Re: Lawns and corn gluten meal
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Re: Lawns and corn gluten meal
- From: T* B* A* G* <m*@gardens.com>
- Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 11:48:57 -0800
Corn meal gluten is only effective as a pre-emergent weed killer,
inhibiting root formation of germinating weeds (or any germinating plant).
Thus, if weed seeds have dropped into the lawn during the summer and fall
and you apply the corn meal a few weeks before weed seed germinate, you'll
kill them as they sprout. Because the lawn grass already has established
roots, it won't be effected.
There's pretty good research data out there on effectiveness. Weeds tests
include black medic, black nighshade, buckhorn plantain, catchweed
bedstraw, common lambsquarters, curly dock, dandelion, purslane, redroot
pigeweed, velvetleaf, annual bluegrass, barnyardgrass, creeping bentgrass,
giant foxtail, green foxtail, large crabgrass, orchardgrasss, quackgrass,
shattercane, smooth crabgrass, wooly cupgrass and yellow foxtail.
Appled at a rate of 20lbs per 1000 sq ft, corn gluten meal reduced
crabgrass by 58% by the end of the first year, 85% at the end of the second
year; and 91% at the end of year three. Dandelion infestation was reduced
by 71% in plots treated for four years. Crabgrasss was nearly eliminated by
2nd and third years of the study.
I'm reading from technical papers supplied by one manufacturer and they
reference tests at the University of Iowa (corn gluten meal is a byproduct
used to feed lifestock -- no wonder the testing was down at Iowa!).
Don't know what your local suppliers carry, but here in California, we've
got it in several nurseries and supply places. Could save you shipping
charges. The brand I've seen is "Concern: All natural weed prevention
plus". Anecdotal reports seem to substantiate manufacturers' claims.
I like the idea of using something that is a by-product of something else.
However, in my own small plot of lawn the bane of my existence is yellow
oxalis which nothing seems to manage very well.
Regards,
Carol
The Bay Area Gardener <http://www.gardens.com>
**serving gardeners in the greater San Francisco Bay Area**
* email: moholt@gardens.com * phone: 650-968-4480 *
301 Windmill Park Lane, Mtn. View CA 94043
