Beautiful Lawn turning into Crabgrass

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trax

Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 2:41 pm

Guest

All reasonable advice would be appreciated.
I have a big amount of lawn approximately 10,000 square feet. Location
Northern California. The lawn was established when I purchased the
house. It is a thin blade grass. I use the 'Scotts' fertilizer plan
and water regularly. The lawn was absolutely beautiful a few months
ago (April & May) but recently it has turned brown in spots and looks
dry and has lots of crabgrass. Please advice, what can I do to get my
beautiful lawn back. I also aerote twice a year.
Thanks,

Freckles

Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:57 am

Guest

"trax" <pcwebtrax@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:32d3c09f-3162-48f0-bcbc-cc2ded74237e@i18g2000pro.googlegroups.com...

Quote:

Most likely when you aerated your lawn you turned crabgrass seeds to the top
and now crabgrass is starting to take over your lawn.

I'm far from being an expert, but it seems to me you don't need to aerate
nearly as often. I've aerated my lawn only once in the 8 years that I've
lived here and my lawn is doing very well. I don't intend to aerate my lawn
again for several more years, or at least until my lawn really looks like it
would benefit from it.

I would suggest you stop aerating, start spot spraying the crabgrass with a
good herbicide and overseed your lawn this fall.

Freckles

Jangchub

Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 5:32 pm

Guest

On Sat, 25 Jul 2009 07:41:26 -0700 (PDT), trax <pcwebtrax@gmail.com>
wrote:

Quote:

Unfortunately, Scotts recommends fertilization before the grass starts
to grow and usually that is when you fertilize the weeds. Are you
sure it's crabgrass and not dallisgrass? The key to keeping weeds
down is in part to mow before weeds go to seed. I don't suggest
Scotts weed and feed because they use atrazine and it is very toxic
and found in most drinking water across the US at pretty unhealthy
levels. Other than digging out the weeds I have no suggestions other
than to use proper fertilization AFTER you mow at least twice in
spring, and water properly. There are enough websites to give you
this information.
Victoria

http://gotbodhicitta-wangmo.blogspot.com/
Updated daily when able.

brooklyn1

Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 6:21 pm

Guest

Quote:

trax wrote:

I have a big amount of lawn approximately 10,000 square feet. Location
Northern California. The lawn was established when I purchased the
house. It is a thin blade grass. I use the 'Scotts' fertilizer plan
and water regularly. The lawn was absolutely beautiful a few months
ago (April & May) but recently it has turned brown in spots and looks
dry and has lots of crabgrass. Please advice, what can I do to get my
beautiful lawn back. I also aerote twice a year.

Crabgrass is an annual. The only way to prevent it emerging is to apply a
preemergent crabgrass killer at the proper time in early spring, this
prevents last years crabgrass seed from germinating. You also need to water
deeply and regularly or lawn grass will suffer but weeds of many types will
not only survive but will flourish and crowd out lawn grasses. You also
need to mow regularly and to the correct height (no less than 2" and remove
no more than 1/3 the height of grass at a mowing), mowing too short will
harm lawn grass and encourage weeds, especially crabgrass. No matter how
diligent crabgrass will still emerge in spots, it's best to dig it out with
as much of its root as possible... spraying with spot killer will only
create a bald spot which is much more likely to host weeds before lawn
grass. You are obviously not following the Scotts program or you'd have
laid down preemmergent crabgrass killer with your first fertilizer
application in early spring (Scotts Halts +2). And the best thing one can
do to keep one's lawn healthy and weed free is not to walk on it... if you
permit kids to play on your lawn then you had best resign yourself to living
with crabgrass. If you don't trample your perennial shrubs why would you
trample your lawn grass and expect it to survive.

basilisk

Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 8:48 pm

Guest

"trax" <pcwebtrax@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:32d3c09f-3162-48f0-bcbc-cc2ded74237e@i18g2000pro.googlegroups.com...

Quote:

You don't say what kind of grass it is, if it is fescue it will naturally
thin over
a period of years and will need to be over seeded to maintain a thick lawn.
Any thinning that occurs gives weeds and crabgrass an oppurtunity to
thrive.

basilisk

Tanya Carlsen

Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 12:28 am

Guest

On Jul 25, 7:41 am, trax <pcwebt...@gmail.com> wrote:

Quote:

I agree with a previous post about not needing to aerate twice a year
but definitely once a year. Aerating opens up the soil to allow air,
water and fertilizer to get down in there. You will also want to
remove the thatch build up in your lawn. Thatch can prevent the air,
water and fertilizer from getting down to the roots. Also check your
irrigation and make sure there is complete coverage (head to head
coverage where each sprinkler sprays overlap the other, touching the
other sprinkler head) as well as your schedule of watering. It is
better to water less frequently (unless it's a heat wave) and deeply,
thus watering the roots and not the top of the grass. I water twice a
week about 45-60 minutes each time but I have a more drought tolerant
type of grass.
For non-chemical options check out the Gardens Alive! website. Good
luck!

