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cornmeal as fungal treatment--but HOW?
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Author:  ellenhotz [ Fri Jun 20, 2003 1:30 pm ]
Post subject:  cornmeal as fungal treatment--but HOW?

Hello fellow gardeners. I have just read an article by Mr. Garrett where he discusses the use of cornmeal in fighting fungus on rose bushes and human nails. However, it doesn't say what to do with the cornmeal. Is it dusted on the leaves , made up as a solution and sprayed, or mixed in the soil around each plant? Also, does it work for fungus on tomato leaves? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
-Ellen

Author:  jmeier [ Fri Jun 20, 2003 4:44 pm ]
Post subject: 

all of the above will work, I just toss it out on the ground most of the time. you can soak it in water for a couple of hours to a day then strain the solids out to make a spray.

Author:  dragonfly [ Fri Jun 20, 2003 7:33 pm ]
Post subject: 

I use a foliar spray weekly after letting the cornmeal soak in water for a couple of days. I tried the cornmeal in the soil last year and have had better results with the spray than I did with the soil amendment.

Author:  Kay Young [ Sat Jun 21, 2003 6:20 am ]
Post subject:  Corn Meal

Regarding the foliar spraying of cornmeal, I believe I heard Howard once say to "dissolve" one pound of horticultural cornmeal in a 5 gallon bucket of water. I'm not sure about the one pound amount. I also have heard him say that not enough research has been done to determine how much you can water down the mixture and still get the desired results.

Author:  jmeier [ Sat Jun 21, 2003 7:45 am ]
Post subject: 

Cornmeal won't dissolve in water, the best you can hope for in that case is a suspension, not a solution, meaning you will have to stir it up each time to evenly distribute the meal.

I'm pretty sure I have heard that people have strained this mixture through nylon stockings and used the resulting milky liquid and gotten results as a foliar spray.

Author:  ellenhotz [ Sat Jun 21, 2003 4:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Cornmeal and thanks

Thank you so much to all the gardeners/horticulturists who took the time to answer. I will begin immediately to treat with the cornmeal.

Author:  user_48634 [ Tue Jun 24, 2003 11:39 am ]
Post subject: 

No, corn meal will not dissolve in water. If you soak it for 24 hours, you will get a liquid that seems to be antifungal.

The way corn meal has been found to work against fungi is this. It promotes another fungus called Trichoderma (try-ko-DER-mah). Trichoderma is a family of fungi but the one species we're interested in acts like a disease on other fungi. Eventually the disease fungi die and recovery starts.

Author:  Kay Young [ Wed Jun 25, 2003 10:27 am ]
Post subject:  Corn Meal

In my earlier note, I didn't mean to focus on the "dissolving" properties of corn meal. I was really wondering the ratio of horticultural cornmeal to water. I believe I heard Howard once say to use "one pound" of horticultural cornmeal in a 5 gallon bucket of water. Sunday he said one to two cups of cornmeal in one gallon of water. He has also said that there isn't sufficient information regarding how much you can dilute the juice and still get the desired result.

One other question in addition to the amount issue, is..how long can you keep the mixture, or the strained juice without it going bad?

Author:  user_48634 [ Wed Jun 25, 2003 10:52 am ]
Post subject: 

Down here they're recommending a handful of corn meal per gallon. So there really isn't any perfect answer right now.

You'll know when the stuff goes bad, you'll know :shock: . I would guess a few days. Certainly a week would be pushing it.

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