Question
Hi LI gardener. I'm a fellow Long Islander who recently made the transition to Organic law care.  Last year I started using Ringer Law Restore and I noticed a signficiant improvmenet in my lawn.  Late last year I also dethatched and fretilized over the winder with Ringer.  

I would like to apply Corn Glutin to prevent crabgrass, as my law was badly affected last year.  When should I do this and where can I get it?  I have some care spots in the lawn I'd like to seed but I also would like to prevent crabgrass and I know I can't do both simultanously.  When is the latest I can apply the Corn Glutin or seed?  

Answer
Hi, neighbor, and welcome to the Big Island.

First, a lesson in Crab Grass.

Some of it, maybe all of it, is annual weeds.  Which is great!  Because if you have annual weeds, they will die and never come back.  So I'm with you -- get the weeds under control.

Lucky for you, Corn Gluten Meal is sold at Hicks Nursery on Jericho Turnpike along with plenty of other stuff on Jericho Turnpike.  I can tell you that Hicks is one of the top organic gardening supply stores on the East Coast.  They have ladybugs in summer.  CGM in the spring.  And a great guy to answer your lawn questions.

Warning:  Hicks also sells Crabgrass Killer - DO NOT USE IT!  They have to stay in business, so they sell the stuff for the majority of the population that still buys it.  But you do not want to use it.  I have to say that even though you have pledged to convert -- it is SO tempting to imagine yourself out there just this once with that deadly powder and those weeds.  Remember, it will ruin your soil and kill all the Earthworms.  

Back to the CGM.

As you know, this stuff has to go down right on schedule -- and Forsythia Week is just around the corner.  Now, if you wait 'til Forsythia week, Murphy's Law says they will all be out of it.  And those 10 million crabgrass seeds will be germinating all month while you wait for delivery on the CGM.  

So if Hicks is too far from your Long Island Lawn, or if they don't have it in stock, there are a few other places on Long Island where you can buy this.

Now, as you probably know, this is a little too sophisticated for a lot of nursery stock people.  It won't be like that forever -- but once they see they're making money, they'll figure it out.  They may not have it in stock, but if you ask for it, even if you don't buy it, you are sending a message that Lawn Dollars are going out the window and into the competition's cash register.  So just by looking, loudly, for this, you are doing all of us a great big favor.

According to my notes, Marders Nursery on Snake Hollow Road in Bridgehampton (631) 537-3700 carries Renaissance 10-0-0 Organic Pre-Emergent Weed and Feed.

Papa Farm & Greenhouse, 992 Connetquot Avenue, Central Islip (631) 224-7762 is on the Blue Seal dealer list and MIGHT carry Blue Seal's Safe 'N' Simple Organic CGM Weedkiller.

Goetz & Sons Feeds & Supplies, Andrew Goetz, 71A Remington Blvd, Ronkonkoma (516) 737-1300 also sells the Blue Seal line and MIGHT carry Safe 'N' Simple -- but call these guys to check first so you don't waste a trip (Blue Seal also makes a lot of organic pet food).

"Preen" brand is NOT organic -- but they do make ne, "Preen Vegetable Garden Weed Control," formulated with Corn Gluten.  OTHER PREEN PRODUCTS ARE NOT ORGANIC.  "Preen Vegetable Garden Weed Control" is sold at Ace Hardware, Costco, Home Depot, Sam's Club, Kmart, Lowe's, Target and Wal-Mart chains.

The "Earth Friendly Weed Control" line (maybe labelled Cockadoodle Doo) is going to be widely distributed here.  Possibly in stock at: The Garden Works, 70 Moffitt Blvd., Bayshore (631) 666-4822; London Landscape Co., 5596 Old Sunrise Highway, East Massapequa (516) 795-7111; Cipriano Nursery, 1660 Front St, East Meadow (516) 542-0499; Garden World, 500 Franklin Ave, Franklin Square (516) 437-2030; Atlantic Nursery, 250 Atlantic Avenue, Freeport (516) 378-7357; The Dee's Nursery, Atlantic Ave/Lincoln Ave, Oceanside, (516) 678-3535; Giordano's Country Garden, 295 Glen Cove Ave, Sea Cliff (516) 676-4011; Garden Gate Florist & Nursery, 250 Jackson Ave, Syosset (516) 364-5522; Abby's Parkside, 3333 Merrick Rd, Wantagh (516) 221-1133; and Westminster Nursery, 62 Westminister Rd, West Hempstead (516) 481-9615.

More about weeds:  Your mowing height can totally change the weed situation.

You may already know this.  But let me review, just to make sure, because it is one of those things people sort of hear about but don't actually put into practice.  It's about mowing.

Cutting grass at the right height makes your grass happy, and the weeds un-happy.  The happier your grass, the better for you.

And so I want to really make it crystal clear: It is absolutely necessary that you mow mow mow your lawn all summer.

When it's 110 in the shade, baking your grass, you MUST get out there with the lawnmower.  Because your grass will be asleep at the wheel, and the PERENNIAL weeds will be up on steroids, stretching their roots deeper and deeper.  Remember, the Corn Meal Gluten DOES NOT WORK on weeds that you had last year.  That means any Dandelions you saw las t year that you did not yank out of the ground will be back again next week.  You MUST keep that from happening.

Even if you think your lawn is not pretty enough yet to deserve it, you have to mow.  It makes the weeds sad and your grass happy.

You can't mow too much, but you can water too much.  Water deep and often -- NOT on a schedule, NOT with an autosprinkler, because soggy grass and muds breed anaerobes in your soil and bothers the Earthworms.  Mow twice a week to keep up with it if you have to, but mow, mow, mow your lawn.  And water faithfully.

Any idea what grass you are growing between those weeds? You need to know so that you have the best mowing height.  I'll bet you know exactly what is there.  And of course you are going to keep the clippings on the lawn after they are cut because you already know how much Nitrogen is in them.

Remember: Scotts Crabgrass Killer will kill the microbes in your soil.  Without those microbes, your grass will need a constant supply of Nitrogen -- impossible to achieve on a mechanical scale.

As you pointed out, CGM will halt germination of everything including your own grass seed.  You MUST wait AT LEAST 4 to 6 weeks -- and some people say you should give it 3 months before you do that.  Which would mean you would be sowing grass in July.  No grass you seed in July is going to be that happy, and since you are going to be overseeding in the fall anyway, why not just hold off on the real grass in those "bare spots" and put down some Alfalfa, Clover, or other Nitrogen fixing legumes.  They will pour Nitrogen into your soil and the Earthworms will feel so welcome.  

Ringer Lawn Restore comes from a very nice line of premium Organic products.  They're not for everyone.  These are more like the Rolls-Royce of Organic Gardening, and you can spend a lot of US$ bathing your lawn in style.  It's fun if you can do that, and it definitely shows -- DEFINITELY --don't let anyone tell you different.

But also remember, Alex, that if you did absolutely nothing but put down a CGM weedkiller every April, and mowed carefully, and watered right, and took your seed selection seriously, you would still have a beautiful lawn.  With no skeletons in the closet.

Keep me posted.  Happy hunting.  Any more questions, I'm here.