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I had a war with Crabgrass in 2012, so last Spring I dug out the main infested two areas. I purchased Bluegrass replacement sod at a premium-since tall fescue is what they are pushing here. It was what a lawn guy advised and it has held down the stinkers pretty well. However, I do not put much stock in the specific Crabgrass preventers. denverian, do you actually see the stuff held in check by these?
Optimum Temperatures for Seed GerminationTurfgrass SpeciesOptimum temperatures
for seed germination*Creeping bentgrass59-86Annual bluegrass68-86Kentucky bluegrass59-86Rough bluegrass68-86Tall fescue68-86Red fescue59-77Sheep fescue59-77Chewings fescue69-77Perennial ryegrass68-86 agry.perdue.edu is source
I beg to disagree. I am a total newbie but the one thing I've learned so far is, "It depends". If your soil is highly compacted then aeration will be essential. Even if you don't need to aerate, it will still help.
Nicole McFadyen, the Orioles head groundskeeper gave a talk at the Home and Garden show and here are some of pointers I picked from her:
Get a soil test from your local extension and follow its recommendations.
The best time for lawn maintenance (conditioning, seeding) is in the fall. In spring, fertilize in late March\early April and seed a week later. Weeds get a stronger head start from spring maintenance activities, which is one of the reasons why it is better to do the heavy jobs in fall.
The most expensive seed in your home Depot is usually the best. Look at the percentage of 'other seed' it contains - pick the one with the lowest. That will make a big difference in the 'hard to grow' spots where the weed seed may fare better than the grass seed.
Don't cut your grass too short. I think her recommendation was not less than 2.5 inches.
Watering at night attracts bugs.
Avoid chemical weedkillers
There is never a bad time to aerate.
Checked my notes and saw that I got a couple of things wrong. Her recommendations for Maryland were fertilizing in late April/early May, and seeding ten days later.
I had a war with Crabgrass in 2012, so last Spring I dug out the main infested two areas. I purchased Bluegrass replacement sod at a premium-since tall fescue is what they are pushing here. It was what a lawn guy advised and it has held down the stinkers pretty well. However, I do not put much stock in the specific Crabgrass preventers. denverian, do you actually see the stuff held in check by these?
Yes, I do. My lawn was "new" almost 9 years ago (when the house was built) and I've never had any crabgrass. It's always worked well for me.
I'm pretty sure they make a specific crabgrass killer (maybe in a hand held spray bottle?) so you can spot kill any that starts to sprout up.
I just put down the crab grass control which hasn't been working too well the past few years. Is there any time you think would be good to put down seed without using the potting soil? I was going to fertilize late May/early June. Thought I could put down the seed in early/mid May. Should I wait?
Maybe early May? I'm not sure exactly how long the crabgrass preventer will prevent other seed from growing, but it seems like maybe for a month.
That's the tricky thing about the crabgrass preventer... it makes seeding difficult!
Ok well guess it would have been good to use an ounce of prevention on this decades old small lawn. Now I am using a selective herbicide with an eye dropper... thanks for the info. BTW, my peat moss bale-grown blueberries survived winter and are blooming profusely. Got that from a researcher in Longmont, CO area.
Fertilize/prevent first, then reseed. If you reseed first chances are the fertilizer/crab grass preventer will burn and kill the new seedlings.
You have time. Grass seeds grow even when it's 80 degrees. Prevent those crabgrass before they start first.
I just did mine yesterday. Will spread Lime out next week. Then reseed May 1st..
Rain coming tomorrow. No torch pattern coming to northeast yet. might just be seasonable through may too.
Fertilize/prevent first, then reseed. If you reseed first chances are the fertilizer/crab grass preventer will burn and kill the new seedlings.
You have time. Grass seeds grow even when it's 80 degrees. Prevent those crabgrass before they start first.
I just did mine yesterday. Will spread Lime out next week. Then reseed May 1st..
Rain coming tomorrow. No torch pattern coming to northeast yet. might just be seasonable through may too.
May 1st? My Vigoro fertilizer/preventer says wait at least 12 weeks.
May 1st? My Vigoro fertilizer/preventer says wait at least 12 weeks.
12 weeks to re-seed or re-fertilize? Call them up to confirm. Waiting over 2 months to re-seed I never heard of unless you got some strong potent fertilizer. lol Once it rains, its in the soil that's why they say spread the fertilizer before it rains. After that it works, then settles. I never had a problem grass seeding 3 weeks + after fertilizer.
We only have a small window to re-seed before it gets too hot or cold for them. (April/May/June)(September/October). Kinda sucks when you have to time everything just right.
12 weeks to re-seed or re-fertilize? Call them up to confirm. Waiting over 2 months to re-seed I never heard of unless you got some strong potent fertilizer. lol Once it rains, its in the soil that's why they say spread the fertilizer before it rains. After that it works, then settles. I never had a problem grass seeding 3 weeks + after fertilizer.
We only have a small window to re-seed before it gets too hot or cold for them. (April/May/June)(September/October). Kinda sucks when you have to time everything just right.
Weeds: Prevents the following weeds: Large crabgrass, smooth crabgrass, dandelion, broadleaf plantain, buckhorn plantain, carpetweed, common chickweed, common lambsquarters, common purslane, corn speedwell, ground ivy, hairy bittercress, henbit, parsley piert, Pennsylvania smartweed, persian speedwell, pokeweed, purslane speedwell, redroot pigweed, shepherd's-purse, velvetleaf, white clover, yellow woodsorrel, flatsedge, yellow nutsedge
Benefits Safe for seeding! Also great for sod and grass plugs Prevents crabgrass & dandelions for up to 6 weeks Grows new grass thicker & quicker versus unfed
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