You won't hurt the soil by over-applying :-) It is totally organic and will breakdown like any other type of organic matter and feed the soil. CGM is actually a decent organic source of nitrogen (NPK 9-0-0), so the only drawback to over-applying is that your plants may produce more lush, leafy growth, including any weeds that were not removed prior to application. What you are smelling is the natural process of the meal decomposing in somewhat anaerobic conditions because of the mulch cover - water and warmth will encourage and speed up this process but exposing the meal to air should dissipate the smell rapidly. Maybe rake off the mulch, leave the CGM exposed for a few days, then recover with the mulch.

Mistina, what are you hoping to accomplish with this mixture? What is it supposed to do? The problem with many of these so called 'natural' or organic home remedies is that they really don't do anything despite being touted for all sorts of magical properties. Corn meal - or even corn gluten meal - really doesn't have significant herbicidal or fungicidal properties. Scientific testing to support any consistent herbicidal properties have not been able tosuccessfully duplicate the results generated by Iowa State University that caused all the hoopla to begin with. And the fungicidal properties simply do not exist. But since CGM is nearly pure protein, it's not at all a bad organic fertilizer (if you overlook the consideration that most feeder corn grown in the US is GMO'd). And Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) provides absolutely NO benefit to the garden unless you have a magnesium deficiency in your soil. If you want to use any of these or similar organic home remedies for weed control or pest or disease suppression, do some research first before you spend money purchasing these products needlessly. There are numerous websites outlining any scientific testing or investigation into the alleged beneficial properties these products may or may not possess. Look in particular for scientific papers or websites with the .edu suffix. Finally, purchasing food grade equivalents of these products at a grocery store will always be more expensive than buying in bulk from a feed lot source.

In my 2-year trial experience, I found it is not a particularly good fertilizer and it is not effective in suppressing weeds. In that 2 year period I saw no effect on germination or growth. Beginning in early spring, I kept a layer of it in sidewalk cracks, between pavers, and in a small vegetable garden. A layer of bright yellow meal was always visible, all spring, summer and fall. The weeds grew very well thru it. I suppose the elevator could have sold me something besides corn gluten meal, but I don't know why they would.

This from Iowa State Universtiy may be of some help. "HOW TO USE CORN GLUTEN MEAL NICK CHRISTIANS Iowa State University Corn gluten meal works by inhibiting the root formation of germinating plants. It generally does not inhibit the roots of mature plants or transplants until your reach very high rates (80 pounds/1000 ft2 or higher). It should be applied before germination of the weeds. The weed will germinate and usually forms a shoot, but does not form a root. After germination, a short drying period is needed to kill the plants that have germinated but have not formed a root. Timing is critical. If it is too wet during germination, the plants will recover and form a root. (This is also true of chemical preemergence herbicides). It is preemergence only, there is no postemergence effect on established weeds. In fact, it makes a great fertilizer for germinated weeds. If it does not rain in 5 days of application, water it in with approximately .25 inches of water. Then leave a drying period after germination. It will usually work for about 5 to 6 weeks following germination. Rates will vary depending on crop and target weed. I generally recommend 20 lbs product per 1000 ft2. This provides about 1 lb of nitrogen per 1000 ft2. Some crops that are grown in rows can be treated in bands in the row and weeds can be tilled between rows. This makes it more economical to use in crop production. Test the material at rates from 10 lbs/1000 ft2 in 10 pound increments to as high as 80 lbs/1000 ft2. It does not work well with seeded garden crops unless they are seeded deeply (radishes seem to be the exception and there may be others). Transplants or mature plants generally work well. Some producers put down a band, work it into the upper inch of soil, and then put the transplant in the band. In garden and crop production, growers generally work out their own system, depending on their understanding of the crop they are growing and the weeds they are trying to control. The material is generally about 10% nitrogen by weight. One hundred pounds has 10 lbs of nitrogen. The nitrogen will release slowly over a 3 to 4 month period after application."