Crabgrass!

[Greg]

I know there are some fellow lawn care buffs out there, so I figured I'd ask this. How do you deal with crabgrass? I put down the pre-emergent stuff in the Spring (Scott's Fertilizer with Halt's), but I still always seem to get a lot of patches of crabgrass; especially in spots where the desired turf is thin, e.g. along the curb where the road salt kills much of it each winter. Do I just start yanking this stuff out, or is there any post-emergent herbicide I can use?

 

[skijay]

I got crab grass as well, some small spots here and there near the road where the road salt tainted the soil. This summer seems to be a good season for this bumper crop or crap of grass.

I have kept my lawn at 5 inches hoping the grass will choke the crab grass out naturally. I DID NOT apply a weed killer this spring, only last fall. I fertilized the lawn three weeks ago with Menonite (I think that is what it is called). It is suppose to be "absorbed" by grass as opposed to weeds. I did not ask them to explain it, I just bought the stuff. It is expensive at $10 a bag for 2500 sf.

It would be great to here what others use to choke it out.

 

[MtnMagic]

A "weed and feed" product available at all home centers will kill crab grass. At HD or WM it is about half the price of Scott's. Use more for less $, weeds die, grass grows quick, in days of rain like today (here), weeds die quickly, grass grows quickly.

 

[MtnMagic]

Menonite? Isn't that the modern version of the 300 year old off-shoot branch of the Amish inhabiting from around Lancaster, PA to Ohio?! No modern conveniences allowed expect autos. Any chrome is painted over in black. Don't want the devil to show~!

I've been to Lancaster, PA several times. A local family living here is from Lancaster, Pa originally. Lotsa stories from the old country.

Amish = isn't it still 1704?!
_________________
Pretty much still in that century here. Paradise!!

 

[SilentCal]

I own a goat and move him around the yard every other day. He really does a number on crabgrass. :roll: . Seriously , I haven't a clue but I believe my father says if you over water your lawn you tend to get more crabgrass. I'll get a better answer when I get home.

 

[MtnMagic]

I learned that weeds do *not* like water and find it tought to start growing. Weeds like drier soil. Crab grass is a weedy pest.

Greg, do you water your lawn every morning?

 

[Greg]

Greg, do you water your lawn every morning?

Usually only when it looks like it needs it...

 

[skican]

Mow it. That's what I do and yes I am being a smart arse! Sorry I could not resist. Did you ever read that internet type email going around about killing god's creations. Like weeds and what not. It was pretty good. I think I have about 10 acres now to mow at my new place(you know the one with SugarLoaf in my back yard ha ha) and the crab grass looks like all the other stuff when mowed. Sorry Greg, you have me dreaming of skiing and I can't wait til the mowers are put away for the year. We purchased 2 ride on's due to the amount of mowing that needs to be done, and a tractor with a bush hog for the pastures/fields. My hubby and I now have a standing Saturday morning date to ride on our machines and mow. Poor guy he is out every night after work trying to keep up with it. I have been down here packing the house up and getting ready for the move which we did last weekend. Hope to hook up with a bunch of you this winter as I will be working at the Loaf! Decision made!

 

[smitty77]

Seriously , I haven't a clue but I believe my father says if you over water your lawn you tend to get more crabgrass. I'll get a better answer when I get home.

From experience I have to agree with Cal. I haven't had much crabgrass in the new lawn this year, and I stopped watering sometime in May. I haven't had to mow the lawn for two weeks, but since the soil seems to hold moisture well the lawn hasn't gone brown either. For the few shoots that did pop up, I used an all purpose weed killer from Bayer. About $8 a bottle at Home Depot. You mix about 2 oz to 1 gallon of water in a sprayer and "spot spray" the lawn. Seemed to do the trick.

Smitty

 

[skijay]

I thought I would revive this post since it is now time to fertizlize for the winter.

I purchased Scotts winterizer, with weed control. I plan on applying it on Sunday as we should be getting rain next week.

 

[teachski]

Crab grass? If it weren't for crab grass I wouldn't have a lawn
Seriously though, I live in the area of an old foundry, We have a lot of foundry dirt here. Nothing seems to grow but crab grass. I can get the most expensive seed and the best fertilizers, but then I have nothing but moss and a very thin lawn. I just keep it cut low and it looks decent.

 

[pepsi]

update
I put down the winterizer in the fall. Then about an hour after the snow melted, well maybe a few days but it was soon, I did the spring thing. Some spots of the crab grass came back anyway.:-? I thought the freeze was supposed to kill it?
Anyway I dug up the spots a few weeks ago, put in some top soil and seeded it. It was taking a long time to sprout so I thought maybe the birds ate the seed and put some more down. I think it's starting to come up now. And it must be time for the next round of fertilizer this week.

