Preen Vegetable Garden Weed Preventer

• Preen Vegetable Garden Weed Preventer is an organic preemergent made with 100 percent corn gluten. This product is safe for use around your pets and children, and all vegetables are listed as safe to use with this product. Because it is a preventative herbicide, make sure to only use this product around established plants in your garden. This stage is reached when plants have true leaves and are 2 to 3 inches tall. Corn gluten does not kill existing weeds; therefore, you must pull all weeds prior to using this product. Preen Vegetable Garden Weed Preventer must be applied monthly and can be applied up to the day of harvest.
  
  

All About Corn Gluten

• A byproduct of a vegetable can be used as an organic weed control in your vegetable garden.Ablestock.com/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
  
  Corn gluten meal is a byproduct of commercial corn milling. Researchers at Iowa State University were the first to discover that corn gluten had seed germination inhibition properties. Corn gluten is mostly protein and is therefore also used in animal feed. Corn gluten contains 10 percent nitrogen --- the macro-nutrient used by plants for growth --- and will fertilize any plant that it is placed around. Corn gluten can stop many weed seeds from germinating, including crabgrass, dandelions, chickweed, purslane, foxtail and many more.
  
  

Preen Garden Weed Preventer

• Preen Garden Weed Preventer is another product that lists some vegetables as being safe to use around. Trifluralin is the active ingredient in this product. Trifluralin is unique in the fact that it can be used on some vegetables prior to planting them from seed. These vegetables include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, collard greens, black-eyed peas, field peas, green peas, kale, lentils, lima beans, mustard greens, okra, radish, Southern peas, snap beans and turnip greens. You can use Preen Garden Weed Preventer after seeding or transplanting on cantaloupes, cucumbers and watermelons, and after planting on potatoes. Use the Weed Preventer before transplanting celery, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, peppers, onions and tomatoes. Trifluralin can also be used on asparagus before the spears emerge.
  
  

All About Trifluralin

• The trade name for trifluralin is Treflan, and it is commonly marketed with this name on the bag. Treflan is found in many different forms: liquid, wettable powders and granules. Preen Garden Weed Preventer is a granular form, and is easy to apply. When plants are dry, sprinkle the granules at a rate of 1 oz. for every 10 square feet. Make sure not to get any on the foliage. Gently brush away any stray granules that may have landed on your plants to prevent damage or discoloration. Treflan will last for nine to 12 weeks, and should be reapplied at this interval for the best weed prevention.