I moved into my house about 2 years ago and I have been trying to keep my lawn beautiful but I have not been that successfull. I'm starting to figure it out now but over the last couple of years Crab Grass has managed to go all over the place.
If I let my grass go with out cutting it for a couple of weeks it starts showing. Little bits of crab grass grow fast and they are scattered throughout the lawn just enough to make it ugly.
Can anyone tell me how to get rid of the crab grass please?
Well, depending on what it is, it may be difficult to get rid of without killing the desirable grass. Suppose it's poa trivialis or similar? There are plenty of obnoxious weed type grasses that are difficult or impossible to eliminate with selective herbicides.
Geez, the guy just said he wants to get rid of some weed. That doesn't mean he needs to do a double lawn renovation.
Well, yes and no. I agree it's good to know what the weed is, but taking a sample somewhere for identification isn't always practical. The popular broadleaf weedkillers readily available kill most types of broadleaf weeds. And it's needed at times on all lawns anyway to control one weed or another. He could buy some and try it on a test spot. Note: It doesn't kill crabgrass, but I doubt that is what he has.
Why? I've seen both smooth and large crabgrass all over the place, and it's readily identifiable by /most/ homeowners. As hot as it's been across the country, this early, it may be a good bet that their ID is positive. Just curious as to why you doubt their ID. =)
Well, we don't know where Jim is located, so if he's someplace warmer, I guess he could have a noticeable crabgrass problem. But here in NJ, which is I'd say middle of the road as far as summer temp, it doesn't become a problem that people usually notice and start asking questions about until a month from now. Plus he said something about it becoming noticeable if he lets his grass grow for a couple of weeks, which implies it's been around already for weeks. Which lead me to think it's more likely something else, but without a pic who knows.
I'm in 5b/6a, and it's been in the 90's for about a month, which shouldn't be happening for about another month. My understanding is the weather has been similar over /most/ of the rest of the country, hence my question. I'm not used to seeing it (crabgrass) this early, but as I said, it's been everywhere, so their ID seemed quite plausible. A pic [1] and location [2] information, would be nice.
[1] I didn't see the original post, only subsequent followups. Checking All Messages, shows they apparently made one further posts, but not to this thread (starting a new thread, sigh), and left no clue to whom they were replying (absolutely no quoting nor references header, sigh). Timestamps suggest Steveo, and a reference to taking a pic? Message-ID:
[2] A trace of the NNTP Posting Host header has them somewhere north of the border (Brantford, Ontario, maybe?). You may be correct. =) Also in your favor, is their lack of ability to keep the thread together, even on their first reply. These problems, coupled with the fact that they use G2, means they most likely can't identify crabgrass. =P
Why not seed? He said he wanted to rid his yard of Crab grass, one of the best ways to prevent Crab grass from growing is to have a thick lawn.. the only way to have a thick lawn is to seed your yard.. And when is the best time to seed? (wait for it.....) yes that's right, when temps are between
60 - 80 degrees... and what time of year is that? ... wait for it...... spring and fall.. Thanks for playing, see you next time...
Summer now? Really.. Did you discover that all on your own or did someone have to tell you it was summer?
Plant you seed in the Summer and watch it NOT grow.. If it's too hot, the seed will not germinate, that's why most seed tells you right on the side of the bag, plant when temps are 60 - 80 degrees. And the temps should remain in that general range for 4 - 6 weeks to allow it to germinate. So once again genius, Fall and Spring.. If you want to piss your money away go right a head,
Peter actually did say to seed in the Fall. And again in the spring, and to aerate, and God knows what else. Which, per my previous post, isn't required if the guy just has some crabgrass or other weed in an otherwise OK lawn. If the lawn is thin or has thatch or some other problem, then I can see seeding, aerating, etc. But to suggest this is necessary just because the guy has some crabgrass doesn't make sense.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, re Peter. Funny how in all the advice to the guy to re-seed his lawn twice to get rid of crabgrass, he never mentioned putting down pre-emergent in Spring, which is the most obvious and practical step.
Thank you Trader for mentioning the Pre-emergent. I did forget that.. Duhh on my part. But.. I still stand by having a thick lawn is a good way to prevent crab grass from growing. There is more then one way to skin a cat, more then one way to get rid of crab grass
I've been gone for a few days, sorry for the delay. I have posted 3 pics of the grass, although I don't know if you'll be able to figure it out as to what it is:
formatting link
formatting link
formatting link
If someone can help first identify and secondly provide a cure, I would appreciate it.
NOTE: I am located around the Hamilton/Toronto, Ontario (Canada) area
- So, in the summer when the igloo melts is when I'm concerned about the grass. :o)
It's not crabgrass from what I can see. As I posted earleir, here in NJ crabgrass is still small plants, so in your area, it should be even less noticeable. And crabgrass looks like a crab, ie, the grass grows more outward and close to the ground. What you have appears to be some other type of grass like weed.
And that's the bad news. Because if it is some type of grass, then it's doubtful there is an effective selective herbicide. It looks like you're letting this grow up to seed which is a mistake, as if you let it develop seed, that just develops more of it. And where is the turf grass? From what I can see, there isn't much.
If you want to get rid of it, I think you're going to have to get it identified, as I doubt the typical general purpose products will work. Given the overall look of this, I'm starting to agree with Peter Pan that a lot more work may be in order. Given that you have so much of this, and not much decent grass that is apparent, I'd probably do nothing till late August. Then do a renovation. Kill off everything with Roundup, aerate, then re-seed with a quality seed of the right type using a slice seeder.
I've just got my lawn mower fixed and now it looks like a proper lawn again but there are patches of broad leaf grasses that grow faster than the rest of the lawn. It's these thick patches that I am referring to as crab grass. The patches scattered throughout the lawn kind of look lit something that you would see on a cartoon.
Some of my neighbours have the same thing so I will try and find a patch of it and take another pic. My wife took the pics that I already posted and they don't show it very well.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.