If you had a shortage of iron in the soil, then maybe the Fertilome product. If you had a shortage of nitrogen, then maybe the corn meal. Or maybe neither. Doing nothing in the early spring often results in a nice lawn. Is the Fertilome product a dark material? The lawns in my neighborhood that greened up the fastest put down nice rich compost in Feb. Being dark the compost absorbed sunlight and warmed the soil. Those lawns have been growing longer and look nicer as of now. My lawn is in the shade of the oak trees and doesn't need mowing yet but it will next weekend. It is growing out, not up.

>"Now I am wondering which application helped the most or if it was a combination of the two."

The nitrogen did it, not your corn.

http://www.fertilome.com/ProductFiles/10748%20Southwest%20Green%20Maker%20Approved%2009-16-09.pdf

From the label, under "Guaranteed Analysis"

Total Nitrogen (N) ..................18%

8.9% Ammoniacal Nitrogen*
6.4% Urea Nitrogen
2.7% Water Insoluble Nitrogen

I agree with Gary, corn meal had nothing to do with it as it is so low in nitrogen didn't make a hill of beans unless you used it at a rate of 40/lbc per 1000/ft2

I spread 40 lbs of CM over 1200sqft. Grass is 70/30 St Augustine/bermuda. The bermuda is growing rapidly already and is nice and dark green. The SA has really just started growing and should fill in nicely over the next month.
The Fertilome product has nitrogen in quick and slow release form so that is probably what greened things up as you guys mentioned. It has Iron as well

I wouldn't say Corn meal did nothing...I realize it is low in N and the only other fert I use is milorganite, which is 5 in N, I believe.

Last time I used Corn meal was in late Oct or so and again in mid March. Last time I used Milorganite was in early September.

My grass looks like this:

And the back:

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/5033/dscn0876f.jpg

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:88527}}

FYI- I don't deal with any of the weeds in my front 'gutter' section of my lawn since so many jerks park on that section regularly

westchestergrower Lower NY -

That's apples to oranges. You're in NY with a cool season grass that is alive and in its spring growth flush.

The OP is in Texas with warm season grass that currently looks like dead straw compared, and that is just naturally for early spring with that grass.

When your lawn is dormant in August, post the OP some pictures. Then *HE* can show off his.

Gary- No need for the bitterness. I took some responses as a put down to organics and it is why I posted what I posted. Perhaps I was wrong and I will apologize (It is true that my organic fertilized yard woke up faster and is more lush than all others on the block now who use chemicals.

What I read above were folks implying that corn meal or any low N fert would not green up the lawn well. I have just not found this to be true. In fact I see a difference 2 weeks or so after I put down my fert.

I'm looking for Aug pics (Although no matter what shape the lawn is in, I usually cut low and over-seed in late Aug), but here is one from late July last year:

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:88529}}

I'm fairly young and I take pride in it, so once again if I came across the wrong way, I am sorry. I just wanted to show that low (N) ferts can certainly green up grass when combined with good lawn practices. That is it. And to be frank, talk can be cheap so I wanted to post pics to prove my position.

Those in my area who do not fert- Their grass have not even broken dormancy yet. And I am talking fescue, KBG, Rye mixes here. Some who use chemicals-grass looks nice, but did not wake up like my example.

But with no irrigation, of course I have had tough summers when there have been drought.

If I may step in, maybe you are new around here. TexasWeed speaks from considerable experience on both sides of the organics issue. He is a professional turf grass farmer who uses synthetics and an organic turf grass homeowner. He is a rare advocate and expert for both types of approaches. When he gives a reply you don't understand, you have to look at the specific issue(s). The OP asked about the fast green up. In TW's reply he was not bad mouthing organics. He was bluntly referring to the slow greening effect of corn meal and the relatively fast greening effect of the Fertilome product. I know he has no particular love for corn meal anyway, but don't think this was foremost in his reply. The predominance of the available nitrogen in the Fertilome is the clue.

