Overseeding

[Keith Corwell]

Hi all I am thinking about doing some overseeding this fall.

I live in mid Maryland. My question is can I use a preemergence next spring to fight crab grass

[Nicole]

[Kay Lancaster]

Overseed now; fertilize properly now and next spring, and don't scalp the grass when you mow. Then you won't need pre-emergent crabgrass herbicide.

[Phisherman]

Yes. Before you overseed it is best to de-thatch if needed. Lightly rake the seed into the grass. If the seed sets on top of the grass it won't germinate, rots, or is eaten by birds. Mow close to the ground, pick up clippings, and use a starter fertilizer the day you seed. Overseeding will give you a thicker lawn with fewer weeds, less crabgrass.

[Dwayne]

I don't know how cold it gets there in the winter, but here in Kansas it get below zero F several times a year. My preemergent has always said to use after the last freeze.

I used to live in Arkansas, and the gardner that came on TV said the in the spring the crabgrass would always sprout earlier than when the good grass did. There was about a 2 week period that you could spray the grass with roundup, kill the crabgrass, and leave the good stuff alone.

There is also a product called "over the top" that kills crabgrass. It is best to use it when the crabgrass is small and it wont kill your other good plants. It is rather expensive and it takes nearly 10 days to two weeks to see the results. I sprayed it into my iris and got rid of a lot of crabgrass, but 3 of my iris died also. Don't know if it was the Over the top, or something else. It didn't bother the other 30 iris, but these three were the oldest I had, not hybrids. I think it is made by Ferti.lome.

Dwayne

[Dwayne]

Dwayne