Spring is here and the forsythia are blooming. So what does that mean? Run to get corn gluten, a natural pre-emergence weed control, to stop crabgrass in its tracks. Why run? As Professor Nick Christians’ advised in my orginal corn gluten article there is a short window for corn gluten to be effective.
Learn from my mistakes.
- You have a very short window to get the corn gluten on the grass.
- Here are instruction on how much and when to spread the corn gluten.
- Don’t bother with corn gluten, the feed. It doesn’t work and you will be covered in corn gluten dust by the end of the day! Use only the pellets. Read why you should use only pellets here.
- And no, it doesn’t stop all weeds. In fact the ones that are growing now will thank you.
- Just as a precaution, some corn gluten is GMO. However, I’ll be d*mned, they finally make an OMRI approved non-GMO corn gluten. See McGeary’s brand.
- It takes about three years to really eradicate most of your crab grass.
- And yes, it is expensive unless you get it on sale.
[Tweet This–corn gluten banish crabgrass. Learn more.]
Over the years, I found that using corn gluten pellets do NOT work in your beds. Unfortunately, I pull a ton of crabgrass from my beds. And yes, laying down paper as weed control would help.
Read About My Mistakes:
If you are considering going down the corn gluten path, read my three year saga so you can avoid my mistakes:
- Corn Gluten–Can Animal Food K’O Crabgrass? (First Year with the how to information.)
- Corn Gluten: Extremely Crabby about Crabgrass (Second Year.)
- Banish Crabgrass with Corn Gluten: Three Times a Charm (Third Year.)
Warning!
Don’t seed for six weeks after you use corn gluten. You will be wasting your money. The seed won’t grow.
Join the Conversation:
- Do you use corn gluten? If so, which brand.
- How do you fight crabgrass?
Jenny says
April 19, 2013 at 12:02 pmSo why does it not work in raised beds? Is it the soil content? I would assume where ever crabgrass grows it can be used.
Anna@Green Talk says
April 19, 2013 at 12:34 pmI wish I knew. It doesn’t work in any beds. Only grass. Professor Christians who invented it talked about this.
Even it it doesn’t work it is good fertilizer except you have to be careful about the GMO aspect if you don’t buy McGeary’s brand above.
James says
June 3, 2013 at 6:42 pmI am of the school that usually believe chemicals can solve garden problems better than natural solutions. However, I applied corn gluten to my lawn right before spring and I don’t have nearly the crabgrass infestation that I had last year. I am a believer!