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When to Put Cornmeal on the Lawn

Cultivating a healthy and vigorous lawn can be a uniquely rewarding experience for any homeowner. One of the key components of bringing a lawn to healthy maturity is to protect your grass from threats it may encounter while growing; weeds are chief among these threats. Herbicides are commonly used to control weeds, but many homeowners are uncomfortable with the idea of introducing potentially toxic chemicals into their lawn environment. For these homeowners, natural alternatives, such as cornmeal gluten, can provide excellent weed control with none of the risks of a chemical herbicide.

  1. Cornmeal as an Herbicide

    • Herbicides belong to one of two categories: preemergent and postemergent. Postemergent herbicides are applied to weeds after the weed "emerges" from the ground, while preemergent herbicides attack weed seeds in soil before they are allowed to germinate and grow above soil. Cornmeal gluten is used as a preemergent herbicide, since it can prevent germination of crabgrass, chickweed and even dandelions. Cornmeal gluten is not effective at removing weeds already established in your lawn, but will prevent seeds from established weeds from germinating, so the weed population will not get any bigger.

    When to Apply

    • The best time to apply cornmeal gluten as a preemergent herbicide is late April or early May, followed by an additional application in late August. Once incorporated into lawn soil, the cornmeal gluten stays active for six weeks. You can repeat the application for as long as you suspect weed seeds to still be present in the soil beneath your lawn.

    Application Methods

    • Cornmeal gluten can be purchased from nurseries or online stores in powdered or pellet form. Simply spread the cornmeal over the area of your lawn that you wish to treat and lightly water the lawn after applying to incorporate the cornmeal into the soil. The University of Minnesota Extension recommends a rate of about 20 lbs. of cornmeal per 1,000 square feet of lawn.

    Other Considerations

    • As an effective preemergent herbicide that sidesteps the potential health and environmental risks that always accompany the use of synthetic herbicides, the benefits of using cornmeal gluten as an herbicide are clear. But cornmeal gluten is approximately 10 percent nitrogen by weight, meaning that using cornmeal gluten at the recommended rate of 20 lbs. per 1,000 square feet also gives your lawn an annual injection of 4 lbs. of nitrogen, improving grass health and vigor.

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Lawn Basics
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  2. When to Apply Sevin on the Lawn in Florida
  3. When to Put Nitrogen on a Lawn
  4. When Is It Best to Put Grass in the Backyard?
  5. When Can I Quit Mowing the Grass in the Fall?
  6. What Happens When I Put Too Much Fertilizer on the Grass?
  7. When Is It Best to Water the Lawn?
  8. When Is It Too Late to Seed Your Lawn in the Northeast?
  9. When to Apply Ammonia Sulfate to the Lawn?
  10. When to Put Turf Builder on Lawn?
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