I was hoping I'd find some answer for how to get rid of crabgrass more quickly. I used a crabgrass preventer back in the Spring and had a pretty good looking lawn through early July. In the past month though, crabgrass has started to take over. Any guess as to what I might have done wrong? Anything I can do other than reseed in the Fall to try to turn things right?
A: Hello fellow CT resident! Yeah, I hear this one a lot. The truth is that these crabgrass control products are very finicky. They need to be applied at JUST the right time, and at JUST the right rate. Otherwise the control is less than optimal. They really only hang in there for about 3 months, and they need to be applied before the crabgrass gets going. Too early and they wear out too early. Too late and you're stuck with a lawn full of crabgrass.
I get around this problem on high pressure lawns (lots of sun, and a history of crabgrass) by doing 2 Spring applications. One in April (to make sure it's down in time) and one in late May to carry me through August. I'll still see a few blades of crabgrass popping up in September, but it's really not too bad.
For now, I'd plan on aerating and overseeding in Mid September, then water daily to let the new stuff fill in. The crabgrass will be weakening at that point, so the good stuff can out-compete it. Next year, try the double application strategy. Until Mid-September, just enjoy a few glasses of a nice $15 bottle of wine! I hear there's a nice blog about wines out there somewhere.....
Helpful Product Links to consider:
Good Leaf Rake (for scratching the lawn up to mix the seed back into the aerator holes)
2 comments:
Thanks for the quick response...and for checking out my blogs too.
Chris, I live in central MN and plan on using your aerating and over-seeding advise to eliminate my crabgrass on my 1 year old lawn this fall. I believe KBG can take 4-8 weeks to germinate so I would like to give the seed time to germinate before it gets too cold. I also plan to use a pre-emergant next spring which from what I understand prevents all seeds from germinating. When do you suggest I do this?
My yard is also on hard clay soil so I would like to aerate soon. When I use my irrigation system I can watch the water flow down the ditch. Can I aerate now and also September or when do you suggest I start? Thanks.
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