Corn Gluten on Oxalis

[tonyastro]

Hi. New (ish) gardener here I have a couple of questions:

1 I would like to know if corn gluten actually kills weed seeds or just prevents them from growing until the next season? I keep hearing that you have to keep laying down this stuff every spring.

2 Will corn gluten work on the dreaded Oxalis Pes-caprae (Buttercup, Woodsorrel, etc.)?

[rainbowgardener]

my impression is that it prevents germination of the seeds. That may mean they die, if they sit around long enough without sprouting, but it could well mean they just wait and sprout the next season. I think you have to reapply it once or twice a year. It is good for the soil, adding nitrogen. But it is pretty expensive and you HAVE to use it as directed, putting down a pretty thick layer. Being a cheapskate, I tried it one year stretching it, putting down a much thinner layer. I just succeeded in fertilizing everything including the weeds! It definitely worked as fertilizer; the treated section of grass was visibly thicker and greener than the untreated section. But had no visible impact in stopping weeds.

[tonyastro]

Thanks a lot! Looks like I'm buying cg by the truck load now