Re: [gardeners] Re: Iris Maintenance / Weeds
Martha Brown (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 3 Oct 1999 10:33:56 -0500
>>
>Good idea. The corn only prevents germination of seeds, so it wouldn't
>prevent the emergence of perennial weeds or those that travel by rhizome.
>Grasses are a pain in the bonky in my iris bed. Corn gluten meal, as I
>understand it, actually permits seeds to germinate, but prevents them from
>setting secondary roots, so the seedling dies. I think you're in a rural
>area, Martha, you ought to be able to get it from a feed store. Margaret L
>
Grasses are a big problem for me also. I use Ortho Grass-B-Gon (even though
I hate using chemicals) on Bermuda grass (worse than a pain in the bonky)
because I haven't found anything else that will keep me ahead of it. If I
ever get it all out of my yard I will never have it again.
My second biggest pains are crabgrass and winter grass which is what I am
wondering about using the corn gluten on. I usually have a lot of annuals
self sow so haven't tried it, but this summer the crabgrass was so bad I
couldn't keep it out of the beds. I can start the annuals in pots and then
set them out. Do you have any idea how long the corn gluten is effective?
Since crabgrass keeps coming up all summer I will probably need to reapply
won't I?
Martha
M Brown
NW Oklahoma, USA
USDA Zone 6b, Sunset Zone 35