Check out my blog at http://carlsengdesigns.blogspot.com/

Jangchub

Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 5:20 am

Guest

On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:28:25 -0700 (PDT), Tanya Carlsen
<carlsengs@msn.com> wrote:

Quote:

On Jul 25, 7:41 am, trax <pcwebt...@gmail.com> wrote:
All reasonable advice would be appreciated.
I have a big amount of lawn approximately 10,000 square feet. Location
Northern California. The lawn was established when I purchased the
house. It is a thin blade grass. I use the 'Scotts' fertilizer plan
and water regularly. The lawn was absolutely beautiful a few months
ago (April & May) but recently it has turned brown in spots and looks
dry and has lots of crabgrass. Please advice, what can I do to get my
beautiful lawn back. I also aerote twice a year.
Thanks,

I agree with a previous post about not needing to aerate twice a year
but definitely once a year. Aerating opens up the soil to allow air,
water and fertilizer to get down in there. You will also want to
remove the thatch build up in your lawn. Thatch can prevent the air,
water and fertilizer from getting down to the roots. Also check your
irrigation and make sure there is complete coverage (head to head
coverage where each sprinkler sprays overlap the other, touching the
other sprinkler head) as well as your schedule of watering. It is
better to water less frequently (unless it's a heat wave) and deeply,
thus watering the roots and not the top of the grass. I water twice a
week about 45-60 minutes each time but I have a more drought tolerant
type of grass.
For non-chemical options check out the Gardens Alive! website. Good
luck!

Check out my blog at http://carlsengdesigns.blogspot.com/

Thatch is caused by improper watering. Thatch are roots on the
surface because that's where the water is. Watering for an hour
doesn't say much. The true measure of proper water is to determine
how long it takes to put down one full inch of water each time you
water. That allows the water to percolate about eight inches into the
soil, which is where you want the roots to be. It's better to remove
thatch build up during a season where the turf is not growing or you
risk killing the turf by removing a bulk of it's roots, which cause
thatch, actually is the thatch.
Victoria

http://gotbodhicitta-wangmo.blogspot.com/
Updated daily when able.

Phisherman

Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:41 pm

Guest

"trax" wrote

Quote:

Hmmm. If you had a beautful lawn then but not now, what are you
doing differently?

Crabgrass needs lost of sun and will quickly establish itself if there
is any bare gorund. Crabgrass produces seeds that will remain
dormant for 10 years or more, waiting for the right conditions. There
are some (new) products out there that will kill crabgrass in lawns or
you can pull the crabgrass out by hand. At the minimum, do not allow
it to go to seed. Make your lawn thick by overseeding and patching
the bare areas. Use a "Starter" fertilizer when you plant.
Since you have a crabgrass issue, apply a pre-emergent at the right
time of year for the next two years, and be careful to apply it more
than 3 months before overseeding.

No need to aerate unless you are sure your ground is compacted. I
have a beautiful lawn, and have never aerated. But I do have plenty
of earthworms to do the job. A mulching mower adds organic matter to
your lawn and will encourage worms. Mulching mowers do not cause
thatch (amazing how many folks believe otherwise).

brooklyn1

Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:58 pm

Guest

"Phisherman" <nobody@noone.com> wrote in message
news:3uk075p84bc0uho8l1ra8vjq8orkdrbsj9@4ax.com...

Quote:

"trax" wrote
All reasonable advice would be appreciated.
I have a big amount of lawn approximately 10,000 square feet. Location
Northern California. The lawn was established when I purchased the
house. It is a thin blade grass. I use the 'Scotts' fertilizer plan
and water regularly. The lawn was absolutely beautiful a few months
ago (April & May) but recently it has turned brown in spots and looks
dry and has lots of crabgrass. Please advice, what can I do to get my
beautiful lawn back. I also aerote twice a year.
Thanks,

Hmmm. If you had a beautful lawn then but not now, what are you
doing differently?

Crabgrass needs lost of sun and will quickly establish itself if there
is any bare gorund. Crabgrass produces seeds that will remain
dormant for 10 years or more, waiting for the right conditions. There
are some (new) products out there that will kill crabgrass in lawns or
you can pull the crabgrass out by hand. At the minimum, do not allow
it to go to seed. Make your lawn thick by overseeding and patching
the bare areas. Use a "Starter" fertilizer when you plant.
Since you have a crabgrass issue, apply a pre-emergent at the right
time of year for the next two years,

Pre-emergent crabgrass killer needs to be applied *every* year.... and no
matter how diligent you will still have some crabgrass, and if you have
neighbors who don't treat their lawns you will have a lot of crabgrass...
whatever is in your neighbor's lawn will end up in your lawn. Once
crabgrass is growing in your lawn the best way to remove it is to dig it up
with as much root as possible, spot killers will also prevent lawn grasses
from growing and in fact the crab grass will return first.

Quote:

No need to aerate unless you are sure your ground is compacted. I
have a beautiful lawn, and have never aerated. But I do have plenty
of earthworms to do the job.

How often to aerate is mostly determined on soil composition, how much
traffic, and lastly earthworms.

Quote:

A mulching mower adds organic matter to
your lawn and will encourage worms.

