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Knowledge from Olle Garden Bed: How To Get Rid Of Crabgrass
Today, I will tell you everything I know about this annoying weed. If you have been asking how to get rid of crabgrass in the yard, this work is for you. This may take some time, but you can have a lawn without crab grass!
What is Crab Grass?
Grasses have a wide variety of gramineous plants, with different species around the world. Usually, they can be found in warm temperate regions.
In the United States, the most common species of crab grass is Hamamelis, also known as crabgrass, hairy crabgrass, purple crabgrass and other names.
Hamamelis was not originally native to the United States, but was brought here by immigrants as a forage crop. For a kind of grass, it is surprisingly rich in protein and is a reasonable animal feed.
Crab grass is easily self seeded (up to 150000 seeds per plant during its growing season!), And it has become an invasive grass in most temperate states. It is also adapting to the cool climate. It is common on lawns, but also formed in sidewalk cracks or flower pots. And it's hard to kill.
Some crab grass is planted as human grain crops, and the seeds are harvested throughout the summer. These small seeds are nutritious. Blood yellow figures and other figures, including compact figures (usually called Leshan), Ebua (black fonio) and exilis (white fonio), are all planted as food crops.
Now, we will mainly focus on schistosoma, just because it is the most common weed variety in the United States and can also be found abroad. But the numbers are quite common.
Identify Crab Grass
Look carefully at your lawn. Is it composed of beautiful, straight, single grass leaves, or seems to be connected? The connecting grass is usually crab grass, which is a major problem.
In general, most species of crab grass found in the United States grow in round lumps. Sometimes these are tattered lumps, while in other cases they are very full and broad. In fact, that's why it got the name Crab Grass - the lump is similar to a crab's shell, occasionally extending instead of an arm.
When you find it on the lawn, you will easily identify this persistent plant, especially the golden plant. There is a central point at which stems and leaves grow in all directions, usually from which there is a tall seed stem.
Most of the time, it will spread on the ground, although some varieties (such as dry chaff, Carolina crab grass) can grow upright.
The golden grapes form a very dense mat, which can mature into a very thick lump, about 2-3 inches high. The more mature the grass, the more likely it is to spread. Delete it before seeding.
Crab grass also provides its own "cover", because the dead part of the plant will serve as a self-sustaining cover under the living part. This means that it can protect its water supply and continue to grow.
If you have bare ground, you may find the plant itself. This is very opportunistic and will take up any available space it can get!
How to get rid of crab grass
If the root system is retained in the soil, it tends to regenerate, so it may be a plant that is difficult to completely eliminate. However, this can be done. Let's look at the best solution of Crab Grass and how to stop it.
Chemical free
Knowing when to kill crabgrass is almost as important as how to kill it.
Ideally, kill crabgrass as early as possible in spring. As the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees Fahrenheit, the grass will grow from its previous seeds, so young patches will appear in the late winter and early spring months. This is the easiest time to remove a plant, because its root is not so deep and can be easily dug out by hand.
After removing crab grass, you should reseed the lawn as soon as possible. The faster you can fill dead spots with healthy lawn growth, the less likely your crab grass will return!
Sow with natural lawn grass in your area. You can occasionally use lawn "repair" products to provide fast-growing grass to fill the lawn holes. Some repair products may contain grass varieties that are not native to your area, so be careful to obtain the correct varieties. Most local stores sell products suitable for the region.
Although I hate to say that, the best way to eliminate crab grass is to get it out, root and all. Before it produces seeds, the more you can remove, the less likely it will reappear. However, the crab grass seed can remain in the soil for up to three years, so this is a long-term project that requires some dedication.
Be alert at the edges of sidewalks, driveways, and sidewalks. Because the concrete or black top surface heats up faster at the beginning of the year, they provide an excellent place for early crab grass growth.
Use a good lawn edge banding machine and provide a slight gap between the paved surface and the turf to inhibit the growth of weeds.
Organic Crab Grass Solution
Once you have completed the hard work of manually removing crabgrass, you can use the pre emergence weed inhibitor products. Corn gluten meal is the most popular organic choice.
As an Espoma organic weed prevention agent, it can be used as a large bag of 25lb granular powder. This corn starch by-product will slow down or completely prevent the growth of most weeds, such as crab grass and dandelion.
However, you need quite a lot of corn gluten flour. A 25 pound bag will cover 1250 square feet. You need to use it in spring and autumn to prevent weeds from growing.
Want to find out how to get rid of crabgrass in summer? It may already be there. You need to use some form of crab grass spot treatment.
A good choice is Agralau Crab Grass Killer, which is a powder mainly made of cinnamon and corn gluten powder. Wet the crab grass and spread it on it, completely covering the grass. This treatment of crab grass after emergence will kill weeds without affecting your lawn grass.
Make sure your lawn is kept thick, avoid exposed spots that may form crab grass, and cut the lawn at the correct height for your lawn variety. For most typical lawn grasses, the appropriate height is 2-3 inches. If you keep it at this height and trim it regularly, it is unlikely to grow more crab grass.
If you have a shady place where grass is difficult to grow, consider removing grass from the area and replacing it with mulch or stone chips. There are landscape fabrics underneath. This reduces the need for watering and can provide a visually appealing supplement to your yard. And you don't have to trim it!
Containing chemicals
I don't like using chemical substitutes. However, if crab grass has invaded most lawns, you may have no choice. You can go through and remove the top layer of the lawn and reseed it, but will it get all the roots? Can you stop it from returning long enough to make your new lawn thick enough to drive away weeds?
Spraying dimethalin weed prevention agents, such as ScottsHalts crab grass and herbal weed prevention agents, is a good solution in these situations. This treatment of crab grass before emergence should be applied in early spring, before the soil temperature exceeds 55 ℃.
Do not sow, rake or inflate the lawn within four months after application to ensure that the herbicide can play its role.
In warm climates, you need to use pre emergence treatment twice a year. Use it immediately when the soil temperature reaches 55 ° C in early spring, and then use it in autumn to prevent weeds from growing in winter. Once the soil temperature continues to fall below 50 ℃, the treatment effect of dimethalin will be reduced.
If you just have a persistent lump that will not die in any other way, please choose a crab grass spot treatment like Bonide Weed Beater Plus. Spot treatment can often easily eliminate re emerging plants.
If you like, you can use more volatile chemicals, but I prefer products that will eventually become inert. Bonide's formula does this. Use it only where you absolutely need it!
common problem
Q: Will crab grass die in winter?
A: Mature crab grass is resistant to mild frost, but usually does not undergo constant frost and thaw cycles. It will not survive the cold and ice. If you live in the southern half of the United States, it may survive all year round. Northern residents will see their crab grass die in cold months, making the pretreatment easier to use.
Q: Can you plant grass seeds with crab grass preventive?
Answer: Since most preventive crab grass treatments can reduce germination, they are not recommended. Wait at least four months before reseeding. If this makes you in hot summer, please wait until the end of summer or early autumn to sow again.
You can also monitor to repel crabgrass. In the autumn or early spring, seed the area extensively, rather than using a preventive. Good grass will take over the lawn, and then you can simply remove any possible crab grass stray blocks.