DFW - Is it about time to put down corn gluten meal?

14 years ago

I have marked 9/10 to 9/20 on the calendar for this application. But I remember that the best time for application depends on the weather - I just don't remember what the ideal conditions are!

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Comments (6)

lou_spicewood_tx
14 years ago
For fertilizer or weed prevention?

For weed prevention, you want to apply right before rain comes and hope it doesn't rain for a week or 2. It does seem a little bit cooler early this year.

I don't even bother with CGM anymore. I just get whatever is cheapest for fertilizer only which is usually alfalfa pellet or soybean meal.

Even if it doesn't really work to prevent weeds, it's still a great fertilizer!
PKponder TX Z7B
14 years ago
We have September 16 marked for CGM.
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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.
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Tiemco wrote: "I don't even consider it for use in a yard unless you just want green coverage, and don't care about color or texture. Most of the yards in my neighborhood are about 4,100 square feet, but there are some yards that are half an acre. Half an acre is a lot of turf to cover. I would guess some folks might want to seed inexpensive K-31 on much of that half acre, but leave 5,000 to 10,000 square feet close to the house for the higher quality fescues, whether tall or fine. Of course, you and I both mean "Pennington" when we said "Pendleton." Pennington also sells uncoated K-31. Would I plant K-31 in my small 4,100 square-foot yard? No. But I was happy to see a big box carry grass seed that wasn't either from Scotts or Pennington. The more competition, the better for the consumer. Walmart is selling all those bags of K-31 to somebody. And every year I see K-31 in other big box stores too. So I guess those bags are going to buyers in more rural areas with large pastures, and maybe to suburban buyers with half an acre or even a full acre to care for.
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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.
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the nitrogen in corn meal is not immediately available, it will be released gradually as the microbes break the product down. so i don't think it will harm your grass. depending on how much u used, you may not need to add anymore organic ferts come 2 weeks from now.
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liz_h
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you both. We would be using it for weed control. We live in the middle of a woods, and are not trying to encourage any grass. Unfortunately, after the house was built, the natural vegetation that came back strongest was giant ragweed. The ragweed needs to be beaten back with a weed-eater frequently. As you can see in the linked photo, the term giant is no misnomer!

Here is a link that might be useful:
liz_h
Original Author
14 years ago
Lou, just to be clear, do you mean no more rain after the first time? Our yard does get a few minutes of water every evening from the septic system spray. I don't think it's more than 10 or 15 minutes at the most. Is this going to cause a problem?

"For weed prevention, you want to apply right before rain comes and ...hope it doesn't rain for a week or 2..."
roselee z8b S.W. Texas
14 years ago
Lou, I've been meaning to ask if you recommend fall fertilizing and when. On your recommendation I used soy bean meal and alfalfa pellets on two occasions this spring and it worked great! I did it twice because the lawn needed something so badly.

The only small 'problem' was it was getting a bit warm by the time of the 2nd application and it didn't smell too good for a week or two. (However, the lawn didn't mind the aroma one bit :-)

Didn't have that problem the first time around. I don't remember the dates for sure. The first application was sometime around late March or early April, and the second mid or late May, perhaps.
lou_spicewood_tx
14 years ago
Liz,

That's what I've read about for CGM to work to prevent weeds from germinating. Looks like we'll have plenty of rains till Sunday. Unfortunately, if done at wrong time, CGM will produce a lot of growth. You may find out soon after all the rain. It is a powerful fertilizer. That's pretty big ragweed! Can you just mow regularly to keep them under control?

Roselee,

You can do spring and fall fertilizer if you wish. Now is a good time with the rain if you can do it. Hopefully, you'd get soaking rain to wash fertilizer down to the ground and get started.

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DFW - Is it about time to put down corn gluten meal?

Comments (6)

lou_spicewood_tx

PKponder TX Z7B

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roselee z8b S.W. Texas

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DFW - Is it about time to put down corn gluten meal?

Comments (6)

lou_spicewood_tx

PKponder TX Z7B

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liz_hOriginal Author

liz_hOriginal Author

roselee z8b S.W. Texas

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