You Bet Your Garden

Prevent lawn weeds with corn waste
By Mike McGrath

Do you generally spread a chemical herbicide on your lawn to prevent crabgrass and other early-season weeds? Well, there is a chemical-free alternative, and it feeds the lawn just like a conventional "weed and feed": corn gluten meal.

Iowa State University researchers doing turf tests noticed that the grass wouldn't germinate in plots where they had used corn gluten. They soon learned that something in the gluten prevents all seeds from successfully taking root.

Spread this byproduct of cornstarch manufacture (10 pounds per 1,000 square feet of lawn) when forsythia starts to bloom in your neighborhood. The first application will provide excellent weed control. Then, with each successive treatment, the level of weed control improves -- all without introducing anything into your personal environment that could harm your family, pets or wildlife.

Just remember: It inhibits the germination of all seeds. So if you're filling in some bare spots, wait a week or two after the new grass is up and growing to use it.

Mail order: Gardens Alive! sells it in five, 25 and 50-pound bags. "WOW" (for WithOut Weeds) is pure gluten. "WOW Plus" has added natural fertilizers. Call (812) 537-8650 or visit www.gardensalive.com.

Retail: Concern (natural garden products available at national chains like True Value) calls their corn gluten meal "Weed Prevention Plus." The five-pound bag contains pure gluten; the 25-pound version has added natural fertilizers. Big bags of the "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo" brand are available at Snyder's in Hatfield, PA and other local locations.

To read the research behind corn gluten meal (and for a list of other suppliers) visit Dr. Nick Christian's Iowa State corn gluten page at www.gluten.iastate.edu.

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