Will any corn gluten meal do?
Comments (6)
dchall_san_antonio
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Corn Meal / Corn Gluten Meal clarification.
Comments (2)OK corn meal is used as a fungicide and very very mild fertlizer because the protien content is so low. So in essence cornmeal is just a fungicide and not much of a fertlizer. Corn Glutten meal on the other hand is both a premergence and fertilizer. If spread at 10 pounds per 1000/ft2 makes for a very good fertlizer. If spread at a rate of 20 pounds has some limited preemergence....See MoreCorn Gluten Meal pellets seem to disintegrate slowly
Comments (8)The CGM pellets are smaller than a BB and don't weigh nearly as much. They won't break anything when they fly out of a mower. They only travel a foot or two. It's similar to Milorganite. Yeah, if I had a ready source of ground CGM, I might try it again. The one time that I did try it, it got wet and I had a sour mash smell for a couple of days. I've never had an odor problem with the pellets. Could be that it was just the wrong combination of temps and humidity that caused the smell. One instance doesn't make a trend....See MoreCorn Gluten Meal after seeding
Comments (1)As long as germination has taken place, CGM application is fine. When dormant seeding, you should see your seed germinate in March. You do not have to apply Tupersan until around the time Forsythias bloom. CGM can go down 4-6 weeks after that. Your seedlings should have been mowed several times by that time. Hope for a summer unlike the last one where hot summer swelts hit hard and early--hard for young seedlings to survive that....See Morecorn gluten meal or corn meal
Comments (3)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...See More
rochesterroseman
8 years agosc77 (6b MA)
8 years agodchall_san_antonio
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agodchall_san_antonio
8 years agoThe Gardens Alive link states the following at the bottom of the page.
Labeling: "Corn gluten meal" sold as animal feed is not the same thing.
It is not licensed by Iowa State, so the university is not compensated
when you buy it; and it often does not contain the right protein
concentration to achieve seed death. I have received many emails from
listeners who thought they were getting a huge break on the price, only
to discover they were simply feeding their emerging crabgrass.
Products
licensed by Iowa State will say something like "pre-emergent herbicide"
on the label, have the correct protein concentration, and carry
complete instructions for proper use. They are more expensive than
animal feed CGM because they use a much higher quality gluten—which
sells at a premium—and the manufacturer pays that fee to the university
to fund research to find more cool stuff like this. Bylaw, animal feed
gluten cannot say anything about herbicidal effects and will not have
directions for any weed-killing use. It also might not work—did I
mention that?
That is pure marketing. The only difference between a bag of Iowa State CGM and animal feed CGM is the $5 license fee to put the marketing materials on it. Corn gluten meal has been made the same way for decades. It was an agriculture waste material - the byproduct of the making of corn syrup, until it was realized to be high in protein and a possible animal feed. You can find corn gluten meal at any feed lot in a giant orange pile...like this one.
I normally don't like Paul Tukey's limited perspective on natural lawn care, but his opinion on CGM mirrors mine.
sc77 (6b MA)