Getting rid of crab grass this late in the season

[larry_stewart]

Year after year my lawn has been pretty good. This year, although everything started out ok, my lawn is slowly being taken over by crab grass. Ive been doing the scotts program, as i have done year after year. It seems that the crab grass is on a mission to make my lawn the crappiest on the block. Any suggestions ? Is it too late in the season to address this ?

 

[quicksilver]

That's funny. What you call crabgrass is what people down here have for lawns. I was amused by that when I moved down here.
Anyway, if I remember correctly, (Check the instructions on any packaging), any fertilizer, weed killer, etc., should not be used when the temperature reaches over
80? degrees..... I think it's 80. Check. June would have been better. And a fertilizer, weed killer combo would have been best, in your area, in about May/June. It's not that it's late - it's that it's too HOT!.
But check with your local nursery/home center.

​

 

[larry_stewart]

thats what i figured, just double checking.
The positive is that it is green and tolerates the high temps

the negative is that it looks real ugly against the other grass

Ive never had a problem until this year. I think the new neighbors who moved in, dont take great care of their grass, and the seeds are blowing my way

 

[Jeekinz]

Mow your lawn on a higher setting so the good grass chokes out the crab grass. For patches of crab grass you just need to yank it out....roots and all. For big patches, plant some patch seed immediately. I walk around my yard for a few minutes before I mow and collect as much as I can. Every year it gets better and better. This year I can go 2 mows before having to hunt for the stuff. If your neighbors hav it, it will make it more difficult to clear yours out. Crabgrass uses a serious root system, so make sure you get as much of the roots as possible.

Put a preventative down in the Spring (or whatever the manufacturer suggests)

 

[B'sgirl]

That's funny. What you call crabgrass is what people down here have for lawns. I was amused by that when I moved down here.
Anyway, if I remember correctly, (Check the instructions on any packaging), any fertilizer, weed killer, etc., should not be used when the temperature reaches over
80? degrees..... I think it's 80. Check. June would have been better. And a fertilizer, weed killer combo would have been best, in your area, in about May/June. It's not that it's late - it's that it's too HOT!.
But check with your local nursery/home center.

Rats! My crab grass is taking over as well as morning glory. But last year none of the weed n feeds or sprays I tried even phased it. The last thing I want to do is go out in 100 degree weather and yank it, but it's getting into my flower beds so I guess that' what I'll have to do.

 

[Maverick2272]

Or you could do like we did and get rid of the grass altogether (along with the need for all those chemicals that go into our ground water ). The wife planted native prairie plants here, the crabgrass never stood a chance, neither did the dandelions either. Our neighbors yard to the south is overgrown with both, non are present in our garden, but our neighbor to the north is always pulling it out of his lawn and using chemicals cause the seeds float all the way over to him, LOL.

 

[buckytom]

i spent two and a half hours pulling crabgrass today. my fingers are sore!

squzie, the only way to get rid of crabgrass once it takes hold is to pull it, with roots and all as jeeks mentioned.

then, reseed the holes it leaves and any other bare spots. ditto-ing jeeks again, grow a thick lawn so crabgrass has nowhere to grow.

next spring, be sure to put down the fertilizer with halts in march or april, to prevent weeds from being able to germinate. you have to seed in the fall, before putting that stuff down, because it will also prevent the grass seed from germinating.

i ripped out my entire front lawn last fall and reseeded it. i didn't get the early fertilizer down, and my neighbor had a yard full of weeds, which of course, grew in every tiny bare spot in my front lawn where the grass didn't grow well.
fortunately, the neighbor sodded his property a month ago, so i should be able to get control of my own lawn now.

tomorrow, i'm thatching with a rake, getting some soil spread out to fill holes, and seeding my entire lawn, again.

 

[suziquzie]

alright, so how do you make it permanantly leave your veggie garden without digging up the whole garden and putting landscape fabric under it?
I pull blades and thier roots every day as I see them in the 1 garden, but I have another space completely overtaken under my sqush and pumpkins. I work a little on that one every day, and I'm sure it wouldn;t be so bad had I not neglected it so long...
or planted it next to an empty field.
duh.
I may just abandon that garden but the soil is getting so nice in it...

 

[LeeAnn]

Crabgrass! What a pain! My daughters and I moved to a rental a couple months ago (finally found a year-round rental in this land of summer-rentals) the grass is covered with crabgrass. Our lovely bluestone walkway in front of the cottage had grass (and crabgrass) growing in between each stone. I bought a spray on weed killer that I was SURE I read would NOT kill the grass - but lo and behold, it did. So now I have a lovely bluestone walkway with dead grass in between.

I bought some new grass seed, and from reading here it seems that I need to pull up all the dead and reseed soon - when the threat of the hottest temps are passed - is that so? I suppose I could just leave it til spring, but if it's an autumn thing to do then I need to do that.

