Where To Buy Cornmeal in Bulk

Regular old yellow cornmeal is used by many organic gardeners both as a fertilizer and to control and treat diseases in lawns and plants. You can spread it over your lawn and water it in or apply it to the soil around plants such as roses or tomatoes to prevent and treat disease.

When I first tried it I was impressed by the results. I've been using it almost every year in the spring to fertilize the lawn and help prevent disease. When other lawns in my neighborhood turn various shades of brown, red and orange mine typically stays green.

There have been some university studies that show its effects. The application rate is 10-20 lbs per 1,000 square feet every three to four weeks to help prevent disease and 20 lbs per 1,000 square feet if there is an active lawn disease. You should start seeing results within 3 weeks.

Cornmeal treats lawn disease because it becomes a host for trichoderma. Trichoderma is a fungus prevalent in many soils and many strains act as a fungicide.

As a fertilizer it is very mild having an NPK rating of around 1.7-0.7-0.4. At 10 and 20 lbs per 1,000 square feet that turns out to be 0.17 and 0.34 lbs of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet which is very light for a fertilizer but you can apply it frequently without burning your lawn. For many, the disease control is the main reason to use cornmeal, the fertilization is a bonus.

Finding enough cornmeal for your lawn can be a challenge but here are some ideas of where you can look to find large bags of cornmeal if you don't live near a feed store.
You can buy small 32oz packages of whole cornmeal at your local supermarket but it is much cheaper to buy it in bulk 25lb or 50lb bags. Many people will go to a feed store to purchase it, but what about those of us that don't have a local feed store?

Well, the good news is that cornmeal isn't just for animals, humans eat it too and many food distributors provide it to restaurants in bulk. Many pizzerias use cornmeal as ball bearings so that pizzas slide easily in the oven. If you know someone that has a restaurant you can ask them to get you an extra bag for your lawn or you can try asking your local pizza place if they have any extra they would be willing to sell or if they can order you some.

You may even be able to find soybean meal which is a more effective organic fertilizer with an NPK of 7-0.5-2.3.

If that still doesn't work for you, how about getting organic corn meal delivered automatically every month or two?