast to ensure you get the best results.

The output of the applicator, the motion of your hand and even the speed you walk can all affect the results you achieve.

Before applying liquid fertilisers for the first time, we recommend calibrating your applicator. The best method of calibration is to do a “wet” run over an area of known dimension, noting the time it takes to empty the liquid solution.

How to calibrate your spray equipment:

1. Fill your applicator with 1L of water. 
2. Find a suitable, dry area that you can apply the liquid over. A driveway is perfect as you can see exactly where you have already sprayed and get a great understanding of application overlap and overspray.
3. Apply the liquid over the driveway using a steady hand, minimising overlap and overspray. Maintain a constant pace and method. Something you can replicate each time you apply your liquids. A bit slower than walking speed should be adequate.
4. You want the ground to be wet but not create puddles particularly if foliar application is your desired approach.
5. A good guide should be roughly 1L over 25m2
6. When the applicator is empty, measure the area covered.

You can now determine the application speed and calculate exactly how much your sprayer can cover with this information.

For example, if you have a 10L backpack sprayer and during calibration, you could comfortably cover 25m2 of the driveway before completely emptying 1L of water from the sprayer. You would multiply 10L (sprayer capacity) x 25m2(area covered with 1L) = 250m2. This is the area which the full sprayer will cover.

Take the following scenario.

Your lawn is 250m2 in total, and you would like to apply Dyna-Maxx, which has a recommended application rate of 80ml / 100m2. A simple calculation tells you how much concentrate will be required – 250m2/100m2 x 80ml = 200ml (volume of concentrate required).

You are using a 10L pressure sprayer, and during calibration, you could comfortably cover 25m2 of the driveway before completely emptying 1L of water. Your lawn is ten times larger than the area covered in calibration – 250m2/25m2 = 10. So you will need ten times as much carrier water to cover your lawn area – 20L.

In this scenario, you would mix 20L of water with 200ml of Dyna-Maxx concentrate and apply it over 250m2 of lawn. Using a 10L sprayer will be two full sprayers to cover the whole lawn surface.

The last item to consider is the minimum dilution rate. Some liquid fertilisers will provide a recommended dilution which is the minimum amount of carrier water required to mix with concentrate to ensure the best result. In the case of Dyna-Maxx , the minimum dilution rate is 1:50, which essentially means 1ml of concentrate to 50ml of water at minimum. For our scenario above, 200ml of concentrate is required and a minimum of 10L of water would be needed which is more than covered.