How to Add Corn Mash Back to the Soil

Corn mash at its simplest is just corn meal mixed with hot water. It is used as a feed product for farm animals, and is also a major component of making alcohol products such as beer and whiskey. Corn mash has all the nutrients found in corn, and much of the starch has been converted to sugar. The sugar provides an energy boost to the microbes that live in the soil and decomposing organic material. This ensures the corn mash will quickly convert to chemical forms the plants can use to grow. A significant quantity of mash can be treated the same as other organic material when adding it to the soil.

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Instructions

- 1
  Add a layer of corn mash no more than 2 to 3 inches deep on top of the soil in autumn after harvesting the garden and cleaning it of debris, or in early spring at least four weeks before planting. More nutrients will be available to the plants if you add the corn mush in the spring. Rototill or dig the corn mash into the top 6 inches of soil.
- 2
  Sprinkle the corn mash lightly onto the top of the soil as you would a fertilizer if you are adding it to an established lawn instead of a designated garden spot. It will decompose by itself in a matter of a few days.
- 3
  Mix the corn mash into a compost pile with other material. Because of the excessive amount of sugar in mash, it needs a substantial balance of carbon-based materials such as straw or leaves or it might begin to ferment. Corn mash is very wet, so ensure the other material is dry enough to balance the moisture level of the pile. Once it is composted, add it to the soil as an amendment or as a mulch.

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