What kind of grass? If it is a cool season grass I wouldn't fert it at a time it wants to go dormant.

tj

In zone 7 Northern California I would suspect a Kentucky Bluegrass lawn may be getting ready to go to sleep in a week or three (unless there is ample rainfall). Did a soil test say you need to fertilize?

tj

Now is not a good time to feed any lawn, wait until mid September when, hopefully, the weather will be cooler and wetter and the grasses will be growing again.

If you fertilize now you will want to water enough to keep the lawn green throughout the summer. I did that for a couple years when establishing a new lawn that I wanted to thicken as quickly as possible. Used a lot of water and was a real pain. Wouldn't do it again, personally.

TJ: I've never had a soil test since owning my house. I fertilized my yard w/weed and feed that had been in the shed for years in April. I don't think it did anything and my lawn looks much less green than usual. Hence my urge to feed it.

Kimmsr:

I don't think I understand. You suggest feeding later in the year but our lawn does not go dormant until fall when the temperatures turn cool. Right now my grass is actively growing.

Justaguy:

I do water my yard from Spring until Fall so the application of water is not a problem. I would be watering whether I had just fertilized or not.

Kate

I would use it now. As an organic fertilizer its slow release, it can take a several weeks for it completely break down and become available as food for the plants.

Technically cool seasons lawns do their most growing in spring and fall. They go dormant in the heat of summer (unless you keep them watered) and in the freeze of winter.

If you put the corn gluten meal down now, its fairly good timing such that it will just start to become available to the lawn, when it starts to do its active growing in the early fall.

FWIW: I am planning to put some corn meal down on my lawn this weekend. And then I will reapply another feed based fertilizer the first week of September, to be available as food for late fall.

Although I think you could do it now, I am going to agree with Kimmsr, it would be best to wait until early fall. Not only because it is a better time to fertilize, but also because a fall application (followed by a spring) would give the best weed control results.

Thank you JoePye:

That's what I wanted to hear! You seem to have a good grasp of my situation which is appreciated.

So I can apply the corn gluten this weekend. Which leads to my final question which is should it be used instead of the Dr. Earth? Or in conjunction with? It does seem that using them both on the same area of lawn would be major overkill.

Maybe I'll save my half bag of Dr. Earth for the end of the season as you plan to do.

Thank you again!

Kate

Hi Kate,

I used corn gluten for the first time this spring on my lawn and have been mostly pleased with the results.

My question to you is...what is your goal? You are simply trying to fertilize, right? Are you trying to control weeds as well?

Corn gluten is a good fertilizer, but also has the added bonus of preventing weeds from germinating. The next round of weeds will be germinating in fall, which is another reason to wait on the corn gluten till then.

You're certainly not going to hurt anything by using the corn gluten this weekend, but for me, it's an expensive way to fertilize at this time in the year. Especially since you won't get the benefit of the weed prevention, which to me is corn gluten's selling point.

I'd definitely recommend getting a soil test to find out what's going on with your lawn/soil. They're not expensive, and you'll get the results back in a few weeks. They'll tell you exactly how you need to amend your soil to get a great lawn better than anybody on a gardening forum can! :)

Hope that helps, and best of luck in your (and my) quest for a nice green lawn! :)

Elufadef:

Yes as I said in my post my goal is to feed the lawn. I have considered having my soil tested. I have called the local extension office twice and the soil test is $50.00. That does not qualify as cheap in my book. The time is irrelevant to me but the cost isn't.

My questions regarding the lawn and what to use are meant to find general feedback. I was under the impression that's what these forums were for. If I knew someone who was an expert on organically feeding and growing my lawn I would definitely ask them first.

Thanks.

Kate

A soil test can help point out problems that may exist and is one tool an environmentally responsible person would use to keep from polluting their world. Contrary to what many people think a soil test needs only be done periodically, not every year let alone every week unless you are growing things to sell.
A soil test is part of what an organic gardener should be doing.

What would a soil test tell her about adding corn gluten meal to the yard?

Lawns are heavy feeders and pretty much every soil test is going to indicate that it needs more Nitrogen.

IF she was having problems with her lawn, IF she was thinking about adding sulfates or lime, or the nutrients, P& K, a soil test would be in order.

But as far as fertilizing a lawn with a corn meal, I don't think a soil test is THAT necessary.

Thanks JoePye:

I am only interested in feeding right now. Should be pretty basic. Furthermore I'm afraid I don't see the connection between feeding my lawn with either Corn Gluten or Dr. Earth and polluting the world in an irresponsible way. How does doing this without a soil test make me irresponsible?

Kate

Hello Kate. I'm new to this site and when I saw your posting I just had to jump in. Corn Gluten Meal (IÂll shorten it to CGM) is one of my favorite weed and feeds for all the necessary fertilizing. I have a bit of experience in this field, as I owned an all-organic landscape maintenance business.
This is just a quick fix as fertilizing is more like you eating some candy for quick energy. If you just want to green up the lawn, then use the Dr. Earth. From what I've read about it, that would be right up its alley and it should start to work almost immediately. The only thing I would worry about is the type of grass you are using it on, only because it could be a complete waste if the lawn doesnÂt use it. A cool weather grass in zone 7 would have already gone dormant, and a warm weather grass is thinking about it. By the way, going dormant only means that itÂs not growing above the surface. The roots are still very busy storing up nutrients to make food when the grass wakes up.
ItÂs not really a spring, summer, fall issue as it is a temp. issue. Grasses grow best in temp.s from 70F Â 85F degrees, depending on the water and how you mow. How often do you water and how much do you use. If you water every day for a few minutes, then youÂre probably just wasting water. 2" worth every couple of days would be the best, especially after applying fert.
As far as CGM goes, it is best to use it in the spring (late Feb. to early April for zone 7) and again in the fall (Sep.-mid Oct.). The nice thing about CGM is that you can use 8X the recommended amount and it wonÂt harm the lawn, in fact, the weed control part will work better. You want to apply it before the weeds start to germinate, as it works by stopping the new fragile roots from taking hold. Water it in well.
I hope this helps. There are other long-term ways to take care of your lawn that just require you to plan a little, but I donÂt want to take up any more space here. Email me if you have any questions.

Gene

Adding any nutrient to a soil, where it is not needed, will allow that nutrient to flow out of your soil with any water and go down into the ground water. The single largest source of nitrate and phosphates in our water is from homeowners applying unneeded fertilizers, according to the USEPA. An organic gardener should be someone interested in protecting the environment from further harm and one way to do that is to know what your soil needs and one way to know that is with a good, reliable soil test. That is part of a good, organic gardeners means of knowing about their garden and not contributing to the pollution of our world.

I guess I just don't think of corn gluten as pollution.

Kate