Get your crabgrass preventor down soon

[baygo]

i have a great deal of established crab grass enjoying its place among recovering patches of bent grass. I had intended to seed in the fall but missed it. Any ideas on spring treatments?

I read that it is better to let the crab grass grow so the shade from taller plants hinders the growth of other crab grass plants. If this is the case I have another problem. The crab grass is in my greens. I've cut them much close than they'd been cut in the past. Will this prevent the seeding?

[VitaBene]

Originally Posted by baygo

i have a great deal of established crab grass enjoying its place among recovering patches of bent grass. I had intended to seed in the fall but missed it. Any ideas on spring treatments?

I read that it is better to let the crab grass grow so the shade from taller plants hinders the growth of other crab grass plants. If this is the case I have another problem. The crab grass is in my greens. I've cut them much close than they'd been cut in the past. Will this prevent the seeding?

Ray, Your crabgrass should not have survived the winter. I wonder if it is spurge or something else.

[baygo]

Originally Posted by VitaBene

Ray, Your crabgrass should not have survived the winter. I wonder if it is spurge or something else.

Hey John, Thanks, it does look as if it died over the winter but I'm not sure yet as there really is not a lot of green in my putting surfaces yet.

LP, I'm in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Can't take any pictures of it yet as per the aforementioned. Thanks

[lawn psycho]

Originally Posted by baygo

LP, I'm in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Can't take any pictures of it yet as per the aforementioned. Thanks

I'm confused as I saw you mention Bentgrass and actively growing weeds.

If you have any weed remnants snap a photo close-up of the leaf and side profile of the stem (preferably the ligule) and we can probably identify it.

Are these putting greens on a course or your own lawn? Big difference in what can be applied legally.

[baygo]

Originally Posted by lawn psycho

I'm confused as I saw you mention Bentgrass and actively growing weeds.

If you have any weed remnants snap a photo close-up of the leaf and side profile of the stem (preferably the ligule) and we can probably identify it.

Are these putting greens on a course or your own lawn? Big difference in what can be applied legally.

LP, These are small push-up greens on a 9 hole par three golf course. The course had been abandon for a couple years and I have been applying some TLC with hopes of a resurrection. It is still very wet and brown on and around the greens. I will watch as it greens and get a pic up. Thanks.

[jmen24]

This thread is great.

I need some help with my own issue.

I have mock strawberries taking over my front yard (small berries, low and tight to the ground with yellow blooms). My front yard sits about 4 feet above the road and has plantings all along this steep front edge. The berries started out of the planting line and have extended a solid 20 feet into my front yard for almost the entire length of that area (aprox 100ft).

They have been spreading for a few years and I have not dealt with them, but I expanded my lawn and completely reloamed my back and side yards last fall and do not want this stuff taking over.

There is no grass at all in the area of these berries, I also have no issue taking the tractor to the front yard as the grade is getting repair this spring. Is my best option to spray them first before removing or can I just start shaving them out of the loam with the bucket on the tractor.

If spraying, what are the recommended options that I can do now. Snow just cleared out yesterday.

[lawn psycho]

Originally Posted by jmen24

This thread is great.

I need some help with my own issue.

I have mock strawberries taking over my front yard (small berries, low and tight to the ground with yellow blooms). My front yard sits about 4 feet above the road and has plantings all along this steep front edge. The berries started out of the planting line and have extended a solid 20 feet into my front yard for almost the entire length of that area (aprox 100ft).

They have been spreading for a few years and I have not dealt with them, but I expanded my lawn and completely reloamed my back and side yards last fall and do not want this stuff taking over.

There is no grass at all in the area of these berries, I also have no issue taking the tractor to the front yard as the grade is getting repair this spring. Is my best option to spray them first before removing or can I just start shaving them out of the loam with the bucket on the tractor.

If spraying, what are the recommended options that I can do now. Snow just cleared out yesterday.

