Crabgrass starting to sprout

430 Views 10 Replies 5 Participants Last post by nakas12, 6 d ago

nakas12

Discussion Starter · 8 d ago

I recently restarted my lawn last fall after having to kill all the crabgrass. My lawn has been doing okay with the new grass that was planted in the fall but it is starting to brown in some areas with crabgrass starting to show up on the edges of the lawn. I laid down Scotts crabgrass pre-emergent months back but it doesn't seem like it worked. Is there anything I can do or put weed killer down to stop this? Am I not watering the grass enough?

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NELawn

· #2 · 8 d ago

Dimension has some post emergent properties, if you can figure out the proper rate and the crab grass hasn’t gone past the three leaf phase, you can still hit it before it gets too big.

there are also some other post emergent crab grass herbicides, the trick to all of them is hit it while it is still In the two and three leaf phase.

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NELawn

· #3 · 8 d ago

NELawn said:
Dimension has some post emergent properties, if you can figure out the proper rate and the crab grass hasn’t gone past the three leaf phase, you can still hit it before it gets too big.

there are also some other post emergent crab grass herbicides, the trick to all of them is hit it while it is still In the two and three leaf phase.

you will have to use an herbicide that you have to mix and spray though

with all that said, you probably have less than a week or two to hit it, it grows fast, and comes up in phases. The crab grass you kill this weekend, isn’t the same crab grass coming up in July.

that’s why it’s still worth applying dimension as a pre-e and a post-e.

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Lawn Noob

· #4 · 7 d ago

Post pics of the crabgrass.

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MacLawn

· #5 · 7 d ago

Crab grass is going to pop up here and there even with PreM.
Especially in any area , as you said
Is browning and thinning . This is prime crab grass conditions

if its beyond the “3 leaf” stage post emergent time.

the thicker and healthier my lawn gets the less weeds I have.

im not a pro:
What I would do
Bring your mower blade edge up to at least 3” . I measure my blade edge height while its on the garage floor.
Actually measure your blade height
My old riding mower is numbered 1-6 which correspond to nothing
6 gets me just over 3”
The honda push gets to 4”

Then get your watering in check. Make sure your getting 1” a week.
Get several tuna cans out there and see just what is getting where.
Just basic info
It takes 620 gal to cover 1000 ft2 with 1” water.
Thats great in a perfect flat , perfectly distributed water world.
Sometimes you just have to see what your water does. The challenges of varying soil conditions and grade ( run off)
My 10k ft2 side yard is a mess of soil conditions.
From heavy dense black earthy soil , to small area where previous home owners buried construction debris , leaching field and a mine field of old stumps: So watering has its challenges some areas need more some less some need it spread out over a few days.

maybe another dose of pre M?

focus on getting your new grass healthy and spot treat any weeds

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NELawn

· #6 · 7 d ago

All of the above is totally on point, but weeds are weeds for a reason, they are tough and they survive. grassy weeds like; triv, poa-a, and crab grass are the special forces of weeds. They leave thousands of seeds in the lawn and wait years to germinate when you disturb them through aeration or bare spots, and give them ,light, food, and water It’s off to the races.

it’s too late for good cultural practices like the above to kill crab grass. The easiest thing to do is get a consistent pre-e, phase two is kill it while it’s small with a post-e, phase 3 is get the lawn as good as possible though cultural fixes and overseeds.

just be aware if you had a large crab grass problem, the seeds will always be lurking in the lawn if you skip a pre-e they come back.

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tommydearest

· #7 · 7 d ago

We had a pretty bad crabgrass problem last year. Had a mole problem and it seemed every area they tunneled through ended up with crabgrass. Quinclorac really did a great job killing it all. Did the fall nitro blitz and that helped fill those areas back in. Made sure to apply pre-M both in the fall and this spring. Also, did a mini spring nitro blitz in those areas. They've filled in pretty well with grass. It's still a tad early here to tell how bad crabgrass will be, but it's looking pretty good so far.

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nakas12

Discussion Starter · #8 · 7 d ago

What type of spot treatment would you guys recommend or a post emergent? I had a very bad crabgrass problem last year and I'm essentially building my lawn back as the previous owner of the house and I also did not do a very good job maintaining the front yard for a few years. I've attached some images below of the lawn.
.