 

[ALLSKIING]

update
I put down the winterizer in the fall. Then about an hour after the snow melted, well maybe a few days but it was soon, I did the spring thing. Some spots of the crab grass came back anyway.:-? I thought the freeze was supposed to kill it?
Anyway I dug up the spots a few weeks ago, put in some top soil and seeded it. It was taking a long time to sprout so I thought maybe the birds ate the seed and put some more down. I think it's starting to come up now. And it must be time for the next round of fertilizer this week.

You don't want to put down halts before April anything before that and it won't work. That is really all you need for fertilizer till fall. In the fall put down 2 to 3 Apps of fertilizer 3 weeks apart and watch what your lawn does next spring. Oh.. mow the grass no lower then 3 inches this will help block out the weeds and make your lawn very thick.

 

[ChileMass]

I find you need to put down a bit more of the Scott's with Halts fertilizer than the package recommends, and it works fine. My lawn is almost 1.5 acres and it used to be nothing but crabgrass and now it's gorgeous. Increase the amount you put down by 20-25% (if the bag recommends a setting of 4, use 5). Also, it may take a couple of seasons for the good grass to push out the crabgrass as well.

All I can say is that Scott's works, and almost any other fertilizer brand I have used does not. I'd sure like to be able to use organic fertilizers, etc, but they just don't work nearly as well.....

 

[hammer]

I find you need to put down a bit more of the Scott's with Halts fertilizer than the package recommends, and it works fine. My lawn is almost 1.5 acres and it used to be nothing but crabgrass and now it's gorgeous. Increase the amount you put down by 20-25% (if the bag recommends a setting of 4, use 5). Also, it may take a couple of seasons for the good grass to push out the crabgrass as well.

All I can say is that Scott's works, and almost any other fertilizer brand I have used does not. I'd sure like to be able to use organic fertilizers, etc, but they just don't work nearly as well.....

Just out of curiosity...does anyone have a rough idea of the "per acre" cost of decent fertilizer?

Several years ago, I went with a lawn service because the cost of the fertilizer that I was putting down was not all that much less than the cost of having a service come in. I haven't had any complaints, but the price has crept up a bit and I'd like to know if I'm still getting my money's worth...

 

[Greg]

I think I'm a convert to Vigoro fertilizer (available at HD). I put down the straight fertilizer (no crabgrass preventer) in April and my lawn has never looked better! Good thing cuz our house is currently for sale.

 

[hammer]

Good thing cuz our house is currently for sale.

Good luck with selling your house...will this be a local move?

 

[Greg]

Good thing cuz our house is currently for sale.

Good luck with selling your house...will this be a local move?

Relatively. We put a bid on a house one town north of us. I'll be about 15 minutes closer to the local skiing, but we need to sell ours first...

 

[ChileMass]

I find you need to put down a bit more of the Scott's with Halts fertilizer than the package recommends, and it works fine. My lawn is almost 1.5 acres and it used to be nothing but crabgrass and now it's gorgeous. Increase the amount you put down by 20-25% (if the bag recommends a setting of 4, use 5). Also, it may take a couple of seasons for the good grass to push out the crabgrass as well.

All I can say is that Scott's works, and almost any other fertilizer brand I have used does not. I'd sure like to be able to use organic fertilizers, etc, but they just don't work nearly as well.....

Just out of curiosity...does anyone have a rough idea of the "per acre" cost of decent fertilizer?

Several years ago, I went with a lawn service because the cost of the fertilizer that I was putting down was not all that much less than the cost of having a service come in. I haven't had any complaints, but the price has crept up a bit and I'd like to know if I'm still getting my money's worth...

Hammer - I put down about 3 of the big bags (15K sq ft coverage each) for each Scott's "Step", and each bag costs about $35. That's just over an acre (1 acre = 43K sq ft) for $105. Per season it's $420 in fertilizer, and another 3 big bags of Grub-X ($105 again) plus labor. How does that compare with your lawn service?

 

[hammer]

Hammer - I put down about 3 of the big bags (15K sq ft coverage each) for each Scott's "Step", and each bag costs about $35. That's just over an acre (1 acre = 43K sq ft) for $105. Per season it's $420 in fertilizer, and another 3 big bags of Grub-X ($105 again) plus labor. How does that compare with your lawn service?

My lawn service is ~$350 for the season for just over 1/2 acre, and it covers the fertilizer, any necessary weed and insect controls, and the grub treatment. Other treatments are extra (but usually are not needed).

I'm not sure if 1 acre would cost twice as much, though, since I'm guessing that there's a minumum for a service visit regardless of the amount of grass to cover...

I'm sure that you are saving some $$, but I already spend enough time on mowing (which I hope will be reduced once I start using my new lawn tractor) and the convenience of not having to worry about fertilizing and treating my lawn has been a big plus.

Thanks for the info.