[Jen78fl]

Hi all. Well my husband wants to put down fertilizer that will help the lawn and get rid of the weeds. He usually just picks some up from home depot. I really dont want chemicals all over the lawn, but he is set on doing this, so is there some natural product that works well?? I appreciate any suggestions!

Jen

 

[avendesora]

Corn Gluten Meal. It's a pre-emergent for crabgrass, etc. We're trying our first year of it ourselves. You have to put it down "when the forcythia blooms" to get it down before the crabgrass seeds start growing.

Aven

 

[Jen78fl]

Thanks aven..

Has anyone tried this product?

http://www.naturesavenger.com/products.html

 

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Worms. They'll fix all of it!

http://www.unclejimswormfarm.com/ind...ow_aux_page=12

 

[Owen'nZoe]

I've not used the corn gluten meal yet (DH keeps beating me to the lawn with his beloved chemicals - I'm on to his scheme, though, and don't think he'll get me this year

). FWIW, my neighbor uses it, and he said that it does a much better job keeping your lawn weed free than getting rid of well-established weeds. He said that after many years of trying to get rid of his weeds with CGM (and he does like a perfect lawn, so keep that in mind), he used chemicals for 1 year to get rid of all of the weeds, and then switched to the CGM after, and was really happy with the results.

As a fall fertilizer, I've used rabbit food (the alfalfa pellets). It adds a lot of organic matter to the soil, and is relatively inexpensive if you get it from a feed store.

 

[Jen78fl]

thanks everyone..

would this be a good product?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B2R2ZM

I cant find it if contains corn gluten meal but it sounds like the right thing..

 

[Jen78fl]

Looks like we will need a big bag. We have a big yard.. Shipping is going to be alot... I wish home depot or lowes could carry this! I dont want DH to get the chemical stuff just because of the high shipping costs

 

[Jen78fl]

One other thing, this may seem like an odd question, but with putting corn in your yard will it attract more bugs??

 

[garden-gal]

Quote:

This pre-emergent weed suppressant stops new weeds from growing in established lawns, vegetable gardens and flower beds while also acting as a slow release fertilizer due to its 9% nitrogen content.

Just remember that CGM is a pre-emergent. Weeds start sprouting the first sign of Spring; they're a stubborn bunch. I don't know where you're at, but it would be too late to apply corn gluten meal here for stopping weed seeds from germinating. Our weeds started germinating about a month ago. If I applied it now, I'd just be fertilizing them. The corn gluten meal won't necessarily attract more bugs. It'll break down pretty quickly and the worms will also take some off your hands for ya. It's an all-around great product. You should inquire at your local feed store. Don't be scared to ask. They like crazy gardeners that come in asking for products they've never heard of before.

(You want to do what, with what??) If they don't have it, they should have no problem ordering it for you and most likely at a much better price.

 

[Jen78fl]

thanks gardengal.. I think it may be too late since we already have weeds in our yard! Any other product I can use??

 

[Jen78fl]

Anyone?

 

[Cheshire]

CGM won't attract bugs. It will make a beautiful lawn. If it doesn't cut down on established weeds just pull them.

The first year we used it all of our neighbors commented on how great our lawn looked. I'm not big on watering our lawn and I let it go dormant (a.k.a. yellow) in the summer months. We used the CGM to get rid of terrible stickers, it worked for the most part.

Call around to any local feed supply stores - they'll carry it. If not, check with any of your local health food stores and see if they can order it for you.

I loved using it because my son could help spread it and he could run around in the yard right after and I didn't have to worry.

Edited to add - just don't store it, it will attract mice. YUCK! We learned that the hard way.

 

[sunny*pa*mom]

I don't have any advice for weeds but for our lawn growth we just put compost in the spreader and put a layer on the lawn. All our neighbors asked what we used on the lawn.

 

[Jen78fl]

thanks sunnymom.. Do you buy this at nurseries? Or would some place like home depot have it?