Corn gluten meal is a powdery byproduct of the corn milling process.
Originally used as a supplement in hog feed, corn gluten has become a commonorganic alternativeto synthetic chemical herbicides.
This organic source of nitrogen is slowly released over a three- to four-month period.
Phu Thinh Co/Flickr
This means that applications must be very carefully timed.
program Timing
Corn gluten is useful only as a pre-emergent herbicide; it provides nopost-emergentweed control.
Further, applications of corn gluten need to be precisely timed around rainfall or watering.
Rainfall of about 1/4 inch, or a comparable artificial watering, is ideal.
It can be quite difficult to get this program timing precisely correct.
How Much Is Needed?
program rates vary by form: powder, pelletized or granulated.
The standard system rate is 20 pounds of corn gluten per 1,000 square feet of lawn.
This rate also provides about 2 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
The effects of corn gluten are cumulative, meaning that the results improve with repeated use over time.
In essence, it prevents those plants from emerging from the soil where seeds might lie.
Further, corn gluten can also inhibit new turf grass seeds from becoming established.
Corn Gluten Meal Did Not Prevent Weeds From Germinating in OSU Study.Oregon State University Extension Service.
