# Corn Gluten Meal on New Sod after Tilling?



## Lawnmower_Man (Oct 1, 2017)

Hello,
I bought a home in Toronto Canada and we recently decided to replace the lawn (as it was pretty much 100% weeds).

I tilled my lawn two weeks ago and I plan on replacing it with new sod next week.
We did our best to remove as many weeds from the lot before tilling, but we still mashed up quite a bit of weeds with the tiller, then we raked and bagged the remaining weed roots.

Since there are likely a lot of weed seeds still in the soil, does it make sense to apply CORN GLUTEN MEAL onto the lawn prior to sodding (to prevent these seeds from germinating)?

I bought some Corn Gluten Meal, but on the back it says not to use on new sod (which doesn't make sense to me as it should only inhibit seed growth, and actually act as a fertilizer to grass, including new sod).
It is early October, and unusually warm, so I figure it's a good time to sod.

Any suggestions on whether or not we should apply the Corn Gluten Meal?
Or is this a pointless thing to do in the fall or with new sod?

Any other suggestions are much appreciated!


----------



## Sinclair (Jul 25, 2017)

I live near Toronto, so I feel the pain of having no decent weed control options.

Your best bet might be to water the ground to encourage germination, and then spray the whole area with roundup when new weed growth emerges.

I've read that corn gluten meal is essentially useless as a pre-emergent.


----------



## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Sinclair said:


> I've read that corn gluten meal is essentially useless as a pre-emergent.


I've read the same.


----------



## Miller_Low_Life (Apr 12, 2017)

I use corn gluten in the spring as a pre E. I find it easier to time it right. When the fall hits I can't seem to Time it right when weed seeds start sprouting. My yard is pretty much weed free except for my parkways. I have some creeping Charlie that I planted around some stones that I have to constantly pull when it gets to the grass.


----------



## Lawnmower_Man (Oct 1, 2017)

Yea, I plan on using Corn Gluten Meal in the early Spring (March) as well. That's really the ONLY time to use Corn Gluten meal when those weeds first begin to bloom and spread onto everyone's lawn.

But I figure since I tilled my lawn and mashed up some weed seeds in there as well, maybe it makes sense to inhibit the seed growth by spreading some CGM all over the soil prior to rolling out the new sod.

I can't seem to find anything online about using CGM on new sod.


----------



## Sinclair (Jul 25, 2017)

It won't hurt anything. It's an organic nitrogen source, which is good for the new sod, but it's not going to do anything to block germination in the tilled soil.


----------



## Lawnmower_Man (Oct 1, 2017)

Sinclair said:


> It won't hurt anything. It's an organic nitrogen source, which is good for the new sod, but it's not going to do anything to block germination in the tilled soil.


Why not?


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Are you installing the sod or having it installed? What is your warranty on the sod? If there is any warranty on the installed sod, I would only do what the vendor recommends.

Here is an article from OSU about the lack of PreM control with store bought CGM. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/corn-gluten-meal-did-not-prevent-weeds-germinating-osu-study


----------



## Sinclair (Jul 25, 2017)

The cynic in me would say that someone in Iowa wanted to make more money on their corn byproduct.


----------



## zeus201 (Aug 30, 2017)

How much was the bag of corn gluten meal? I live in central Iowa, surrounded by corn fields, minutes from Iowa State University, and it costs at least $35 / 50lbs bag at my local feed store. General consensus seems to be a great source for organic feeding with minimal to no effect on weed suppression.

I found it more beneficial / cost effective (for me) to purchase a dedicated pre-m with known success. Then feed organically with soybean meal or alfalfa pellets from the same feed store for less $15 / 50lbs bag. If I could CGM for same price I'd be using it as well.


----------

