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.

To answer you question: Sure you could use Corn Gluten now, unfortunately most of use have found it doesn't work very well as a pre-emergent. However it is an excellent fertilizer. The pre-emergent results vary greatly and for the cost, I think you will be disappointed. With an organic approach your going to have some weeds, thats a fact. Now, there are some things you can do to limit the amount of weeds you have. Proper management practices that encourage a dense, thriving turf are the best method of weed control. Healthy turf shades the soil so sunlight can't reach weed seeds ready to germinate. A thick turf also minimizes the physical space available for weeds to become established. There are several management practices that will promote a healthy, dense grass. Proper management begins with selection of the best turf species or variety for a particular area. For example, heavily shaded areas will support only a few turfgrass species. This results in thin, weak turf that is very susceptible to weed invasion. Do some homework before you overseed this fall and find the best variety of seed for your area and "shade situation". Proper fertilization, watering and mowing are required to produce a dense turf that will prevent weed infestation. If turf is over-or under-watered, over-or under-fertilized, or mowed too low or too infrequently, the turf is weakened and cannot compete with weeds. Damaged areas resulting from using unsharpened mowers increase time needed for turf recovery, allowing for weed invasion. It is very important to understand that weeds don't create a void, they fill a void. So, first, Set your mower to its Highest setting and leave it there. Always use a Sharp blade Irrigate with 3/4" of water when 30-50% of the lawn shows signs of stress. In the shady areas you might be able to go weeks between waterings. The general rule of thumb is no more than once a week in the middle of summer. This is the most important step IMO. To determine how long to run your sprinkler system to apply this much water, set out several straight-sided, same-size cans (tuna cans work best) at random in each irrigation zone and see how long it takes to fill them to the desired depth. Be sure to check your irrigation system for uniform coverage at the same time. In the meantime get yourself a Weedhound(google it) or hand pull the weeds. You could also CAREFULLY spot spray the weeds with vinegar.

Three things need to happen for CGM to work properly: First you need to have the timing down. If your timing is off by a couple of weeks there's a possibility it will not be activated before the first weeds start germinating. These will survive. Second (as was already mentioned) you need to have a drying period. The CGM will allow the seed to germinate but it will not allow it to form the the tiny hair roots it needs for proper nutrient and water uptake. Without these roots as soon as the plant is stressed it will die. Third, and this is the most important, you need to have the right set of organisms present in the soil for the CGM to work. Has anyone ever thought why the trials stated it most effective after three years of use? It's due to the repeated bi-yearly cycles of feeding the organisms that allow it to work. Without them the CGM remains just an amendment with lots of protein. Applied over a three year period, and even sooner if good ACT is used, and applied at 20lbs./k when the forsythia blooms and mid-August (for my area anyway, other warmer climates will have different Fall application schedules), it WILL drastically reduce the number of weeds in your lawn. Others can speculate what they want but the trials weren't set up to be made up. CGM is not a myth. If you feel compelled to apply chem's to your lawn I believe there's another forum that addresses that, but this isn't it. Greenjeans

It depends on what you are using the corn meal for. You apply the corn meal dry and then water it in to activate it. If you don't water it in, it doesn't work. Here's the different ones available and how you use them: CORN GLUTEN MEAL: Corn Gluten Meal is a natural weed-and-feed fertilizer. Research done at Iowa State University in the early 1990s found that it inhibits root formation at the time weed seeds germinate. It also is about 10% nitrogen and feeds the plants at the same time. You apply it (down here in southern OK) between February 15th and March 15th at a rate of about 15-20 lbs. per 1000 square feet. You spread it at this time to prevent germination of crab grass, grassburrs and other annual weeds that sprout in late winter to early spring. You apply it (down here in southern OK) between September 15th and October 15th at the same rate of 15-20 lbs. per 1000 square feet to inhibit germination of cool-season weeds that germinate in fall and winter, which includes dandelions, henbit and annual bluegrass. IF you are overseeding your lawn with rye grass or fescue, you can't use the corn gluten meal until all your grass seed has sprouted and grown at least a couple of inches tall. CORN MEAL: Plain old kitchen corn meal has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties, so it is great as a natural disease control in the lawn and garden, and even in seed flats and pots. It is also a mild fertilizer. You apply it at the rate of 20 lbs. per 1000 square feet. It has been found to be effective on brown patch disease in St. Augustine, and many people have found it to work on various soil-borne fungal diseases, including those that attack photinia, Indian hawthorne, roses, and fruit trees. Corn meal works, by the way, by providing and stimulating existing beneficial microorganisms that feed on bad pathogens like bacteria and fungi. Corn meal can be scattered on the surface of your seed flats to prevent damping off. Spread at the rate of 2 lbs. per 100 square feet of seed flats. FOR ALGAE CONTROL: You can apply corn meal OR horticultural corn meal to your ponds at the rate of 5 lbs. per 100 s.f. or 150-200 lbs. per surface acre of water to control algae in ponds. The cornmeal's cellulose helps tie up excess phosphorus in the water which helps balance the water chemistry and kills the algae. Also, there is organic carbon in cornmeal which "feeds" beneficial bacteria in the water which enables them to flourish at the expense of the algae. You do have to be really careful about applying it to ponds though, because is can tie up so much oxygen that you have a fish kill. HORTICULTURAL CORN MEAL: This is just a stronger form of corn meal manufactured just for the horticultural industry. It contains the concentrated outer layer of the corn kernel. And, I want to emphasize that all the corn meal products work ONLY when used as part of an organic gardening program. They do not work if used in combination with chemicals. For what it is worth, listeners of Howard Garrett's weekend radio gardening show in Fort Worth have been experimenting with corn meal for several years, using it to combat various fungal problems like skin (esp. foot) fungal problems and nail fungal problems. A lot of them have reported success by soaking cornmeal and water and using the "corn meal juice" as a soak for feet or nails. Some of his listeners have used it on themselves and other people, and some have used it on pets with fungal skin problems. Dawn