OK, you case will require a long post as you've got several items that are topics all in themselves.

Since you are essentially re-grading your lawn you are in a good situation. The only time I recommend adding loam/soil is if you need to level a lawn, fill low spots, etc. Most times you're better working with the soil in place as long as you don't have issues with rocks, etc.

Anything with a vine can be tough to kill as if you miss even a small stolon in the ground it can come right back. When you mention yellow blooms, make sure it's not yellow nutsedge. If they are mock strawberries, then you can kill it with glyphoshate (Round-up). If it's yellow nutsedge then you need Sedgehammer which you'll have to get at the Lesco/JD or landscaper supply store. Just hope it's mock strawberries....

I would kill your whole front lawn and start-over. Typically you want to seed a new lawn in mid-late August up here. I assume a couple things so let me know if otherwise. 1. You have adequate water for the seeding 2. The area you want to seed gets 4+ hours of sun during mid-May to mid-Sept.

You should absolutely get a soil test from the local co-op or the JD landscapes. Armed with the test results it's the ONLY way to know what your lawn needs. I tell people this and they blow it off. Makes no sense to spend 100s if not 1000s of dollars on lawn care and not have a clue what your soil chemistry is. A legit soil test costs $15-20. The big box store kits suck and are a total waste of money. You'd get more benefit from eating the box....

Here's what I would do:
1. Get a hose end sprayer.
2. Buy a bottle of Round-up concentrate (get the higher concentrate can't recall of top of my head if it's red or purple top)
3. Spray lawn and kill everything. May take a good 7-10 days to see the full carnage.
4. Your goal is now to grow weeds for the next 2 weeks. Crazy? yes. Effective? Hell yes.

5. While you are killing off your lawn and the emergent weeds, get online and order your seed from www.seedsuperstore.com I personally like the SS1100 blend and that is what I used in my lawn https://www.seedsuperstore.com/order...ky%20Bluegrass

Do not waste you money on the crap seed in big box stores. They use old crappy cultivars. In fact, for most bags if you flip several of them over and read the mixes on the seed label, two identical bags can have different cultivars. Good luck getting a uniform lawn with that

Also, buy 100% kentucky bluegrass. If the mixture has even 5-10% perenial ryegrass after several years due to alleopathy your lawn will be 80%+ perenial rye and very little kentucky blue. If I had used "northern mix" to seed my lawn it would not look like it does.

Scott's Select bags all have the same mixes in the stores for the lots they sell but they have crummy cultivars. If you see Kenblue in the mix, run.

6. Back to weed farming. After the initial kill, water the soil for 2 weeks and get as many weeds as you can to grow. 14 days after round 1, re-load the sprayer and kill everything that came up. You have now effectively fallowed your soil.

7. Rake up all the dead grass. Don't use a power rake, aerator, etc at this point or you will just turn up all the weed seeds below and put them on the surface to grow. And definitely do not rotortill a lawn. This is the stuff that's hard to get out of people's brain as they think it's they way to do it. You MUST resist

8. Use a rotary spreader and lay down the seed at 3 lbs per 1000 square feet (again this assumes you are using 100% kentucky bluegrass). Don't overseed or you can create fungus problems so more is better does not work here. Trust me as I have found ways to grow and kill grass that I would never have imagined.....

9. Rent or purchase a lawn roller. Fill with water. Heavy is good in this case and roll the seedbed. Do not use straw UNLESS you have a slope to deal with in which case the seed mats can be used (the one's without seed in them).

10. Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate.

11. Either use your sprinklers or irrigation system to keep the soil moist (never soaked) for 21 days. That's right, you are a waterboy for three weeks and people will think you are a slave to the lawn as you are out there multiple times per day for a few weeks.
Make sure you buy extra seed. Murphy's law of lawns means you will invariably watch a downpour take away some of your seed in your own tears of sorrow. It happens, expect it. Just lightly re-seed the obvious wash-outs.


