corn gluten and onion seedlings

[tjg911]

i just spent 6 hours hoeing and weeding 50 sq ft of onions today, the crab grass is like a carpet! never saw this before, i guess i got it from shredded leaves.

my onions (copra and red wing) were planted on 4/15 and are typically 6-8" tall with some short plants just 3". would using corn gluten hurt the onions? would it slow their growth? i asked at blue seal feed store and i was told it might slow them down. the guy is pretty knowledgeable so i figured it is not worth the risk.


aside from corn gluten has anyone mulched onions with shredded leaves? it works for garlic fine but i've read that onions should not be mulched. been growing onions for several seasons and never mulched but i had "normal" weed issues not like this crap today! i had a green carpet of 1/2" tall crab grass, what a mess.


tom