Using Corn Gluten Meal on wet lawns

It rained this morning and the lawn is wet. More rain is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Is it permissible to spread corn gluten meal on the lawn now or wait until it is dry?

I'd probably wait unless the rain you're expecting is just a little bit of sprinkles. The corn gluten does need to be watered in after you apply it and obviously the rain could do that job, but ideally once it's watered in then it stays dry for a few days, otherwise it can lose some of its effectiveness. So if you apply it now and then get buckets of rain over the next few days that wouldn't be good.

Thank you ecrane3 for the information. Your advice will be followed. This is my first experience with corn gluten meal. Do you have any hints and tips for it's use on lawns?

Sorry, I don't have a lawn, but I would assume it's just the same as putting it on a garden bed, there should be instructions on the package that tell you how much to apply.

Tasha,

I used Espoma Organic® Weed Preventer 9-0-0 http://espoma.com/content.aspx?type=c&intCategoryID=3for the first time last Fall and with all the snow and rain we've had since then, grass looks great! Will buy it again! I didn't have a chance to get another bag to put onto the grass in the early Spring before the weeds got going, but hope to soon. We have a Scott's drop spreader that I'm pretty sure I set on 4 or 5 ( I looked at the back of the bag. It didn't state specifically, so I guess ).

Back of the bag http://espoma.com/content.aspx?type=p&id=50&intCategoryID=3

More info...... http://espoma.com/content.aspx?type=gp&id=4

I've used some of the other Espoma products ( non lawn products, as last Fall was the first time ) and have been happy with them.

I'm pretty sure I kept the bag in the garage and I can look at the back for the different spreaders/numbers listed chart tomorrow. I'll add the info tomorrow.

I got my Espoma bag at a local garden center.

Here's a link I found when I google corn gluten
Iowa State University
Department of Horticulture
http://www.hort.iastate.edu/gluten/?

Another link I found
http://www.eartheasy.com/article_corn_gluten.htm

Another link
University of Minnesota
Extension Service
http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h531cornglutenmeal.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_gluten_meal

University of Wisconsin
Urban Horticulture Website
http://wihort.uwex.edu/turf/corngluten.htm

Marilyn

I still haven't found the empty bag yet in my garage. I don't know if it's buried in there or if I threw it away when I was throwing away alot of stuff several months ago.

If I find it, I'll post the spreader - numbers chart from it.

Marilyn

Thank you Marilynbeth! I appreciate your input and the links you submitted. I have a small handheld rotary spreader. Hopefully, it will work.

Tasha,

You're welcomed!

I got another bag earlier this week and I'll check the back for the different spreader numbers on it this weekend and list them here.

Marilyn

I have a corn gluten meal question

I have been wanting to use it on my lawn for quite a while, but to get the real "meal" it is so expensive since I have an acre of lawn to cover. I haven't found it for much under $30 to $40 per 40-50 lb bag.

My local MFA sells corn gluten pellets for $9.00 for 100 lb bag?

Wonder if I could use the pellets as an alternative??

MaryinLa,

I don't see why not. I'm pretty sure the Espoma stuff I'm using is in pellets.

Even though I've only used the corn glutten this past Fall ( I finally got another bag, but haven't gotten around to using it yet ), I love the fact that I'm putting down something organic instead of syn.

I'm already all organic with my flowerbeds and containers, so I'm glad I'm using organic on my lawn. :-)

Marilyn

Thanks, Marilyn. I guess at that price, it can't really hurt to try it. I just want to look at the ingredients to make sure it is only corn gluten and no additives.

MaryinLa,

Here's the link to the back of the Espoma bag.

http://espoma.com/content.aspx?type=p&id=50&intCategoryID=3

More info regarding Espoma organic lawn products

http://espoma.com/content.aspx?type=c&intCategoryID=3

Thanks for the info, I do use quite a bit of Espoma's other products.

At 20 lbs per 1000 square feet, it probably would cost a fortune to do an acre, lol.

The sad part is that most of that money is a royalty paid to Iowa State University. I can see that they deserve something for the research they have done, but their greed is preventing a large proportion of the potential market from using CGM. As I understand it, feed grade CGM is exactly the same, and just as effective as the "labeled" product, at about one third the price. However, it can be hard to find in meal form. I have read on other forums that the pelletized food product works, but not as well as the meal. I used the labeled product last year, on nearly an acre, and as you say, it was outrageously expensive.

Marilyn, I'm just up the road from you (north of Springfield on 13), and you're a little late for CGM to be effective. As a pre-emergent, it needs to be put down about the time the forsythia is blooming to have its maximum effect. If you're looking for non-chemical weed control, I have been using a propane torch with great success. If you're looking for organic fertilizer, take a look at some of the composted chicken manure products. I have warm season grass (zoysia) so I am a couple weeks away from fertilizer time. I used the 8-3-8 product linked here: http://www.healthygro.com/productinfo.php late last summer and was very pleased. It's cost effective, but you have to go to KC or STL to get it.

We've used the corn gluten pellets from our co-op without any problems. It's just a little harder to put down, especially if all you have is a manual walk-behind rotary-type spreader. (We've got a larger one that we pull behind the lawn tractor, and it allows for coarser "stuff" to be spread - works great for applying the CGM.

jeffinsgf,

Sorry that I'm a month late getting back to this forum......

I figured I'd have to wait till Fall to put it down on the grass. Thanks for mentioning it to me. :-)

Every year I think that there's too much to do and not enough time to get things down outside. And, I only have a small sub divison lot. :-)

Marilyn