By the way, I saw this interesting experiment done by a high school kid:
http://www.hort.iastate.edu/gluten/high1.html

The only thing I would have liked to see is how many seeds would have germinated in the various compost mixtures WITHOUT the corn gluten meal. Perhaps there was something wrong with his compost, and the compost was causing the seeds not to germinate.

Are you using topsoil from the garden, or potting medium?

If you're not busy ;) I'd like to see the experiment expanded, testing the efficacy of CGM and something like soybean on soil quality.
Using topsoil from the same area of the garden, germinate grass. Once this is established, treat one pot with compost tea?), another with soybean meal, maybe a third with GCM, to see which has the best long term effect on the grass.
If I weren't so lazy, I'd try that myself :)

Looking forward to seeing your results, 'scientific' or not!

I am just using some topsoil that I bought at a store. Seems like your everday generic topsoil....Perhaps I should have used soil from my yard.

Your followup idea sounds great. I think my first priority is to figure out what type of effect the corn gluten meal has, and once I am satisfied with that, I definitely plan on testing some other things. Luckily, I have access to a neat grow light setup, so I can move the experiment indoors if things are still progressing when the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Be sure you press the seed into the soil so you have good soil-to-seed contact. The seed needs the soil contact to maintain moisture control.

I like the follow up idea, too.

Nandina did something similar to this with ordinary corn meal. It will be interesting to see what your results are.

Love that you are doing this. Thanks!

The follow up I am most interested in is when the seeds don't germinate in the CMG, wait a period of say 3-4 weeks and try again. This would try to answer the question: How long after using CMG can one effectively reseed?

Very cool experiment! I think this kind of tinkering could teach a guy a lot about things. Shoot I may have to try a few things. One could plant 3 or so tubs of grass and try different amendments and fertilizers on them to see what works best ect, ect ......

Update......I see a few blades of grass in all three tubs, no one less than the others. At first I was bummed to see them growing in the CMG tubs, but then I remembered reading that the CMG doesn't stop them from starting, rather it stops them from establishing their roots, or something like that. So, if I am right, they will start to grow, then die.

Does anyone brighter than me know if the above is true?

Interesting update. The two tubs with CMG have MORE grass growing right now than the one with just dirt and seed. It is still early though, as a lot of the seeds haven't germinated yet. Oddly, the one weed growing is in a CMG tub.

It is probably too early to jump to any conclusions, but my guess is that the CMG acted as an early fertilizer. Of course, if it works as planned, it will hurt the root development of the seedlings in the long run and eventually kill them.

Interesting update! Planter/tub #2 from above (seeds slightly buried initially, with CGM spread on top of soil) was doing well - probably better than the other two. Then, this morning, I came outside to see about 2/3 of the grass blades laying down on the soil. By 5PM today, most of those ones were brown. At first I thought that maybe an animal or something jumped onto the tub and pushed them down last night, but maybe the CGM was actually working!

What do you think?

Iowa State University did a 12 year test of CGM as a herbicide and fertilizer on KBG from 1991 to 2002. CGM used as a herbicide is licensed by a Prof at Iowa State so they had a vested interest in the test.

If I read the data correctly, CGM works... but you need a lot of it to get results which could prove expensive.

Their numbers indicate that you need at least 40lbs per 1000 sqft to control crabgrass, 60lbs per 1000 sqft for dandelion control and a whopping 80lbs per 1000 sqft to control clover.

CGM was a so-so fertilizer unless you applied at least 60 to 80 lbs per 1000 sqft.

To look at their results click the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: ISU CGM Crabgrass Control Study

It isn't that I don't believe their research. I just wanted to try it myself and see what happens. Considering results have been so mixed on this board and others, I thought that I would have more faith, as well as more willingness to pay the big bucks for CMG, if I saw it work in my little test.

Surprising to see how much (according to the link you provided) CMG has to be applied in order to get the top level results. It is a bit disappointing. With all of this said, part of me thinks that one would get as good - if not better - results by simply following a regular organic fertilizer routine while overseeding religiously. When I get weeds in my lawn, a bare spot - or a less dense area of grass - is usually the main factor. Cut down on the bare/thin spots, cut down on the weeds.

OK, a negative turn...The blades in all three tubs - including the one without any CMG - are starting to go limp. Ugh. It is early, though, so I will give it time. A lot of the seeds in my rye/fescue/kbg mix haven't even germinated yet.