Microbial Inoculants, Beneficial Nematodes, etc.

[CCC/TurfLover]

I live in the DFW area and have a robust lawn of Bermuda grass. I am very excited about converting to an organic regimen, so I recently took the first step by top-dressing with a manure-based compost from a local organic supplier.

I also purchased a ton (literally) of Corn Gluten Meal from another local supplier to use as a fall pre-emergent/fertilizer. (I am told it stores well, and the discount for buying in bulk was compelling - about half the price of other local suppliers)

Anyhow I am curious about using a microbial inoculant to jump start the soil revitalization process and adding beneficial nematodes to control (prevent?) insects. Other than fire ants, I've never had much of a problem with bugs. However, I don't want to be pennywise and pound-foolish, so I thought these two additions would be worth the effort/cost. Besides, from everything I've read, it seems near impossible to over-do anything when going the organic route.

Finally, since my lawn has been "chemical" since planting, would I see any improvement from applying other soil amendments such as greensand, worm castings, dry molasses, etc?

I look forward to your comments!

Thnks,
Tom

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

I hope this works. I just lost my reply to you due to a DD software error. I'm going to answer you twice just to test it before I get too much more time invested.

The compost is enough. You don't need to innoculate it any more.

I'll be back.

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

Okay, that worked.

You don't need any more than the compost unless you are going to plant a new tree. Then I would suggest using Actinovate to help prepare the roots.

greensand, worm castings, dry molasses, etc?

Greensand is good to use but you don't need to use it very often. Once a year is usually more than enough.

Worm castings are just compost. Don't need that since you already used compost.

Dry molasses is just wet molasses poured over chipped corn cobs or rice hulls. It will turn to a solid mass if you don't use it right away. I think you get much more actual molasses for your buck by using liquid molasses. Find a farmer's co-op that sells it by the pound. If you take in a cleaned out laundry detergent bottle you can get a gallon for $1.10. That's versus $12/gallon for commercial branded stuff in the stores.

Etc. The only other things I would suggest are corn meal and alfalfa meal as your regular fertilizers. CGM is too expensive for that, even though it is a great fertilizer. And get some liquid seaweed to spray everything every couple of weeks. It will keep bad bugs away and give you more cold hardiness. Spray at 2 ounces per gallon of water.

For a general lawn program:
Water heavily but infrequently. One time per week for an hour in the summer and one time per month for an hour should be enough. I understand that your soil in FM is pretty nasty. If you get runoff before an hour is up, don't try to water any more. Try again in a few days. Or use a soaker hose to break through.

Mow low. Set your mower all the way to the lowest setting for bermuda and mow weekly or more often. The grass will start to grow "prostrate" along the ground instead of up. It makes a beautiful and dense turf that gives good "foot." For other readers who have St Augustine, this mowing height recommendation is the opposite of the St Aug recommendation. That grass is mowed all the way at the top setting to shade out weeds and develop a dense turf.

Fertilize regularly. I'm quite a bit south of you but I fertilize on Valentine's Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day. You should adjust for your later spring and earlier autumn.

If you have to keep bermuda contained and out of flower beds, you should bury bricks to ground level or build a concrete curb about 4 inches deep into the ground. That gives you something you can edge up against and keeps the rhyzomes from sneaking under anything you might put there.

[CCC/TurfLover]

Thanks for the feedback!

Tom

[Enzyme11]

"I also purchased a ton (literally) of Corn Gluten Meal from another local supplier to use as a fall pre-emergent/fertilizer. (I am told it stores well, and the discount for buying in bulk was compelling - about half the price of other local suppliers)." ------->>>>>

"The only other things I would suggest are corn meal and alfalfa meal as your regular fertilizers. CGM is too expensive for that, even though it is a great fertilizer."
+++++++

Not to nitpick, but the bulk cgm most likely is less expensive per pound than bagged dehy alfalfa meal would be; buying dehy alfalfa in bulk probably would realign that price relationship. From the aspect of pure nitrogen content (which organic gardeners know isn't the only, or even the most important question, in fertilizers), "ordinary' cgm (10% N) has about four times the N that dehy alfalfa (2.5%) does. Because of rumen efficiency factors, there is a cgm product available to the feedstuff user that is a little less than 7% N, so that may be something to watch out for when buying bulk product. From a pure nitrogen fertilizer aspect, the "ordinary" cgm is fairly potent, so one might want to adjust the application rate accordingly if that's the main fertilizer source. If I were going to use ordinary cgm as a primary fertilizer, I think I would either blend it with other organics or alternate the application so that primarily cgm is not applied each time. This probably isn't an issue for most people because they buy cgm in bags, but it's more of an issue for bulk buyers like you (unless your acreage is large enough that a ton is only one or two applications). As for storage, you probably should monitor the cgm for dampness from ambient humidity/condensation and generally keep it as dry as possible. Cgm can be a bit of an odor (from the amines) and clumping problem if it gets damp enough. Welcome to the organic world -- you'll be glad you switched.

[CCC/TurfLover]

Thanks for the additional information, Enzyme11. I was completely unaware of the different "grades" of corn gluten meal.

My original post was a bit misleading when I stated that I "bought in bulk" though. Perhaps a better term would have been "bought in quantity", as the product I purchased was bagged (50lb bags of Alliance Milling's CGM100 for ~$12/bag).

Also, with what organic would you recommend I alternate? Are you and David in agreement on the alfalfa as an alternate?

Quote: And get some liquid seaweed to spray everything every couple of weeks. It will keep bad bugs away and give you more cold hardiness. Spray at 2 ounces per gallon of water.

What method of application do you use for applying the liquid seaweed, David? I have the typical garden sprayer, but I imagine it would be tough to get a uniform application using that. (Not to mention time consuming heh)

Thanks,
Tom

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

What is the bulk price per pound for CGM up there? All I can get is $0.50 per pound in 50-pound bags. Corn meal is $0.10 per pound by the bag. I know in Ohio they can get 100 pound bags for something like $8.00. Now that's a good deal as far as I'm concerned.

[CCC/TurfLover]

Quote: (50lb bags of Alliance Milling's CGM100 for ~$12/bag).

I'm sure you just overlooked this. :wink:

I guess that works out to about $0.24/lb.

Since I live in Flower Mound, I just drove about 15 minutes right to Alliance Milling in Denton and loaded up. I'd be more than happy to share (at cost) some of the 40 bags that I bought with any locals that are interested.

Tom