The Grass Doctor

Organic corn gluten to restart lawn?

I have a lawn made of weeds. I want to create a new lawn in the easiest, least expensive way but still be safe for my puppies. I have read about corn gluten and I am pretty sure this is the way to go. It is mid summer so too late to use as a preemergent. I am wondering if I should put some down in the fall first? Then I would lay down again in spring but would I still be able to plant Kentucky Blue seed grass or do I need to wait for fall to seed the grass and will the corn gluten still be effective then? Just trying to figure out the best way to do this. Any suggestions?

Public Comments

1. Corn gluten prevents seeds from sprouting. It won't do a thing about plants that are already there (except encourage them - it's a strong green and will act as fertilizer). The idea with using corn gluten is to do it regularly so new weeds won't sprout - meanwhile, you pull out existing weeds and let the grass grow to fill in the spaces. This isn't very costly, but is labor-intensive and may take quite some time. Another alternative is to till all your weeds under and cover with sod immediately - somewhat more costly, but fast, and will give you a nice lawn right away that you can maintain to keep weed-free afterwards.