Bitterjack – posted 25 August 2005 17:10
I live in northeast Louisiana. I’ve been to 2 garden shops, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and a local hardware shop. When I asked for ground corn meal they all looked at me like I had a horn growing out of my head. Any ideas where I could get some?
QWERTY – posted 26 August 2005 08:34
Try animal feed stores. Organic oriented nurseries should have them.
mwhite125 – posted 13 September 2005 16:23
Corn Meal is for CornBread you silly rabbit. While your at it pick me up a 50lb back of Oats, I need some oatmeal.
QWERTY – posted 13 September 2005 22:02
Dont listen to Mwhite125. He has no clue. Corn meal works very well on fungus. Both preventative and cure.
Preventative – every 3 months at 10-20lbs per 1000sqft. Water them in well to the soil.
Cure – 20lbs per 1000sqft garlic tea will work. Potassium bicarbonate will work as well. Even milk, i think at 2oz per gallon will work according to some guys that tried it.
You don’t even need chemicals. They are overrated and destroy the ferility of the soil. Avoid them… There are better garden forums for lawn maintence. This forum has some very narrow minded people trying to ruin it for us. I don’t know why I even bother coming here.
lbrman – posted 14 September 2005 06:12
Are you interested in corn gluten for pre-emergence weed control, or are you interested in corn meal for soil microorganism support. Unless you are organic, you wont have much microorganisms to support.
cohiba – posted 14 September 2005 14:14
What?
Are you saying that if I am not organic, in my approach to turf management, that I have little to no micro organisms in my soil?
I’m sorry sir, or madam, but you are grossly misinformed. Microorganisms are ever present in soil regardless of the “death chemicals” we spray. How do you think those pesticides and fertilizer are broken down in the soil?
If you have organic matter in your soil you have plenty of microbial activity.
Cornmeal and the organics just feed those microbes to provide nitrogen in the form the plant can use. A grass plant cannot “eat” a fertilizer pellet so it has to be broken down.
mwhite125 – posted 15 September 2005 16:15
Well, Qwerty seems like he’s been doin some research on his Organic “savior” cornmeal. Some people just cannot take a joke…..I all ask Qwerty, is to just stop “pushing” organics to everyone and making it seem that using traditional chemicals is going to destroy the universe and because your advice isnt for everybody. Please tell me Qwerty how long have you been using organic means, and have you done soil tests before and after using??
lbrman – posted 17 September 2005 17:41
I’m an newcomer here. A customer of ours with lawn maintenance contracts in South Texas says you can pick out his organically fertilized lawns when the Texas summer really beats down. They’re the green ones. NC State just completed a study showing that after 3 years of Organic fertilization soil microorganisms were replenished to the extent that plants were developing insect and disease resistance. Our organic farmers generally skip every third or fourth year of soil feeding except for a little bit of nitrogen top dress. Hang in there Qwerty.
Bitterjack – posted 20 September 2005 18:33
Well, I checked the local feed shop. Same response. “Is that really a horn growing out of you forehead?”
Empire1 – posted 05 October 2005 23:39
Qwerty,
Tons of chemicals on our lawns is not a good thing, I agree. Potassium bicarbonate is a chemical by the way. When a yard is sodded on basic sand, there is no way around not using lots of fertilizers. The sand should have been removed and replaced with soil full of natural organic matter. Not many home builders do that. I am in Fl and fertilize every two months with a reduced rate, alternate pesticides every three months. Never had to use fungicide on the Empire Zoysia.