One of the annoying things that can happen to your garden is weed and gardening will not be as easy as you may think before if there are weeds everywhere and your garden look will also not be good enough to be viewed, so many homeowners that love gardening often try to find some ideas to kill the weeds and hope that the weeds will not appear anymore in their gardens. Of course, if this case happens to you, you need to have a plan and way to kill the weeds but with the natural way so your plants will not get damaged by any chemical garden and lawn treatments. Well, the best solution which may often be heard by you is about the corn gluten weed killer, right?
Corn gluten weed killer was found by Nick Christians who was a researcher at Iowa State University and that the corn gluten meal inhibited root growth and prevented grass seeds from sprouting was discovered by him accidentally when a pathogen that he found in golf course by growing it on leftover cornmeal was studied by him. That because ten percent nitrogen can make corn gluten meal was also discovered by him at that time. Moreover, it meant that the surrounding plants may be fertilized while the undesirable weeds are killed.
Corn gluten weed killer is also regarded as one of the natural herbicides that you can substitute for synthetic pre-emergence herbicides that the seeds can be killed before seedlings can be emerged. Moreover, no health risks can be held by this kind of natural weed killer either for people or animals and the chickweed, crabgrass, and even the dandelion seeds can even be prevented from sprouting by this solution. The seeds created when the weeds are grown like purslane, pigweed and foxtail can be prevented by corn gluten meal from sprouting and the overall population of these weeds over the years can also be reduced.
The Advantages of Corn Gluten Weed Killer
Its nitrogen needs will be able to be met when the corn gluten weed killer is applied to your garden twice a year because it can also be acted as a good fertilizer for your garden or lawn. That you should apply the corn gluten meal powder or pellets at the end of April or the beginning of May should also be kept in mind and you can re-apply it in mid-August. Then, the corn gluten meal can be watered lightly after each application because the seeds will be killed for five to six weeks after each application.
The Functions of Corn Gluten Weed Killer
Moreover, the winter annual weeds like chickweed and speedwell can also be prevented from germinating during winter when you apply the corn gluten meal in late summer. Each year, the improvement of the weed-free lawn can be seen by you but you should apply the corn gluten meal consistently and the result can be seen within four years usually. If your garden is filled with the vegetable plants and also flowers, you can also use the corn gluten meal so the weeds can be kept from sprouting near perennial plants.
The Use of Corn Gluten Weed Killer
Additionally, the effectiveness of the corn gluten weed killer can be reduced by the excessive moisture from rainfall and microbe activity in the soil. However, the corn meal gluten will not be able to affect the perennial weeds that have already been emerged. So, you do not need to hesitate of anything, just trusting the corn meal gluten for handling any weeds in your garden.
