Fungus Amungus
By Bruce Lee Deuley - 9/24/03

There is a fungus amungus us!

Our recent rains have been wonderful but along with them and the great cooler weather, come the perfect situation for fungus to grow in our lawns and gardens.

Brown patch is the most prevalent fungus to appear in our area after the recent change in weather. If your lawn has amoeba shaped areas of yellowing and browning grass, you may have brown patch. This fungal disease is most common in St Augustine grass but may also appear in other species.

Fortunately, there is a good organic cure. Wholeground Cornmeal! Broadcast at around 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet of lawn area, Whole Ground Cornmeal will stop this fungus in its tracks. I suggest you use a couple of applications about 3 weeks apart. Sometimes the second application is not necessary but Whole Ground Cornmeal is inexpensive and even if not necessary, the second application is still a good organic amendment for your lawn. In addition to its use on the lawn, Whole Ground Cornmeal is also useful in your garden area to defend your tomatoes from blossom end rot; it also fends off powdery Mildew and most other plant problems caused by fungus such as black spot on roses.

In general, Whole Ground Corn meal is effective against fungal diseases and is now being recommended and has been successful in helping to cure athlete’s foot and nail fungus on people. Its strength lays in the fact Whole Ground Cornmeal has in it a beneficial fungus called Trichoderma.

Trichoderma is parasitic on other fungi, especially disease causing fungi that cause fairy ring, brown patch, rust, red thread, and leaf spot in turf. It also seems to work wonders against fungal diseases on hosta, tomato, and roses.

Whole Ground Cornmeal is an organic fungicide and a mild protein source, which eventually breaks down into a light source of nitrogen by soil microbes – In effect, Whole Ground Cornmeal becomes a mild fertilizer after it has done its job on fungus.

It is best purchased at a nursery outlet or feed store. The “enriched” cornmeal usually bought at a grocery store is not the same thing. It has been de-germed and has had several key ingredients removed and a few vitamins add back-makes you wonder just what “enriched” really means?

Some grocery stores do carry Whole Ground Cornmeal in small packages but, I called around Kerrville and found larger quantities needed for lawn care can be purchased at Plant Haus, Gibson’s or Golden Eagle Landscape and probably at most of the feed stores.

Good Gardening!