Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent & Chickens

[AnnPann]

Has anyone ever used a corn gluten meal product as a pre-emergent? And also has chickens? I have some insanely bad crabgrass issues in a garden area where my chickens often spend time in (so out of control that even their destructive scratching can't keep up with killing the weeds). I'd like to try this, but not sure if it's safe for use around them. Will they eat it and will it harm them? I plan to keep them off of the treated areas immediately after putting it down, but can't keep them off it forever. Not sure how long it will be visible/interesting to them to peck at, so would rather be safe.

Here's the type of product I was looking at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AWCVWM

 

[MysteryChicken]

Has anyone ever used a corn gluten meal product as a pre-emergent? And also has chickens? I have some insanely bad crabgrass issues in a garden area where my chickens often spend time in (so out of control that even their destructive scratching can't keep up with killing the weeds). I'd like to try this, but not sure if it's safe for use around them. Will they eat it and will it harm them? I plan to keep them off of the treated areas immediately after putting it down, but can't keep them off it forever. Not sure how long it will be visible/interesting to them to peck at, so would rather be safe.

Here's the type of product I was looking at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AWCVWM

It says its safe.
Corn gluten meal is added too animal feeds.

 

[AnnPann]

Well package says it's safe to use around pets and kids. I took that to mean OK to get on their feet/paws and such (vs something much stronger). Interesting that it's a feed ingredient - did not know that! I guess it can't be too harmful to them if they eat some of what I put down!

 

[Chris2018]

Has anyone ever used a corn gluten meal product as a pre-emergent? And also has chickens? I have some insanely bad crabgrass issues in a garden area where my chickens often spend time in (so out of control that even their destructive scratching can't keep up with killing the weeds). I'd like to try this, but not sure if it's safe for use around them. Will they eat it and will it harm them? I plan to keep them off of the treated areas immediately after putting it down, but can't keep them off it forever. Not sure how long it will be visible/interesting to them to peck at, so would rather be safe.

Here's the type of product I was looking at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AWCVW

Couple of things, one there are 2 different types of Corn Gluten Meal.
One is a basic Feed Grade Corn Gluten Meal the other is a Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent. Both are safe around pets but the Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent is not meant to be consumed. A Feed Grade Corn Gluten Meal will not work as well as a Pre-Emergent when compared to a Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent and a Feed Grade Corn Gluten Meal cost much less that a Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent. Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent is not intended to be used on a garden and it will affect the gemination of all seed, Beans, Corn etc. and will affect your transplants. Now, if you're looking for a Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent try this it's not at all cheap but it is a true Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Couple of things, one there are 2 different types of Corn Gluten Meal.
One is a basic Feed Grade Corn Gluten Meal the other is a Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent. Both are safe around pets but the Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent is not meant to be consumed. A Feed Grade Corn Gluten Meal will not work as well as a Pre-Emergent when compared to a Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent and a Feed Grade Corn Gluten Meal cost much less that a Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent. Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent is not intended to be used on a garden and it will affect the gemination of all seed, Beans, Corn etc. and will affect your transplants. Now, if you're looking for a Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent try this it's not at all cheap but it is a true Corn Gluten Meal Pre-Emergent.

https://www.marshallgrain.com/post/corn-gluten-meal-stops-weeds-organically

 

[AnnPann]

thank you for the info! i am not intending to use in my beds, but instead on the paths. I hate spending time weeding paths, so it never gets done and now it’s out of control. just need a bit of help!

 

[Chris2018]

https://www.marshallgrain.com/post/corn-gluten-meal-stops-weeds-organically

Your link only has only part of the information and in not 100% correct. Quote from Iowa State University --- "Concern over the long-term ecological effects of synthetic agricultural chemicals has led to increased efforts in the search for natural products (Cardellina, 1988). Allelopathic chemicals found in natural products may be used directly as herbicides and to develop new classes of synthetic herbicides based on natural chemicals (Narwal, 1996). Corn gluten meal (CGM) has been identified as an effective natural preemergence herbicide for use in turfgrass and other crops (Bingaman and Christians, 1995; Christians, 1993; Nonnecke and Christians, 1993).

The CGM reduces germination of many broadleaf and grass weeds (Bingaman and Christians, 1995). The CGM allows seedling shoots to emerge, but inhibits root development. After a period of water stress, the seedlings wilt and die because they do not have an adequate root system. A previous study determined that CGM reduces weed cover in bare-soil plots when CGM is incorporated into the soil prior to planting dormant strawberry (Fragaria ´ ananassa Duch.) crowns (Nonnecke and Christians, 1993). Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica L.) and cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis L.) were transplanted into soil into which CGM had been incorporated, and no negative effects on the transplants’ dry root or shoot weights were noted (see Appendix 1). The CGM is currently available in a pelletized form, but is not as easily applied as soluble herbicide materials.

In an effort to find soluble materials with the same herbicidal effects of the corn gluten meal, other by-products of corn processing from the Grain Processing Corp. in Muscatine, Iowa were investigated. Several of these materials were tested in growth chamber and greenhouse studies. Corn gluten hydrolysate (CGH) was found to be more effective as a preemergence herbicide than the corn gluten meal (Liu et al., 1994)."