Crabgrass is an annual that comes back from seeds from the prior season. If you're seeing it now I don't think it's crabgrass. You need to use a pre-emergent to prevent it from germinating. Timing is important. In my experience when the Pussy Willows start blooming is about the right time.
Ok. The thing to do with Crabgrass is to prevent it from sprouting with a per-emergent herbicide around mid spring, when shrubs are blooming and trees are budding - something with a Crabgrass preventer. Any Crabgrass from last year is already dead. Once it takes hold it's generally too late to do anything but hit it with a liquid and for practical reasons that's usually just for spot applications.
A healthy stand of turf is the key to keeping weeds and Crabgrass away, as well as proper fertilization, irrigation and cutting at the proper height etc. You want conditions suitable to grow grass, not weeds and crabgrass. Cutting your lawn too short is a great way to encourage Crabgrass. People with crappy lawns tend to cut them too short because it looks better than leggy spotty growth, but that just perpetuates the cycle.
Weed and feed products are generally for broadleaf weed control, although some may have a Crabgrass preventer too.
But yes, if your lawn is mostly weeds and crabgrass, all you'll have left is dirt and spring isn't the time to try to renovate a lawn, fall is. I go through this every year...my customers want me to re-seed their lawn in the spring because that's when it looks the worst with all of the dead Crabgrass and bare patches. But unless the house is on the market and you need it to look green for a while or the lawn is irrigated it's just a waste of money. Chances are that it won't make it through the summer. Then fall comes around and it's green from the weeds and Crabgrass so they decline doing anything about it, again. I go through this EVERY YEAR with the same customers!
I just checked your old thread and yeah, looks like Crabgrass to me too.
Sounds good. 4 weeks might be little soon. 6 weeks is usually about right in my area.
Sounds good. 4 weeks might be little soon. 6 weeks is usually about right in my area.
Sounds good. If you're going to dethatch the preventer is key because you've essentially created a nice seed bed for the bizzilions of crabgrass seeds laying around. Guess we'll ultimately find out, won't we.
thanks darryl. yes we will. in a few weeks i will either have a bare yard or a nice green yard full of crabgrass that i fed good for the season. i will keep everyone posted as this progresses. thanks bp.
I wouldn't base any decisions on a pH meter like yours. Have you done the Scotch-Brite conditioning procedure on the electrodes lately?
Most states have an Agricultural Extension Service that will test your soil for free or for a nominal charge. Might be worth looking into.
I doubt if the crabgrass pre-emergent is changing the pH of the soil, at least not that much.
It takes huge amounts of lime to change the pH from 9 to 7 and most of the ingredients of a bag of fertilizer/herbicides are inert.
You may be getting a false reading due to electrical properties of the application you did. I highly doubt it's a true reading. BTW I was a chemist and then an environmental scientist/hydrogeologist for 15 years combined and have run all sorts of laboratory and field instruments. I've learned to never ever make decisions without confirmation of any analytical parameters.
We used to take the pH of soil samples by adding them to a measured volume of water and using a pH meter to analyze the liquid. That was the ASTM method.
Bottom line, I have serious doubts that is the pH of your soil. As far as your shallow well goes, if you're in an area with a lot of limestone it could be alkaline for sure but not that high I don't think. Your water quality certainly could be having an adverse effect on your lawn though if it's high in dissolved minerals and salts. Stains are usually from dissolved iron (red/tan/brown) and manganese (grey/black/dark brown). So you may want to have your water tested too. Look around for reduced price testing through your local health department or state regulatory agency or other program. Maybe even the agricultural extension. You can also buy colorometric strips for many tests too, just like use for testing pool water.
thanks i tend to agree with false readings due to the preventer now dissolving and not in the ret of the close area i did not apply it. i have about a spoon full left in the bag so i will put that in some water and see what happens. if it turns out about the same then i have the reason. and i will post that test.
No amount of lime would change the pH from 9 to 7...wrong direction. Lime raises pH.It takes huge amounts of lime to change the pH from 9 to 7 and most of the ingredients of a bag of fertilizer/herbicides are inert.
No amount of lime would change the pH from 9 to 7...wrong direction. Lime raises pH.