help please

Does anyone know where I can buy corn gulten? I dug my iris bed and would like to try this to help keep the weeds down. I don't want to put them back in until I can find the CG, I tried our local stores. OR maybe someone has a better idea for weed control. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

I thought corn gluten was pretty much cornstarch. I know family members allergic to wheat gluten are always looking for the starches listed on the packaging used in the production of the food item.

Irisawe

A google search turned up some bags available on ebay and here's another site:

http://www.eartheasy.com/article_corn_gluten.htm

yes, but watch that nitrogen, it's under 10, but lawn doesn't mind, but the iris may.

I got mine from www.gardensalive.com. It is called WOW (With Out Weeds).

My husband tried it but it didn't work like Preen, so he quit using it after the first try.

I would like to try a test bed, using corn gluten on half the bed and see what happens.

Let me know how it works for you.

So you think I'd be better off using Preen?

Tough one. And no difinitive answer.

I had read an article in our local paper that said that the corn gluten worked better on lawns than on flower beds. I hate using chemicals and keep trying to find a way to keep weeds down without chemicals. However there has to be life beyond weeding.

My husband is the weeder, so I can't really tell you how well Preen supresses the weeds, as compared to not using it. But that is what he uses. Preen is supposed to be safe for use with iris.

I really wanted corn gluten to work in my flower beds. I am digging up several iris beds this year so I am going to try the corn gluten on one of them and see what happens as compared to the other beds. And not rely on my husbands observations. I'll let you know next year. (I know, that doesn't help now.)

When I created my new iris beds about 3 years ago, I incorporated LOTS of peat moss, to help with the ph and water retention. I noticed that the weeds rarely grew in these beds as compared to the weeds in between the beds. I think changing the ph of the soil helped.

Mulching isn't an option for Bearded iris so we seem to be stuck with weeding their beds.

Does any one have a cover crop that works with bearded iris?

I would love to hear how other people keep their weeds under control.

I began using buckwheat last year as a cover crop.

Here's the thread:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/821914/

I will say that so far the bed that had buckwheat last year has fewer weeds this year compared to the other beds. And the beds I have buckwheat in this year don't have a single other weed in them. I will soon turn the buckwheat into the soil so I can replant those beds.

Wow. The things I miss out on when I disappear for a year!

Neil, I had no idea that's how you were able to take so many vacations -- weeds in your beds, yeah right! Lol. Would you recommend I fill my new bed with buckwheat before I plant it with my potted irises?

Roni

Hi Roni-

You have to let the buckwheat grow a few weeks and then till it in (or I just turn it under with a shovel) before planting your iris back in. You'll get a few stray buckwheat seeds sprouting after you dig it in, but their root system isn't bad and they're easily pulled up. I usually just let them grow to put nutrients back into the soil.

The weeds are in the beds that haven't been rotated in a few years and they ARE a mess......

corn gluten is available at most farm co-op stores or other stores that sell animal feed and farm supplies.........corn gluten works like preen when put on before seeds have germinated, but it also is a soil conditioner and fertilizer....if your seeds have started germination it makes a great fertilizer and even the weeds LOVE it

Well, I guess I'll go with the Preen for this year. Maybe next time I'll try the CG.
Thank you everyone ! I really appreciate your help!