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Ron’s ArticlesIt's not the Only MealMarch 2008 Last month in "NPK Go Away! Sustainability is Here to Stay!" I encouraged you to feed your lawn. I recommended compost - ideally from your own compost pile. And, I questioned the prevailing idea that corn gluten meal (CGM) is the 'be all to end all.' That apparently caused some concern, so I thought I'd go into this in greater detail. First of all, everyone agrees that CGM must be applied before the weeds germinate. While some say that can be as late as mid March, I'd set a January 15th deadline. By the time the February issue of Living Natural First hit the stores, CGM was not the best use of your gardening dollar. Many weeds had already germinated. I am not saying that CGM should be banished from our organic toolbox. I use it in my landscape treatments, stock it in my garden center and it's one of the dozen or so ingredients in some of my Ron’s Blends including Super Bloom, Super Meal, Spring Blend and Fall Blend. But it's not the only meal. There's cotton seed, feather, fish soybean and oat meal. If you were a real hungry bug and I invited you to a garden party would you rather have a buffet or just CGM?
I converted to organics over 12 years ago with great enthusiasm. At that time lawn care was the side job to my career as a firefighter. We're on duty for 24 hours straight then have 48 hours off. With my medical training as a paramedic, I started to realize that my medical maladies - headaches, dizziness and such, were a direct result of applying toxic chemicals not just to my own property but to hundreds of clients' lawns. The coursework to be certified as a pesticide applicator, nearly scared me to death. I learned that I should wear a respirator, that farm hands have to wear full body suits, and that you aren't supposed to enter sprayed areas for 24 hours. I thought, "Should I be spraying these chemicals that can shorten my lifespan?" I'm already a firefighter - a profession with one of the shortest life spans. We don't tend to enjoy long in retirements. I bought into organic full blast. Build the life in the soil and it will take care of itself. I began my quest to identify the best organic products. I started by testing products offered by organic distributors. In 1997 I was the first person to buy a 55 gallon drum of Garrett Juice. Malcolm Beck was so intrigued that he came to my property to see how I was using it. About this time I heard about CGM - this miracle pre emergent weed killer. It sounded great! I was running around spreading CGM all over my clients' yards. I didn't pay much attention to the timing. I wasn't being careful about the amount of moisture. But, you tell me. Can you do that in Texas? Our weather falls far short of dependable. After the first year my clients were up in arms. They'd paid me to grow super weeds. So I called Dr. Christians to ask, "What am I doing wrong. I bought this stuff by the pallet load, spread it on over a hundred yards and now I have more weeds than you can shake a stick at." That's when I learned that timing is critical. You have to get it out before the weeds germinate, then have 5 days of dryness followed by exactly ¼ inch of water. Otherwise it's a super weed fertilizer. He went on to say that all his studies had been done under greenhouse conditions. Then he asked about spring rain in Texas - isn't it usually heavy rainfall during storms? That's when he told me that the weed inhibiting powers of CGM are completely obliterated if an inch of rains falls. Yes, under perfect conditions CGM is a highly effective pre emergent week killer. But, I prefer to take a different route toward weedlessness. I prefer to build the organic content of the soil. When you build the organic content humus builds up. Humus emits humic acid, the number one exfoliate of weed seed. I call it Nature's elixir. And you don't have to be a meteorologist with 20/20 foresight. While there are some preferred windows for fertilization, you can pretty much build organic content year round. I favor using a variety of nutrients. That's why my blends contain so many ingredients - including CGM. It's a great source of nitrogen. I am totally convinced that biodiversity is the key to soil health. 
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I am saying that CGM is not the magic bullet that will give you a lush green weed free lawn without fail. Yes, university research proves it can act as a weed inhibitor but only under carefully controlled conditions. And, this research doesn't apply to your plain garden variety CGM. See this for yourself at