How do you know it's clay? It sounds like a dumb question, but by and large -- most of the "Clay" in the deep south is actually some sort of Loam -- Mostly Silt + Sand + a little Clay..... The lady at the USDA told me "A little clay goes a long way" Now it is time to do the Soil Structure Test -- where you dump a couple inches of your dirt into a mayonnaise jar and fill almost full with water. Shake it up good... for 5+ minutes, then sit it down on a shelf. Check it at 2-minutes. Mark the line where it settled... This is Sand. Check it at 4-hours. Mark this line -- This is Silt. Check it after 2-days. Note the layer of sludge on top of the Silt.... This is clay. I found out that my "Red Clay" was really "Sandy Loam" -- 5% clay and the balance and even mix of Sand + Silt.... though you would SWEAR it was Clay! Adding Sand to actual Clay makes Sandy Clay.... Adding some Silt makes it Loam.... If you TRULY have solid CLAY... which most people DON'T.... Adding sand and organic material helps drainage... Thanks John

Mellen, I can't answer your question on how to use the corn meal, but I have a question for you: When and how often do you water? All living things, plants and animals, have certain conditions in which they do best. Fungus likes moist conditions. You don't see a lot of it in deserts! If you normally water in the evenings, and frequently, you might be able to get rid of the fungus simply by watering as early in the morning as possible? That would give the sun, and any wind, time to dry out the lawn before nightime. Then if you didn't water again till the grass absolutely needed it, the area might simply stay too dry for the fungus' liking? I once got into a conversation with a guy who runs one of those "storage facilities" not far from my house. He had a whole bunch of huge brown areas in his lawn. The first thing I asked him was when and how often he watered? (Since it virtually never rains during the summer here in Sacramento, we have complete control over watering.) Predictably, he told me they watered in the evening, and every single day!!! I suggested they start watering only early in the morning, and at most twice a week. Within a month, all the brown spots were green. Oh, you can make a simple "water measuring device" form the bottom rung of a wire coat hanger. Cut it where it's straight on one end, but leave a bit of the curve on the other, so you wind up with something that looks like a tiny cane. After you've watered, stick the wire in the ground and it will tell you how deep the water's penetrated. It goes in easier as far as the soil's been wet. Most lawn grasses, with Zoysia being an exception, have roots about 6 to 8 inches deep, so that's how deep you want to water. Then say the soil dries out an inch a day, you wouldn't need to water again for a week. Oh, you could still use the corn meal, but just as a fertilizer. It's got a pretty good nitrogen content, as well as other nutrients. I've always believed that "the simplest solutions are usually the best."

Use cracked corn instead of cornmeal. Horse feed stores will have it. Yes regular cornmeal sold at supermarkets or Sam's club or Cosco would be the same. Bill Hill

Don't cut off your nose to spite your face. Being organic is great, it's a goal for many of us. But don't lose your lawn just to stay organic - "here lies my organic dirt" just does not appeal to me. CGM does not help with fungus. You may be thinking about corn meal, the two are fairly different. There is much debate about cornmeal working for fungus. If your problem is indeed a fungus j4c11 usually recommends Heritage or Headway fungicide - I think, don't quote me on that (wait for his input).