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Rocky Mountain Gardening

Denver Feed Supply Stores?

14 years ago

I didn't want to post this on the Organic Lawn forum given that my question is specific to Denver, CO. I've been convinced to go Organic, however, I can't find and Feed/Supply stores that sell corn meal, soy meal, alfalfa meal, or the many other meals that are great for feeding my lawn.

I live near I-70 and Pena Blvd. Does anyone know of a store in the Denver area that sells these products in bulk? I'm looking for 50lbs. bags...

Thank you,

Chad

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Comments (9)

Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
14 years ago
Hi Chad,

I donÂt know if they have what youÂre looking for, but you might call Willow Run Feed & Supply in Broomfield to ask. They carry all kinds of grain feeds and other stuff. I go there because I can get the bird seed I use in 50 lb. bags. HavenÂt gotten bird seed anywhere else for many years now.

TheyÂre not real close to you, but you could come up Tower and 120th goes all the way thru now, or you could just come up I25 to 120th. TheyÂre at 120th just west of Sheridan Â 303.466.5971. I thought they had their own site, but if they do, I canÂt find it, so hereÂs a link to the site with the best map!

Welcome to Rocky Mountain Gardening,
Skybird

Here is a link that might be useful: Willow Run
luckybottom
14 years ago
Check Brighton Feed. If they don't have it they should be able to get it.

I went to corn meal gluten on the lawn a few years ago and am very happy. The lawn takes less water, thickened up quite a bit over what it had been before, looks less stressed in wind and hot weather and stays a much darker green!

The CMG is not cheap any more. I think it was over $30 for 50 lbs this spring. When I started it was like $14 for the same size bag. The first year I put it down pretty thick every month and the first few months I was really questioning the decision. But by the end of summer the lawn was looking better and by mid summer the second year the difference was clear. Last year and this I only put it on in spring and again in the fall.

Here is a link that might be useful: Brighton Feed
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chadsteam
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you for your suggestions. I saw on the FAQ that I should not use corn gluten meal yet, because it keeps seeds from germinating and I'm still overseeding my lawn. Also, today I found another place that sells 50lbs bags of soybean meal for $14. Walker's Quality Cage & Feed Supply at 4298 Kipling in Wheatridge. They also seemed to have an over-abundance of various bird feed.

Should I use the corn gluten meal in the middle of the summer after germination is complete or wait for the fall?
luckybottom
14 years ago
Great price on the soybean meal.

I am by no means any kind of expert, so check out the forum on "Organic Lawn Care". If it were me, I would wait till all the grass was up and then use the CMG. My lawn is next to an open grass pasture that has all kinds of weeds, so the ability to fight weeds seeds in the lawn before they germinate is a good thing.
jaliranchr
14 years ago
CGM is a pre-emergent, supposedly, (yes, I've tried it and I don't use it anymore) but a pre-em isn't going to do you any good in the middle of the summer, just add extra N to your lawn at the height of the summer when it is the most stressed by the heat and aridity. You'd be better off waiting until the fall to try it or wait until next spring. If you are on the east end of the metro area, call a coulple places in Bennett, Watkins and Strasburg, they'd be about as close as the place clear across the town in Wheat Ridge and far less traffic to fight. :)
catladysgarden
14 years ago
I go out to Parker Feed for my garden stuff. If you ever find any alfalfa meal around here, let me know where. All I have ever found is pellets.

You say you're near I-70 and Pena Blvd. Are you a neighbor? We are on 35th Place, a couple of blocks south of the entrance to Pena Blvd.
Karen
chadsteam
Original Author
14 years ago
Close, I am in the new KB neighborhood off of 56th and Pena. Currently, I am trying to save my 3 yr old lawn. About 50% of my KBG has already gone away and has been replaced by a blend of short grass that must have been mixed in with the sod. I didn't know about mowing heights until after the first year and was mowing my lawn down to about 1-1.5", instead of the recommended height of 2-4" for KBG. Also, my roots didn't establish well and I have a very thick spongy layer of roots and thatch in many spots. So I'm going organic to help fight back my thatch problem. I'm also overseeding each spring which has helped some, but I think I'm going to start moving 2" plugs from healthy parts to scarce parts of my lawn to help speed up the process. We don't get as much rain out here by the airport, so watering schedules has still been problematic. I think that watering 3 days a week has caused the root/thatch problem, but when I water 2 days a week for longer intervals, my lawn dries out too quickly.

I am also trying to start a perennial garden in the back, but am still struggling to figure out my watering schedule to keep the garden soil from drying out. I've lost more than half my plants, but the garden is probably for another thread.
Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years ago
I used to have a landscape design and const business in CA, Chad. And I'd see this all the time. Sure, there was some operator error there in your yard, but likely you are fighting a landscape that was slapped down in a hurry.

You may want to think about looking at what you have under the lawn. We are about 4-5 mi due south of you (same wind, ~same soil) and we have an area in the lawn that didn't get rototilled by the installers now the clay is compacted and we look at the results all summer. If we cared about lawn, we'd do something about it and I can't get family approval for that fix-it project.

That is: it's great that you want to do what you describe, but if you have compacted poorly amended clay you're gonna be frustrated real soon.

Dan
matoad_gw
14 years ago
I want to put in a plug here for EXCELLO feed, etc - 2 blocks or so west of Colorado Blvd on E. 48th. I don't think anyone can beat their prices on bird seed such as no mess, sunflower seeds, etc. Have been buying there for yrs. They will pack it in 25 lbs bags so I can carry- the 50lb too heavy for me. They may have the organic stuff, I don't know.

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