Kentuckly Blugrass is very slow to germinate and after 7 days you may not even see more than teeny tiny fuzz. By 10-14 days you see stubble and by 21 days you may have 2+ inches and some thinner areas. Don't stop watering after 7-10 days if you don't see any germination. This is why Scotts doesn't sell 100% KBG or the avg homeowner would never follow these direction, give up, and get so-so results at best. At this point, keep off the lawn and wait for your green friends to thicken and spread. You need to keep the watering going but be very wary of over watering. More frequent is always better than a drenching. After six weeks and armed with your soil test, you will need a second round of fertilizer with 1lb of N/1000 square feet and the soil test will let you know if you still need phosphorus at that point. You'll also now what if any lime you need and where your Mg and Ca levels are.

Germinating a stand of KBG requires patience and the little bit of extra effort up-front pays off big time by years two and three. First to sleep, second to creep, third to leap. And that's pretty much how it goes with KBG lawns.

Key values: pH, Ca, Mg, and organic matter. The first three you can control, the fourth take times to move but if you get everything else right with correct feeding and mowing practives it will land where you need it.

I'd start this project the thrid week of April and seed by second week of May. By then soil temps are really on the rise. Frost won't kill the germination but it can stunt it.

If you have shaded areas you may need to get a couple different mixes and seed the specific areas.

Good luck and I am leaving at a ton of minor details but this gets you 90% of the way there.

Just pray you don't have sedge as it can be stubborn to get rid of. Snap a photo or attach one if you already have it. The leaf, stem, and flower if available. If you cut the stem in cross-section and it has three edges and shaped like a triangle it's sedge.

[jmen24]

LP, thanks for the list. I am understanding of what needs to be done and my wife will be so excited that I will be killing more grass and adding more dirt for the dog to track in. I will get started on the kill next week. I hadn't shared my intension of regrading the front this year. Maybe I won't mention my part in the killing. The soil is good and deep on my lot so I was not bringing anything in for the front. The rear was all sandy after the excavator removed all the rocks so I needed a new base to start from. Thanks again for the info.

I will check out the cross section tonight. But the berries look exactly like pea sized strawberries and flowers come up in a stem. I will also snap a pic.

[lawn psycho]

Originally Posted by jmen24

LP, thanks for the list. I am understanding of what needs to be done and my wife will be so excited that I will be killing more grass and adding more dirt for the dog to track in. I will get started on the kill next week. I hadn't shared my intension of regrading the front this year. Maybe I won't mention my part in the killing. The soil is good and deep on my lot so I was not bringing anything in for the front. The rear was all sandy after the excavator removed all the rocks so I needed a new base to start from. Thanks again for the info.

You can get a nice root structure in sandy loam but you typically need to feed it more as the fert filters below the roots quickly until the lawn is well established.

[lawn psycho]

Originally Posted by baygo

i have a great deal of established crab grass enjoying its place among recovering patches of bent grass. I had intended to seed in the fall but missed it. Any ideas on spring treatments?

I read that it is better to let the crab grass grow so the shade from taller plants hinders the growth of other crab grass plants. If this is the case I have another problem. The crab grass is in my greens. I've cut them much close than they'd been cut in the past. Will this prevent the seeding?

Baygo, where are you located? If you are in New England it is with 100% certainty that it's something other than crabgrass.

The first thing you need to do before throwing down herbicide is to properly identify the weed or undersirable grass. Take a photo and we may be able to help tell you what it is. Some are easy to get rid of, others are tough.

And you NEVER want crabgrass to germinate as it's much easier to prevent germination than to kill it post-emergent. There is stuff that is approved for residential lawns that you can buy but it ain't cheap (and not available at big box) and needs to be applied with a sprayer.

Once crabgrass is germinated, the native grass doesn't have a chance. And, if you have bare spots that permit crabgrass you have other issue to deal with as well as likely your soil chemistry is out of whack.