Look for subjects that have CGM in them :)

Hi Smitty! Welcome to the forum :)

CGM is good, high in protein, but typically costs twice as much as say, soybean meal or alfalfa pellets.

The first thing I suggest is that you read the Organic Lawn Care FAQ's so that you gain a btter understanding of what you're doing when you apply these protein based feed grains to your soil. You see, these grains must be digested by soil microbes before the nitrogen becomes available to the roots. Microbes provide full service to the plants. They decompose dead plant and animal residues to humus; combine nitrogen and carbon to prevent nutrient loss; suppress disease; produce plant growth regulators; develop soil structure, tilth, and water penetration/retention; clean up chemical residues; shift soil pH toward neutral; retrieve nutrients from distant parts of the soil; decompose thatch; and control nitrogen supply to the plants according to need.

Don't get too caught up in which particular grain to use, but rather what's readily available & inexpensive for you. Having said that, I personally use alfalfa pellets and soybean meal. Soybean meal is my primary/main grain of choice because it's high in protein, relatively inexpensive, readily available for me, and speads easily in any ordinary drop or rotary spreader.

To get a really good idea what we're talking about here, check out >this thread about NPK ratios in feed grains and other organic/natural fertilizers.

My 2 cents

Good day, Dan

here in IL, the price of alfalfa and soybean is not far enough from cgm.

CGM $14.99/50 lbs
SOY $10.99/50 lbs
ALFALFA $11-$11.50/50 lbs

You are lucky.

I've had great success with Ringer Lawn Restore. It provides lots of nitrogen and the lawn greens up beautifully. Plus, it's easy to spread and completely safe for the kids. You can find it at Home Depot (it's fairly cheap). As for the weed problem, I sympathize. I wish there was an organic product that you could spread like fertilizer that would kill dandelions like a weed & feed does. But the reality is, if you don't use chemicals, then your only option is diligence. I use a Weed Hound--I hope the inventor is a millionaire now--and I mow high and often. Good luck!