Cornmeal
By Bruce Lee Deuley - 11/4/02

Do you have yellow leaves on your Photinia, brown patch in your St. Augustan grass, black spots on your Roses, a gray powdery look to your Crapemyrtle leaves or algae in your pond or water feature? If any or all of theses problems have shown up in your landscape you don't have to use toxic chemicals like the synthetic fungicides or heavy metal products like copper sulfate. There's a terrific solution to these problems that is totally natural. Cornmeal—and it's now available from most of the garden centers and feed stores here in Kerrville.

Cornmeal controls diseases better than any of the toxic chemical pesticides. Oh yes, and in the vegetable garden Cornmeal is a sure stopper for blossom end-rot on Tomatoes and damping off of your newly planted seedlings. Use cornmeal for root or soil-borne fungus problems at 10-20 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft.

Cornmeal works as a disease fighter in the soil by providing and stimulating existing beneficial microorganisms that feed on pathogens such as rhizoctonia, better known as brown patch in St. Augustine. Cornmeal at about 2 lbs. per 100 sq. ft. also works on your seedlings to prevent damping off or any other soil-borne fungal diseases on both food and ornamental crops. One application may be all that is needed, but multiple applications are okay if necessary because cornmeal serves as a mild organic fertilizer and soil builder.

The cornmeal needs moisture to activate. Rain won't hurt cornmeal's efficacy because, like all organic products, it is not water-soluble. For floating, paint-like, and filamentous algae in water, use cornmeal at 5 lbs. per 1,000-sq. ft. or 150-200 lbs. per acre. The cellulose in the cornmeal helps to tie up the excess phosphorous in water, balances the water chemistry and thus kills off the algae. The organic carbon in the cornmeal enables the beneficial bacteria in the water to flourish at the expense of the algae. Then the decomposing algae provide a source of carbon for the bacteria. One or two treatments are usually enough to control the algae for several months. Caution: any fast algae kill from any product can cause an oxygen deprivation and result in fish kill.

Next week we will discuss another corn product which serves as the only weed and feed you will ever need.