Last year, I used corn gluten to hopefully dent the of invasion of crabgrass in my lawn. I knew based on my conversations with Professor Christians, the inventor of corn gluten as an herbicide that it would take three years to rid my lawn of the ugly looking “wanna be” grass. After speaking to the Professor, I became a corn gluten believer and I was ready to take the corn gluten plunge. I was not a pesticide type of gal.
Professor Christian gave me detailed instructions how to properly use the corn gluten as delineated in my article, “Corn Gluten: Can Animal Feed K’O Crabgrass?.” Did I follow them? Well, not really. The first rule I broke was when to apply it, which is when the forsythia is blooming. Due to spring break, I ended applying the corn gluten after the forsythia was in full bloom. Corn gluten has a lot of nitrogen in it so my lawn at least benefited from it. The weeds were sending me thank you notes too since corn gluten does not kill perennial weeds.
Secondly, I used animal feed predominately made out of corn gluten since it was half the price. After I applied the corn gluten I smelled like chicken soup and was covered in yellow dust. Did it hurt that I used animal feed versus pellets? Who knows since I applied it at the wrong time.
This year the price of animal feed corn gluten skyrocketed and increased almost $5 a bag. I paid $26.00 for a 50 pound bag and pellet corn gluten was about $40 a bag. Due to the cost, we ended up buying the animal feed and vowed we would apply it at the right time.
I kept seeing forsythia at the local gardening shops and they were blooming. This made me very nervous that I was going to be late again. I even checked in with my friend if her forsythia had bloomed yet. I felt like an expectant mother. Was it time yet?
This time I think I timed it better and used better settings on my spreader when applying the corn gluten. Plus, I was not covered with as much yellow dust this go around. We ended up running out and went to the local gardening store to buy Concern’s Weed Prevention Plus, a pellet corn gluten product, which was on sale.
Once you go pellets, you never go back. I absolutely loved the pellets and would highly recommend them. They pour out of the spreader easily and gave me better coverage. With the animal feed, every time I turned a corner, a huge pile of animal feed would fall out of the spreader. The best part is I did not look like I had come out of a dust storm!
This summer, I will have to check to see if it mattered if I used the animal feed versus the pellets. I did notice the crows eating something. I was hoping it was not my pellets since many are still visible. Last year, my crabgrass came out in droves late summer. I will update this article to let you know how I made out this year.
Just remember, corn gluten will prevent new grass seed from growing too. You have to wait 6 weeks after application to seed.
I have become a pellet convert and will be looking for bulk sales next year. Someone else can smell like chicken soup.
If anyone knows who has great sales and low freight charges, let me know. I need about 20 50 lb bags.
Until then I hope I hear from my crabgrass, “I am melting…” like the Wicked Witch of the West.
Green Home Improvements says
April 17, 2008 at 5:46 pmI’ll have to give it a shot. Over the years we have given up on killing our crab grass. We just mow it short and comment on how it sort of looks like real grass.
I just started a bunch of tomato plants, green peppers, red peppers and hot peppers…… my outside work is done for the day!
Green Home Improvements’s last blog post..PVC Exterior Trim a Green Home Improvement
Brenda says
April 17, 2008 at 7:05 pmThis is a great article about using corn gluten in your yard! I am glad that you mentioned that you need to wait before reseeding your lawn as it does indeed prevent new grass from growing. However, it does provide a great source of nitrogen for your lawn and it will definitely green up quicker. Try using a product with humic acid in it for even better results. It is an organic product. I mentioned it in a post at my blog. Here is a link: http://her-gardening-blog.com/.....or-spring/
Let me know how the corn gluten worked for your crabgrass and if it made a difference on the kind you used. I find this fascinating. 🙂
Brenda’s last blog post..5 Steps to a Terrific Vegetable Garden
Green Talk says
April 17, 2008 at 11:06 pmBrenda, I read your article on your blog. Can you use compost instead of humic acid for nutrients? What exactly does humic acid do? Anna
Green Talk says
April 17, 2008 at 11:09 pmThat’s pretty funny. Crabgrass is definitely a wanna be! Which type of tomatoes are you growing? I am trying a new one called sausage tomato which is like a plum tomato. All of my peppers are still seedlings. Anna
Brenda says
April 18, 2008 at 3:06 amYes. Compost can be used as a top dressing for your lawn to aid in fertilizing. Though compost doesn’t have a lot of nitrogen, its nutrient value is feeding the soil which in turn feeds the plant, a very beneficial thing to do.
Humic acid is a natural occurring by-product of composted materials. There are a lot of beneficial factors to using products with humic acid. One of the biggest benefits of humic acid is in helping the soil facilitate nutrients for plants. Using humic acid with compost will enhance the benefits for your soil and plants.
I hope this helps! 🙂
Brenda’s last blog post..Planning Your Flower Garden
Paul says
March 10, 2009 at 6:52 pmSo how did it work out for you last year? Didn’t see an update and I’m thinking about making the switch to Corn Gluten this year.
Any idea if it has negative effects on Zoysia grass??
Green Talk says
March 10, 2009 at 9:21 pmPaul, I actually used the pellets this time and found it was so much easier to use. Plus, I saw a difference between the animal feed and pellets. The only down fall is the cost. Pellets or grandules are 2x the price!
I don’t think it will hurt your grass. How do you like the Z grass? Are you in the south? Anna