I’m a gardening expert and use an Amazon product as a natural weed killer – but it’s crucial to use it at the right time

A GARDENING guru swore by an Amazon product as a natural weed killer, but highlighted the timing on when it is used is crucial.

If you manage your property and it includes a lawn or a garden, chances are you’ve had to deal with eliminating weeds.

Plantsman Ryan Anderson says corn gluten, the by-product of corn processing, is a winning formula for eliminating weeds, according to Midwest Grows Green.

However, he warns there is a narrow window of opportunity for this natural resource hack to work its weed-killing wonders.

If you apply it too soon, Anderson says, you’ll allow dormant weed seeds to dodge corn gluten’s preventative effects, but wait too long and weeds build resilience to its pre-emergency herbicidal effects

So why does it work and what’s the window of opportunity to use it?

Corn gluten contains proteins that inhibit root growth during seed germination for a number of small-seeded annual and perennial weeds that frequent our lawns.

Think crabgrass and pigweed, for example.

Not only does it act as a natural herbicidal alternative to toxic “weed and feed” lawn products, the expert says, but it also contains a significant amount of nitrogen that full-grown turf grass loves.

Applying corn gluten to established weeds, however, will only help them flourish.

So the key is to apply it when it attacks a weed just before germination or sprouting. Generally, weed germination, specifically for crabgrass, occurs in April.

Anderson recommends applying corn gluten in the first few weeks of the month or when forsythias begin to bloom.

The organic alternative is readily available on Amazon, but it isn’t exactly dirt cheap.

MGG recommends waiting till the temperature is at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit and to pick a time when there is no rain in the forecast. Then wet the corn gluten with a soft spray and wait for the magic in the garden to happen.