Using grains on lawns-Proteins!

[michaelthomas1]

Any one having success using bulk grains like corn gluten pellets-alfalfa meal-soybean meal-distillers grains--on lawns! Anyone having success adding these (protein based grains to feed microbes which feed the grass for green up and thickness) Is anyone dissolving them and using them in tank mixtures with compost tea or just using them as liquid to spray on lawns or shrubs-bushes.

What is the best ride on spreader to use for spreading with these grains as they tend to flow more difficult coming out!

Lastly , I am usuing Bills ict tea but would like to add more protein base in it ,anyone having success with this duo.
BILL(ICT TEA) IS A GREAT COACH!! I beleive he is not just in it for the money to help but to help many to get the best lawn organically.

Michael-Tenn. Dept. of Agriculture# 1628----applicator

[ICT Bill]

Originally Posted by michaelthomas1

Any one having success using bulk grains like corn gluten pellets-alfalfa meal-soybean meal-distillers grains--on lawns! Anyone having success adding these (protein based grains to feed microbes which feed the grass for green up and thickness) Is anyone dissolving them and using them in tank mixtures with compost tea or just using them as liquid to spray on lawns or shrubs-bushes.

What is the best ride on spreader to use for spreading with these grains as they tend to flow more difficult coming out!

Lastly , I am usuing Bills ict tea but would like to add more protein base in it ,anyone having success with this duo.
BILL(ICT TEA) IS A GREAT COACH!! I beleive he is not just in it for the money to help but to help many to get the best lawn organically.

Michael-Tenn. Dept. of Agriculture# 1628----applicator

Proteins are great as a "fertilizer" try to make some effort to find locally made waste whether it is compost or grains, the eternal issue is storage and application, rodents love grains too, they will find it on your yard or in your storage area. compost works better from many angles

Look at dried distrillers grain, high in protein, high in Gluten peptides and it works well in a spreader

[PrimoSR]

Originally Posted by ICT Bill

Look at dried distrillers grain, high in protein, high in Gluten peptides and it works well in a spreader

This sentence resulted in hours and hours of reading, now I just have to find it (and not at retail prices).

[ICT Bill]

Originally Posted by PrimoSR

This sentence resulted in hours and hours of reading, now I just have to find it (and not at retail prices).

It is a byproduct of ethanol production and is relatively cheap in bulk (a typical cost is $200 to $250 per ton), it is used as a feed additive for cows and such so you can start at a feed store and move from there
I know Marcos is using it this year and is south of you maybe you can PM him where he found it, he says it is the best deal going out there right now.

[Marcos]

Originally Posted by ICT Bill

It is a byproduct of ethanol production and is relatively cheap in bulk (a typical cost is $200 to $250 per ton), it is used as a feed additive for cows and such so you can start at a feed store and move from there
I know Marcos is using it this year and is south of you maybe you can PM him where he found it, he says it is the best deal going out there right now.

Thanks, Bill! Despite the insanity in corn futures we managed to lock in DG for the balance of 2011 at a very reasonable price.
Generally your annual volume of business will dictate your pricing, so long as you have flexibility in your sales contact.
This year we're also using SBM, CSM & AM each in varying degrees in order to diversify nutrient content.
And a lot of composting in early fall, of course!

We've read of documented successes using DG as a pre-emergent in container nurseries, but with a very limited list of weed species controlled.

We're chomping at the bit to see if an elevated rate of DG might show pre-emergent effects later this summer on certain lawns that aren't fully developed enough to naturally crowd/choke out crab, foxtail & other summer annual weeds.

[White Gardens]

Let us know the results later this year Marcos. I'd like to know if it works or not as a pre-em. I know the verdict is still out on it's effectiveness.

[Kiril]

Originally Posted by White Gardens

Let us know the results later this year Marcos. I'd like to know if it works or not as a pre-em. I know the verdict is still out on it's effectiveness.

If you want to know something like this, you need to look for controlled, replicated experiments, not anecdotal guesses.

Here is a list of CGM related publications I put together in 2007, so links may not work. If they don't, just search on the web for the title of the doc.

Studies/Articles On Corn Gluten As A Pre-emergent


PATENT: Updated patent

ISU: Greenhouse Screening of Corn Gluten Meal as a Natural Control Product for Broadleaf and Grass Weeds

ISU: Isolation and Identification of Root-Inhibiting Compounds from Corn. Gluten Hydrolysate

ISU: Making its way to the marketplace: A natural product for the control of annual weeds

ISU: Bioactivity of a Pentapeptide Isolated from Corn Gluten Hydrolysate on Lolium perenne L.

ISU: Herbicidal Activity of Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten Meal on Three Grass Species under Controlled Environments

ISU: The Use Of A Natural Product For The Control Of Annual Weeds In Turf

ISU: A natural product for the control of annual weeds (Note: more or less same as previous link)

ISU: The Use of Corn Gluten Meal As A Natural Preemergence Weed Control in Turf

ISU: How To Use Corn Gluten Meal

ISU: Cellular effects in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) associated. with the root inhibiting compound alaninyl-alanine

UCD: Evaluation and Demonstration of Corn Gluten Meal as an Organic Herbicide

UWEX: Corn Gluten Meal: A Natural Pre-Emergence Herbicide


Studies/Articles On Natural Products & Methods For Weed Control


UWEX: Corn Gluten Meal and Other Natural Products for Weed Control in Turfgrass

UFL: Preliminary Evaluation Of Nonsynthetic Herbicides For Weed Management In Organic Orange Production

JA-CSSPA: Weed Suppression by Deleterious Rhizobacteria is Affected by Formulation and Soil Properties

JA-CS: Cultural Management of Weeds in Turfgrass: A Review

PATENT: Xanthomonas campestris isolates and methods of use

[starry night]

Kiril, Marcos was talking about distillers grains. Are you saying that these studies also apply to DG? Just asking.

[Kiril]

Originally Posted by dirtandhoops

Kiril, Marcos was talking about distillers grains. Are you saying that these studies also apply to DG? Just asking.

Not unless they have the same compounds as CGM. The studies I posted are for CGM, not DG. That said, studies like the ones posted is what you should be looking for if you want information on DG with respect to pre-emergent potential.

[Marcos]

Yes do doubt it's much too early for the jury to return regarding any DG pre-emergent performance with annual weeds.

However we've already made unexpected observations concerning DG.
With this midwest monsoon right now red thread is going absolutely nuts around here in virtually every bluegrass, mixed bg/tall fescue lawn.
This spring so far we've used DG in approx. 85% of our turf including the increasingly minority 100% bluegrass lawns. In fact, most of these same lawns either received DG or a topdressing last Sep or Oct. Red thread is present throughout, but definitely visibly subdued as compared to chemically-fertilized same-cut neighboring bluegrass.

We assume what's happened here is the DG &/or topdressing combo have successfully promoted enough beneficial fungi to combat red thread.
Who knows? Maybe this will hold up later during dollar spot & brown patch seasons! Maybe DG will shake out to be the organic disease control product that corn meal has been touted to be, but never really was.