Agricultural cornmeal is a good nitrogen source because it encourages the friendly fungal species Trichoderma to proliferate. This fungus feeds on the plant pathogens Sclerotinia minor (a blight characterized by the appearance of cotton-like growths on plant stems at the ground line followed by sudden plant death); Sclerotium rolfsii (Southern blight); and Rhizoctonia spp. (this is a disease that attacksstems, stolons and tubers of many plants, especially potatoes). Research conducted at Texas A&M University on peanut diseases confirms the usefulness of agricultural cornmeal.
To read more about peanut diseases and cornmeal, click here:
http://itc.tamu.edu/documents/extensionpubs/B-1514.pdf
.
Tina Marie Wilcox has been the head herb gardener at the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas, since 1984. She also writes Yarb Tales, a weekly column for the Ozark Folk Center (
www.ozarkfolkcenter.com
).
Click here for the main article,
Green Patch: Mulching Tips
.