What organic fertilizer is highly recommended to get my bermuda grass the greenest on the block? How many applications...monthly...are recommended?

For my lawn the cheapest and safest in the way to go.
I just use lots of sprinkled compost and regular corn meal.

The compost supplies plent of food for the soil microbes in the lawn, plus conditioning the soil. Corn meal is a nitrogen fertilizer and natural universal fungicide.

The nursery I use is in Coleville, TX and they have an organic mixture called Redenta's Fertilizer. They use most of the dirtdoctors recommended ingredients but is not real high in nitrogen. I used corn meal last year but the place I was purchasing it from no longer carries it and I don't have enough compost to sprinkle on the yard this year. These products are great but sometimes it doesn't get the yard as green as I like. If I find an alternative I will let you know.

I will keep you com...posted on the progress (pardon the pun)

I have been told by a couple of nuseries in Fort Worth that Miler Organite
(pronouced Miller with one L) is a pretty good organic fertilizer that can green up your lawn.

good luck

You can buy the organic fertilizers or you can read the ingredients and buy the same stuff from the feed store for about 1/6 the price. I use corn meal and alfalfa pellets. Cost from the feed store is $5 for 50 pounds. Cost of the best organic fertilizer is $30 for 30 pounds. Application rate is the same.

If you really want to blast the green into your lawn use corn gluten meal. It's a higher nitrogen product and really puts your grass on steroids. Price is more like $30 for 50 pounds in my neighborhood.

Click here to go to a place to find out the NPK of common stuff you might find at the feed store or elsewhere.

Pardon the basic questions ahead...and thank you in advance for the help.

Where can I find corn gluten meal? A local nursery like Calloways? A feed store?

Also, assume I've done NOTHING to my bermuda lawn and it's already the end of March. Can I catch up? How?

Again, thank you so much!

I put in my bermuda lawn last fall and it's just starting to green up. I'm about to pub down corn meal (found for 12.95 for 50# at a feed store. . . is that good?) I figure this will encourage the lawn but what about the weeds. I have tons of them. I've been pulling some of them but there are too many in some places.

I think corn gluten is a pre-emergent, right? Too late for now. Maybe the healthy grass will crowd out the weeds but I'm not sure i'll live long enough (lol).

How often should I put down the corn meal?

THanks.

My favorite outright FERTILIZER for the yard (organic, naturally) is Bioform Dry. It's about 17 bucks for a 40 or 50 lb bag but it covers a good area, has lots of organic matter, rated at 5-3-4, and also has a good dose of sulfur. I find it at Lowes.

I use some of that, along with some dry humate, lava sand or volcanite, and finish with eathworm castings and/or dry horticultural molasses.

You will probably not find corn gluten meal at Calloways. You'll need to go to an organic oriented garden store. And then, they are guaranteed to have the most expensive bags there are. Feed stores in Texas should carry Alliance Mills brand of CGM.

Actually, I found CGM at Calloway's last spring.

And buy the meal (powdered) kind as opposed to the granulated kind. It does not dissolve anywhere near as well and did not do as good a job, pre-emergent-wise, on my lawn. Just don't lay it down when it's windy if you want to avoid orange feet and legs...

Thanks for writing, Bill. Now I'm going to have to go to Calloways to check CGM availablility and price. Best price I get for unlicensed CGM is $29 for 50 pounds. It's in an Alliance Mills sack.

I have never understood the 'unlicensed' variety because if it's patented, how can one sell it without royalties... because it does not have the same efficacy perhaps?!

I checked yesterday the granulated CGM I used, at the local store, and it was unlicensed (no patent info anywhere on the brown, non-descript bag) and had two other things in it (corn meal and alfalfa). I told the store about my concerns and that I will buy my CGM elsewhere unless they started carrying the powdered meal again... she got the message and she is a very reputable dealer in town. I am convinced it's the issue behind my weeds this spring.

The most I have seen the licensed stuff here for is 24.95 for 50lb / 19.95 for 40 lb bags.

Bill , where about in dallas did you get your cgm.. I've just been told that there is a fertilzer store in grapevine on main street that carries the stuff , but they were closed on Sunday when I drove by.. any other place you can recommend? I don't mind making a small drive for the good stuff..

thanks in advance..

The patent for CGM is for use as a preemergent herbicide. If a sack is sold making that claim, it has to pay the license fee. If the sack is marked as animal feed and makes no claims as a herbicide, then it is sold at market rates for animal feed. The research was done with the animal feed product and I believe the mills bag the animal feed product for sale as a herbicide. Just different bags.

As to the wisdom of doing this, many businesses are in competition against themselves by carrying many brands of products which satisfy the same consumer demands. Look at all the breakfast cereals made by Kelloggs. Many are the same raw material (corn flakes) repackaged in different boxes.

WeedMaster -

I don't live too far from you and I get my CGM at Marshall Grain on Landcaster just east of Downtown Fort Worth. It's a bit of a drive but they carry a wide variety of good products. Just FYI.