Earthorms don't eat grass clippings, earthworms eat the organisms that break
down organic matter. The earthworm population will remain constant in a
particular patch of soil regardless how you mow, if you mow, if you don't
mow. When you sprinkle bread crumbs on your soil earthworms will arrive,
but they are not attracted to the crumbs, they are attracted to the
organisms that arrive to feed on the crumbs. Most earthworms live deeply in
the soil, many feet down, very few earthworms are damaged from digging in
soil... earthworms multiply much faster than one can chop them up by tilling
their garden... birds and other creatures consume far more earthworms than
one can kill with a rototiller. The earthworm population has been constant
on the planet from millions of years past. The earthworms on the planet
weigh more than all other living creatures combined, including all those in
the seas.

Quote:

Mulching mowers do not cause
thatch (amazing how many folks believe otherwise).

All mowers create some thatch. But mostly thatch is composed of the grass
plant itself that dies naturally as part of its life cycle. All lawns
benefit from regular de-thatching, at least once a year.

Billy

Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:50 pm

Guest

In article <v50cm.1798$MA3.1376@nwrddc02.gnilink.net>,
"brooklyn1" <gravesend10@verizon.net> wrote:

Quote:

"Phisherman" <nobody@noone.com> wrote in message
news:3uk075p84bc0uho8l1ra8vjq8orkdrbsj9@4ax.com...

"trax" wrote
All reasonable advice would be appreciated.
I have a big amount of lawn approximately 10,000 square feet. Location
Northern California. The lawn was established when I purchased the
house. It is a thin blade grass. I use the 'Scotts' fertilizer plan
and water regularly. The lawn was absolutely beautiful a few months
ago (April & May) but recently it has turned brown in spots and looks
dry and has lots of crabgrass. Please advice, what can I do to get my
beautiful lawn back. I also aerote twice a year.
Thanks,

Hmmm. If you had a beautful lawn then but not now, what are you
doing differently?

Crabgrass needs lost of sun and will quickly establish itself if there
is any bare gorund. Crabgrass produces seeds that will remain
dormant for 10 years or more, waiting for the right conditions. There
are some (new) products out there that will kill crabgrass in lawns or
you can pull the crabgrass out by hand. At the minimum, do not allow
it to go to seed. Make your lawn thick by overseeding and patching
the bare areas. Use a "Starter" fertilizer when you plant.
Since you have a crabgrass issue, apply a pre-emergent at the right
time of year for the next two years,

Pre-emergent crabgrass killer needs to be applied *every* year.... and no
matter how diligent you will still have some crabgrass, and if you have
neighbors who don't treat their lawns you will have a lot of crabgrass...
whatever is in your neighbor's lawn will end up in your lawn. Once
crabgrass is growing in your lawn the best way to remove it is to dig it up
with as much root as possible, spot killers will also prevent lawn grasses
from growing and in fact the crab grass will return first.

No need to aerate unless you are sure your ground is compacted. I
have a beautiful lawn, and have never aerated. But I do have plenty
of earthworms to do the job.

How often to aerate is mostly determined on soil composition, how much
traffic, and lastly earthworms.

A mulching mower adds organic matter to
your lawn and will encourage worms.

Earthorms don't eat grass clippings, earthworms eat the organisms that break
down organic matter. The earthworm population will remain constant in a
particular patch of soil regardless how you mow, if you mow, if you don't
mow. When you sprinkle bread crumbs on your soil earthworms will arrive,
but they are not attracted to the crumbs, they are attracted to the
organisms that arrive to feed on the crumbs. Most earthworms live deeply in
the soil, many feet down,

Mine are within three inches from the surface.

Quote:

very few earthworms are damaged from digging in
soil... earthworms multiply much faster than one can chop them up by tilling
their garden... birds and other creatures consume far more earthworms than
one can kill with a rototiller.

As usual, Shelly is showing his full gamut of ignorance. The earthworms
may return, but their work is destroyed. The galleries that they created
allow for aeration of the soil, and its drainage. Treat your earthworms
right and you will have healthy soil.

Quote:

The earthworm population has been constant
on the planet from millions of years past.

Could we have a cite on this? With less top soil, there should be fewer
earthworms.

Quote:

The earthworms on the planet
weigh more than all other living creatures combined, including all those in
the seas.

Shelly is obviously into his cups already. Take any of this advice with
a cup of salt.

Quote:

Mulching mowers do not cause
thatch (amazing how many folks believe otherwise).

All mowers create some thatch. But mostly thatch is composed of the grass
plant itself that dies naturally as part of its life cycle. All lawns
benefit from regular de-thatching, at least once a year.
--

- Billy

Racial injustice, war, urban blight, and environmental rape have a common denominator in our exploitative economic system. ~Channing E. Phillips

Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian Land
http://i2.democracynow.org/2009/7/22/headlines#7

http://www.tomdispatch.com/p/zinn

Frank

Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:48 pm

Guest

trax wrote:

Quote:

If you use the Scott's plan, you were probably late with the crabgrass
pre-emergent treatment. Don't use Scott's myself as I think they overdo
it. I do use a pre-emergent that costs half as much and put it on early
or in my part of the East before the forsythia blooms.

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