Crabgrass/sandburrs

ablais – posted 11 August 2003 20:24

Howdy folks, new to the site. I’ve been reading the posts and wishing I had some of the problems you folks are having,I’ve never heard of many of the grasses you all talk about. I’m in Minnesota I purchased a new home built in sand formerly a neglected cornfield gone wild. I purchased in the spring and had no idea what I was in store for. As summer went on i found out that my 2&1/2 acre lot contained an acre and half of solid crabgrass some of which turned out to be 3 to 4 feet long with plenty of burrs.Sure i have other weeds, clover, and sage brush but my main number one enemy is the crabgrass.Are there any grasses that do well in this area. All I can seem to find is kentucky blue grass (which I’ve learned is actually june grass developed in northern Minnesota)and different types of rye grasses,red fescue,creeping fescue and thats about it. Do any of those exotic grasses bermuda etc.. winter well in extreme cold climate. I’m putting in what ever I can to choke out the crab grass. No shade in my yard either,full sun the weeds are what survives the best.

Jacob – posted 12 August 2003 07:35

I am no grass expert by any means, but I do no that crab grass will not be choked out by any grass that I know of. I would recommend spraying a crab grass killer, or spraying round up and killing everything then prep the soil for your seed or sod.

redbird – posted 12 August 2003 08:19

In your area, the grasses that you mentioned are the way to go – cool season grasses – stay away from zoysia, st. augustine, bermuda, centipede, etc.

Crabgrass can be easily controlled for NEXT year (by using a pre-emergent herbicide in the early Spring that will prevent their germination (they are an annual weed that grows each Spring from the previous year’s seeds).

For now, kill off all of the mess in your yard using round-up or spectracide (I have had much better luck with spectracide). You should do at least two applications, 10 – 14 days apart – and wait 14 days after the last application before preparing your seed bed. Have the yard graded if you need it – better now than fussing with it once you have an established lawn. You will have to do one of the following after your weed crop dies to establish a good seed bed:roto-tillrakespead soil/sand over the dead weeds

Again, one of the above – you need to get the seeds in contact with the soil – you will have no luck trying to get them to germinate on top of a bed of dead vegetation.

I would plan to have the seeds in the ground somewhere in September/October – whenever the Fall rainy season kicks in where you live. Cover the seeded area lightly with hay/straw. This will keep the birds out, prevent the seeds from washing away due to rain/excessive irrigation, and retain crucial moisture. This is especially important if your area is not irrigated or if it is too large to cover well with hose/sprinklers. When the grass sprouts up 1″ – 2″ gently pick up the hay/straw with a rake – AGAIN don’t rake it up – GENTLY pick it up. You will just have to live with the stray pieces of hay/straw that are entangled in your new grass. They will not be noticeable by the Spring. Trust me, it is impossible to get them out without ripping up your seedlings.

The good news is this – Fall is the BEST time to plant cool season grasses – they will benefit from two consecutive rainy seasons and will be strong/thick by their first summer.

Good luck.Mike

ablais – posted 12 August 2003 17:16

Thankyou for your replys! Anthony