I'll keep checking here for what others are doing.

 

[Jeekinz]

You can seed in the fall or the spring. You'll have to wait for the weed killer to dissipate first or the seed will not grow.

 

[quicksilver]

It's hard to say what to do, not knowing the product you used. But as a rule, fall is a good time to re-seed, week and feed. If you used a 'killer' did it irradicate the seeds as well, is it a preventative as well as killer, when did you put it down, what did the packaging say as far as time period before it's ok to replant? Do you understand what I mean?
Every manufacturer now adays has a toll free # on the packaging. Your best bet is to find that phone # and when answered, ask for 'technical services'. Those are the people that know the chemistry of the product and zone info for your area, and most effective way to remedy your problem.
Then tell them you want to replant and see what they recommend. Go to your local home center and see what they recommend and find all the produces that do the same, (their compeditors) and pick the best one for the buck$$.
All seed will tell you on the back the % of sucess of germination; ie., 82% - 56%, whatever, so you have to figure the other % is filler - sterile or weed seed. Buy the highest % for your buck. Plus the packages are usually for large sq. ft. areas. If you have just a small area, maybe you could grab a handfull or 2 from a new neighbor in exchange for a batch of cupcakes or one of your speciality food item. (And it's a good way to make friends with neighbors)
Whatever you decide to do, make sure you read packaging for temperature guidelines. Too hot will cook your seed.
And for those of you deciding to use weed and feed products, watch your nitrogen & phosporus content in your ground water. More isn't always better.

 

[sparrowgrass]

This info is for Missouri, so dates for application of herbicides may be a little different for New York.

Don’t apply herbicides to control
crabgrass this late in the year


[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]COLUMBIA, Mo. -Homeowners dismayed by unsightly stands of crabgrass in their lawns should forgo any chemical applications to control the pest this time of year, said a University of Missouri turfgrass researcher.
"Most people are concerned because this time of year crabgrass is seeding and putting out multiple shoots," said Brad Fresenburg. "It gets tall and bunches out so that homeowners think it is a serious problem and they need to do something about it."
Crabgrass is a summer annual grass that will frost off in the fall; for this time of year, there are no good products that are going to give complete control, he said. "There is no point in spending the money in trying to control it."
However, some broadleaf perennials such as plantain or dandelion can be a more serious problem for those who want to overseed.
You can apply broadleaf herbicides at this point, Fresenburg said, but there may be a three- to four-week reseeding interval, which means you can't reseed until the end of September.
Late September is still a good time to reseed, but anyone using a broadleaf herbicide should get started now, he said.
April is the recommended time to use pre-emergents for crabgrass and broadleaf weeds. Crabgrass usually appears in late April or early May, when soil temperatures consistently reach 55 degrees F.
Several pre-emergents containing dithiopyr (Dimension) or prodiamine (Barricade) are available for spring crabgrass control. Such products will prevent spring reseeding until they dissipate, but will not interfere with fall reseeding, Fresenburg said.
For more information, see MU Extension guide IPM1009, "Turfgrass and Weeds," available for download at http://extension.missouri.edu/explorepdf/agguides/pests/ipm1009.pdf.
[/FONT]

 

[quicksilver]

Late summer is a good time to seed your lawn


[SIZE=-1]01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, August 26, 2007

[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]By NANCY O’DONNELL

Albany Times Union[/SIZE] ***

Whether you’re “over-seeding” or installing a new lawn, the window of opportunity is knocking. Now through mid-September is premier grass-seeding time in many parts of the country.
Evening temperatures are beginning to drop, giving way to heavy dew come morning. Remember grass seed needs to be kept moist, and morning dew can provide a healthy amount of this moisture during initial germination.
Secondly, roots thrive in cool soils, and over the next few weeks, the soil temperature is going to begin to drop. As soil temperature decreases, root development increases and a strong lawn begins with a strong root system.
Finally, by now, just about any weed seed that had planned on germinating this year has done so. Competition between grass seed and weed seed is now at an annual low; as a result, soil nutrients and moisture are more readily available.

 

[LeeAnn]

Thank you for all this great information - you guys are great! I threw the bottle of week killer out after I used it all up, I can go back to the store and read the packaging and get the phone number - I never thought of that. The temps here have been dropping but recently it's been over warm, upper 70's - upper 80's - I think that's too hot for the grass seed. I'll call the garden center and ask them also and tell them what kind of grass seed I do have, see if that will work. Thanks again for all the time spent in giving me info!

 

[quicksilver]

Good luck, LeeAnn. Let us know thumbs up/down on what you decide and the results.
And remember, have fun.

 

[LeeAnn]

Kids and I have been pulling up the dead grass, there is some green surviving! We'll just leave that for now and see what happens. The nights and mornings have been cooler - a very welcome thing from my opinion - maybe the time will come for planting soon?!