In my first reply I looked at the MSDS from 2003 and not the label from 2009. They are completely different products now and then. The ingredients in the current product are Ammonium Phosphate, Urea, Urea Formaldehyde, Muriate of Potash, Sodium Borate, Copper Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate. Those ingredients will result in a fast greening effect.

David, so in your opinion, is it a better product now that it was before?

Durajones if you want to go the organic route, I have two suggestions:
1. Soybean meal applied at 20/lbs per 1000/ft2.
2. Corn Gluten Meal applied at 15/lbs 1000/ft2.

SBM is the economical choice, but CGM wil offer a wee bit of pre-emergence action but at fairly high cost.

The Fertilome product is a good one, not my choice, but you are done with balanced fertilizer for the year. If you wish to go with a synthetic, but feel guilty about it but want the results, then I suggest a organic compound that is synthesized. You are in Dallas and there are several Lesco/John Deer dealers around the metropolitan area. All the dealers sell a 39-0-0 100% Slow Release Urea, product # 000777. Apply it every 30 to 45 days until October and I guarantee you will have the greenest thickest lawn in the neighborhood.

Texas-weed, thanks for your response. I am in Corpus Christi and in my original post I mentioned that I have been using SBM for years now. However, it has become hard to come by and that is why I used the cornmeal this early spring. The fertilome product I wouldnt have normally purchased but it was a good deal and I thought it wouldnt hurt considering how bad my lawn looked. I spread it at about 75 percent of the recommended rate since I had already applied the CM.
I am curious about the Lesco/John Deere deal that you mentioned at 39-0-0. What is the brand of the product if you dont mind me asking?
I would like to try CGM next spring if I can figure out when is the best time to apply. I think the timing might be different from year to year depending on overall weather conditions. Thanks again for the response

The product is Lesco. Lesco is strictly a professional lawn care store that was bought out by John Deer about a year or so ago. They mostly sell to landscaper, turf management, and golf courses but they also sell to the public. So the product name is 39-0-0 sku # 000777. Like I said earlier it is 100% slow release urea. It does not contain any ammonia sulfate.

I own a landscape operation, will actually my Son runs it completely, and this plus a couple of other formulations from Lesco is all he uses. It is a very high quality product. What sets Lesco apart is they formulate their products to your specific area rather than a one-size fits all approach like Scott's does. Just GOOGLE "LESCO" once at their site enter your zip code to get the nearest location.

From an organic standpoint, both products are basically pure synthetic fertilizer. I would not use either one. Your organic history does help to explain the rapid green up. I believe that once the organic life has been restored on a lengthy organic program, then the synthetic fertilizer seem to work much (MUCH) better if you decide to use one.

Where in Corpus were you buying your SBM? And what part of Corpus are you in (relative to major landmarks)? Maybe I can help you find a source nearby.

Can I assume you have a St Aug lawn? I would think corn meal would be fine. Maybe you would want to use it more often than SBM?? I start on Washington's BD, then again on Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. You could add Christmas since you are 150 miles south of me and never really freeze.

David, I am about 5-6 miles from the bay. I was getting my SBM from a local feed store but they told me they are having a hard time getting it. I did get a guy at a feed store in Robstown order me 4 bags for last years use and threw in an application of alfalfa pellets. I pretty much use the same program you do as far as when I fertilize and usually apply my first around Valentines day and my last around Thanksgiving. My lawn is mostly St Augustine with some Bermuda as well. Wasnt able to stop the Bermuda once it got started.

Found a feed store in Calallen that will order it for me at 13.75 a bag.
Looking at the Lessco product, it looks like it would take less than 3 lbs to cover my 1200sqft front lawn. I wonder how big the granules are as it might be hard to put out at that rate

Thought I would post a pic of my lawn today. It looks like a different lawn than it did 6 weeks ago. This is how it normally looks in Early March. I wish I had a before pic so folks could appreciate just how much it changed in that time.

{{gwi:88531}}