I have a new yard with St. Augustine sod put down in July. I have had a pretty bad outbreak of brown patch that has been treated once with Potassium Bicarbonate spray and am putting down Corn Meal at 20lbs/1000 this weekend.

My question is: In trying to start an organic program, I want to make sure my strategy is good. After the corn meal, I plan on doing nothing until March. At that time I am planning on getting Soils Alive to aerate and spray liquid compost. I will then add CGM, Lava Sand and Green Sand. I didn't know if doing all this would be better now or waiting until Spring.

You could use the lava sand and green sand now if you want to. THe probelm with CGM is if you use it now, or even in the spring, you don't know if you will have any spring or summer weeds until you go a year with your turf. I would hold back on the CGM and see what you get in the way of weeds. CGM is too expensive to use against an invisible enemy.

Corn meal is my favorite organic feritlizer, followed closely by alfalfa. 10-20 pounds of either one per 1,000 square feet is good as a fertilizer. Since you have brown patch, 20 pounds is needed. But with the dose you're giving it now, you won't need to fertilize until spring.

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David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

CGM isn't a better fertilizer than plain corn meal? I thought it had other benefits besides its preemergent qualities.

Thanks for the response.

Yes, Corn Gluten Meal is a better fertilizer than Horticultural Corn Meal. I think that since gluten is also a pre-emergent and fairly expensive, you might use it early fall and spring for weed control to keep from wasting money. If the cost doesn't bother you, go ahead & use it! The Corn Gluten Meal will not hurt your yard but keep in mind that it keeps seeds from growing. Horticultural Corn Meal is a good fungicide & since this seems to be the current problem, this is what I'd stick with for now.

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The "soap" you use is normally chemicals, etc. Use real SOAP !!

Careful now, CGM can help cause the spread of brown patch in St Augustine lawns because of the high nitrogen content. Talk to Michael at Soils Alive and he'll give you the details. Bermuda lawns its not an issue. Corn Meal and Potassium Bicarbonate are the right products to help solve your fungal issues at this time.

Thanks for all the info, everyone. Very helpful.

After listening to Howard the last few weeks, it seems that the majority of people calling with brown spot problems were usually watering too much. Just a thought.

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The "soap" you use is normally chemicals, etc. Use real SOAP !!

CGM is maybe twice as good a fertilizer as corn meal. But it costs 6x more than corn meal. If you want twice as good a fertilizer as corn meal, double up on the application rate and save some money.

Or you could try cottonseed meal. According to the old Farmer's Almanac, it works much better as a fertilizer after going through cattle than similarly processed corn meal.

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David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum