ORGANIC WEED CONTROL (Corn Gluten Meal)
- What is a “pre-emergent” herbicide?
- How does it work?
- When do I apply Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic Weed Control?
- Does Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic Weed Control/Corn Gluten kill weeds?
- What weeds is it most effective controlling? What about clover?
- Once I use it, when can I plant grass seed? Will it prevent grass seed from germinating also?
- How many applications does it take until my yard is “weed free”?
- Will it burn if you use too much?
- What is Corn Gluten Meal and where does it come from?
- Is there any nutrient value (N-P-K) to corn gluten meal?
- How long does it take the pellets to disappear into the soil? How long will the nutrients release into the soil and around the roots of the plants or lawn? How long is the effective feeding time?
- Why apply Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic Weed Control before the forsythia blooms?
1.What is a “pre-emergent” herbicide?
A pre-emergent herbicide can be either a chemical substance or an organic matter which is applied
”pre” growing season to prevent broad leaf weed seeds from germinating.
The typical pesky weeds you probably want to rid your lawn include crab grass, chick weed, and dandelions. Pre-emergents are very effective in controlling the spreading and eventual takeover of these three broad leaf weeds in yards and gardens.
Pre-emergent Weed Control products DO NOT kill weeds themselves, they simply prevent the new weed SEEDS from germinating. Hence the phrase “weed control”.
2. How does it work?
As a pre-emergent, the timing of its use (and thus its effectiveness) is crucial. In and of itself, it will control weeds from spreading and choking out the grass, particularly during the heat and drought of the long summer months. When its use is COMBINED with Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic Lawn & Garden Fertilizer, the grass will actually choke out the weakened weed root base.
Weeds spread by their flowers which bloom, then drop their weed seed buds down to the ground, where they find nice rich soil with no grass growing to take hold, and repeat their proliferation process two or three times per summer. Weeds do NOT spread by their root systems.
In this case, the weeds are “in control”, not the grass root system (grass grows and spreads by its root system, The Cockadoodle DOO Organic 4 Step Program works quickly and will reverse the role of “whose in control” the weeds or the grass?
3. When do I apply Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic Weed Control?
SPRING: The Spring application of Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic Weed Control when used as a pre-emergent is crucial. It must be applied BEFORE FORSYTHIA BLOOMS
Its job is to coat the soil and prevent the weed seeds that fell late the previous fall before the winter frost hit, and are now lying dormant waiting for the first warmth of the sun’s UV rays. This application helps prevents that from happening. Once applied it will break down and get into the soil and encapsulate the weed seeds that are present within a couple of weeks. Rain and snow melt is ideal for helping the corn gluten meal granules break down quickly. Water-in as necessary or if there is no forecast of rain.
LATE SUMMER/EARLY FALL The next application of corn gluten meal won’t be until late summer (any time from late July through late August in colder northeastern climates, and from mid July through mid September in the warmer middle Atlantic States down into the Carolinas). The existing weeds that your lawn started with after forsythia bloomed will bloom and drop seed buds in the mid summer months. This summer application of the Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic Weed Control will prevent those seeds from germinating, thus further weakening the weed base, and you are well on your way to putting the grass roots back in control of choking out the weeds.
NOTE: In between the early spring and late summer application of Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Weed Control, it is essential to fertilize the lawn’s root system with a long/slow release organic fertilizer that will heal the weakened grass roots (calcium usually required, just as lime needed in acidic soil). Cockadoodle DOO’s Super-Premium Organic Lawn & Garden fertilizer is recommended for application in late April/Early May and again in late Sept/Early October as part of the Organic 4-Step Program
4. Does Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic Weed Control/Corn Gluten kill weeds?
No, it only prevents the weed seeds from germinating. No manufacturer can claim that their corn gluten meal pre-emergent herbicide “kills weeds”
5. What weeds is it most effective controlling? What about clover?
99.9% of all broad leaf weed seeds will not germinate (grass seed germination is inhibited as well, see below). The most common pesky weeds that corn gluten meal controls is CRAB GRASS, CHICK WEED, and DANDELIONS. It will NOT have any effect on clover, as clover grows and spreads from its root system. Clover does not flower and drop seed buds, so it cannot be controlled by a pre-emergent herbicide.