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MacLawn

· #9 · 7 d ago (Edited)

Today

Sept 2022

Does not look to bad really.
What I see looks like some spreader malfunction and dropping fert along the wheels?
I have been using round up for lawns which targets crab grass and a few other grassy type weeds vs 2,4-D which is for broad leaf.

what I have been doing in troublesome area about 750 sqft for practice.

last fall I started making sure i was putting down 1” water a week. Sounds crazy but once you really get it going things change for the good.
I over seeded 2022 with lesco All pro team mates. Used a seed starter fert and started watering. Spring 2023 applied a seed starter fert with pre M and then used a alternating applications of EliminateD and Round up for lawns.

small steps
Sharp mower blades, clean under mower deck often
Mow when needed.
cut height, start with 3” and mow when it gets to 4” tall
Actually measure your mower blade height.
Get your watering in check.
620 gallons. Is 1” over 1000 ft2

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NELawn

· #10 · 6 d ago

I'd almost say good old fashion hadn't pulling, unlike triv there is no penalty for just pulling it out. Want until after a rain or a good watering.

But if you have to Quinclorac is typically used on Crab Grass once it has sprouted.....

https://www.amazon.com/Primesource-Quinclorac-Select-Liquid-Crabgrass/dp/B07KYVGH9V/ref=sr_1_5?crid=KK2RE8WQYP31&keywords=Quinclorac&qid=1685274119&s=lawn-garden&sprefix=quinclorac+,lawngarden,82&sr=1-5

Make sure you use a Methylated Seed Oil (MSO) Surfactant...

https://www.amazon.com/Southern-Ag-Methylated-Seed-Surfactant/dp/B0149IA526/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1IAY9PWH0D5FJ&keywords=use+a+methylated+seed+oil+surfactant&qid=1685274223&sprefix=use+a+methylated+seed+oil+surfactant,aps,142&sr=8-1

Both items are very generic, you dont need to buy a brand names. Weed b gone with crab grass control contains Quinclorac, but is no where near as good or strong.

Here are a few cliches that are all true when treating crab grass....

This stuff works when crab grass is in the 2 and 3 leaf tiller phases, pulling it out is best but post emergents can work if used early before it gets big.

The crab grass will pop up in stages, the crab grass you kill in a few weeks isn't the same crab grass popping up again. plan on hitting it all summer.

Read the directions don't spray when its past the recommended temperature or you will kill your grass.

Never let the crab grass get big enough to form seeds, you will have a multi year problem in your lawn.

Your going to be hooked on pre-e every spring forever since there are probably years worth of seeds in your lawn already

Next year make sure you stager your pre-e into split apps; I use prodiamine in early March, then Dimension in early May. If there are a lot of crab grass seeds don't count on a singe pre-e to be 100% effective. I'll also drop prodiamine down for poa-a in August and October to spread it out over the year.

Good luck...

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nakas12

Discussion Starter · #11 · 6 d ago

NELawn said:
I'd almost say good old fashion hadn't pulling, unlike triv there is no penalty for just pulling it out. Want until after a rain or a good watering.

But if you have to Quinclorac is typically used on Crab Grass once it has sprouted.....

https://www.amazon.com/Primesource-Quinclorac-Select-Liquid-Crabgrass/dp/B07KYVGH9V/ref=sr_1_5?crid=KK2RE8WQYP31&keywords=Quinclorac&qid=1685274119&s=lawn-garden&sprefix=quinclorac+,lawngarden,82&sr=1-5

Make sure you use a Methylated Seed Oil (MSO) Surfactant...

https://www.amazon.com/Southern-Ag-Methylated-Seed-Surfactant/dp/B0149IA526/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1IAY9PWH0D5FJ&keywords=use+a+methylated+seed+oil+surfactant&qid=1685274223&sprefix=use+a+methylated+seed+oil+surfactant,aps,142&sr=8-1

Both items are very generic, you dont need to buy a brand names. Weed b gone with crab grass control contains Quinclorac, but is no where near as good or strong.

Here are a few cliches that are all true when treating crab grass....

This stuff works when crab grass is in the 2 and 3 leaf tiller phases, pulling it out is best but post emergents can work if used early before it gets big.

The crab grass will pop up in stages, the crab grass you kill in a few weeks isn't the same crab grass popping up again. plan on hitting it all summer.

Read the directions don't spray when its past the recommended temperature or you will kill your grass.

Never let the crab grass get big enough to form seeds, you will have a multi year problem in your lawn.

Your going to be hooked on pre-e every spring forever since there are probably years worth of seeds in your lawn already

Next year make sure you stager your pre-e into split apps; I use prodiamine in early March, then Dimension in early May. If there are a lot of crab grass seeds don't count on a singe pre-e to be 100% effective. I'll also drop prodiamine down for poa-a in August and October to spread it out over the year.

Good luck...

Do you mix the quinclorac or MSO at all? I've never used those 2 before?

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