Tennessee Model Airplane Enthusiasts Flying High After One Season With Monty’s Hay Program

Tennessee Model Airplane Enthusiasts Flying High After One Season With Monty’s Hay Program

(Morristown, TN) – Billy Hendricks, with Cherokee Flyers, a local RC Airplane Club, was excited when the city of Morristown granted his club access to land near the community of Witt, TN. Once he saw the condition of the former hay field his enthusiasm dipped. The field was filled with a mixture of orchard grass, clover, and weeds. Additionally it consisted of heavily compacted clays, fungus and moss indicative of poor drainage and poorer soils. Club members were concerned that the ‘clumpy’ grasses, uneven fields, and hard soils would damage their landing gear. Refusing to look a gift horse in the mouth, he determined to correct those problems. He soon found out, though, that he was restricted by a very limited budget, ballooning fertilizer prices, and no irrigation. After searching the internet and researching solutions, Hendricks found his cure in the form of a relatively new agricultural fertilizer company, Louisville, KY-based Monty’s Plant Food Company.

After several conversations, it was determined that the company could help out the troubled club, not only with their fertilizer line but also a brand new offering -- Monty’s Liquid Carbon a certified organic soil conditioner. From those initial conversations, soils tests, and field visits by Monty’s staff, protocols for treatment were established. Monty’s personnel and Hendricks agreed that they would treat the soon-to-be airfield treated using a modified version of their hay and pasture program. The goals were to improve drainage, reduce weed pressure, eliminate high salt and chemical build-up, raise organic matter, encourage growth of the more desirable (for model airplanes) fescue, and eliminate the presence of fungal and moss growths on the soil’s surface. (See protocols and pictures below)

Even through a drought, Monty’s optimized the results and is moving the Cherokee Flyers even higher. The grass on the airfield has remained green and is continuing to spread and strengthen, while the problems related to the soil have been almost completely remediated.

Monty’s treatment for grass hay on extremely heavy clays, with renovation:

Apply 64 oz of Monty’s Liquid Carbon in a minimum of 15 gallons of water per acre
Wait two weeks
Overseed
Re-Apply Monty’s Liquid Carbon at the initial rate tank mixed with 24 oz. per acre of Monty’s 4-15-12 Seed Starter
Apply 24 oz. of Monty’s 8-16-8 Growth Formula in a minimum of 15 gallons of water per acre every 28-35 days throughout the growing season

Results:

Organic Matter raised from 3.7 to 6.7
Calcium Level elevated from 1072 to 1650
Cation Exchange Capacity jumped from 9.9 to 14.2
Field now drains more evenly
Fescue is out-competing orchard grass and weed species
Moss and fungus are all but eliminated
Soil is less compacted and softer as evidence by ability to drive fence posts, utilize mechanical aerator, and dig the soil just by scratching your shoe across the surface; All of these would have been impossible prior to Monty’s Program.

By combining Monty’s Liquid Carbon with Monty’s family of Fertility Products anyone seeking to grow top quality grass crops, from Cattle Grazers to Hay Growers to homeowners who just want a luxurious backyard, in shade or full sun, can benefit. For more information talk with your local farm store or garden center today or at www.montysplnatfood.com.