6. Once I use it, when can I plant grass seed? Will it prevent grass seed from germinating also?Yes, once you apply Cockadoodle DOO Corn Gluten Meal Super-Premium Organic Weed Control product, you SHOULD NOT attempt to plant grass seed for at lease a five to six week period. If you apply before 6 weeks the Super-Premium Organic Weed Control will “see” the grass seed as a weed seed and not allow it to germinate
7. How many applications does it take until my yard is “weed free”?
This is tough to answer, as it depends on the degree of weed infestation that you start with, the kind of soil you have (Is it rich in organics, or has it been starved of micro-organisms due to heavy use of chemicals over the years and you are now just switching to chemical free organics for the first time. Do you have acidic soil from pine trees, oak trees, etc, and have you neutralized the pH of the soil with plenty of lime? How often do you fertilize?
Customers that have used the Cockadoodle DOO patented Organic 4 Step Program ( Super-Premium Organic Weed control and Super-Premium Organic Fertilizer) with no substitutions have seen excellent results. We have heard of a “weed free” lawn in as little as two applications of Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic Weed Control (early spring and late summer), and we’ve heard more typically three to four years (6-8 applications total) on more difficult or previously chemically treated lawns where there may have been other problems.
8. Will it burn if you use too much?
No, if used according to the directions on the back of the bag (one 50 lb bag covers approximately 2,500 square feet), it will not burn. Even if a large portion is accidentally dropped in one pile on the lawn next to the spreader, its residue will not burn as long as the homeowner spreads it out evenly with a rake so it is not all clumped in one pile.
9. What is Corn Gluten Meal and where does it come from?
Corn Gluten Meal comes from the corn stalk, and is a byproduct of corn starch. It is widely used as a food source for animals (chickens, horses, cattle, dogs, to name a few), and is also used as a sweetener (a Fortune 500 “beverage” company is one of the largest users of Corn Gluten Meal in their soda). The “meal” is very thin and powdery. Cockadoodle DOO corn gluten meal Super-Premium Organic Weed Control undergoes an additional “wet milling” process to make it into a spreader friendly product that is effective in coating the soil and encapsulating the weed seeds, thus preventing them from germinating.
10. Is there any nutrient value (N-P-K) to corn gluten meal?
Yes, but not the same as Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic Fertilizer. The only significant element that corn gluten meal contains is nitrogen (N), approximately 9 %. The P (Phosphate) and the K (Potassium) content is relatively non-existent for all intents and purposes (less than .05 % for both). However, the 9% nitrogen (N) in the corn gluten meal offers the grass roots a nice “greening” effect when the forsythia blooms and the first rays of UV from the early Spring sun arrive. This will give the grass root system a nice “kick”. However, if the Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic 4 Step Program has been followed, the residual effect of the Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic lawn/garden fertilizer is also kicking in, from the late Sept/Early October feeding from the previous fall. Those rich slow releases nutrients from the final “feed” step have lain dormant all winter, and are now kicking in once the thaw melts.
11. Are there different grades or strengths of corn gluten meal that make it more/less effective as an organic weed control product?
Yes. Corn gluten meal comes primarily in two different grades as follows:
- 30 % protein level, from the front/top of the stalk, with very little “throw away”, and the least expensive for a manufacturer to use, thus cheaper prices at retail. If you see a less expensive corn gluten meal product on the shelves, it is mot likely this lower, less effective grade.
- 60% protein level, from the back/bottom of the stalk where the starch content is the strongest. Most of the corn stalk is wasted in capturing the back end where the end product is strongest and most effective as a pre-emergent herbicide (from an effectiveness standpoint in preventing weed seeds from germinating for the longest period of time……approximately five to six weeks with this concentrated corn gluten meal Super-Premium Organic Weed Control product.) This is the grade of Cockadoodle DOO’s Super-Premium Organic Weed Control product.
12 Why apply Cockadoodle DOO Super-Premium Organic Weed Control before the forsythia blooms?
Crabgrass and chickweed, a nuisance to lawn care enthusiasts, germinate when the soil temperature at 4" stabilizes at 55°F. This specific soil temperature triggers both the germination of cool season weed season and the forsythia bloom. This is important to know if you plan to apply a pre-emergent herbicide to prevent cool season weed seed (crabgrass and chickweed) from germinating. Too early or late an application will miss the window of opportunity and you’re left to your own devices to control these weeds!
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