Early action needed to control crabgrass
Early action needed to control crabgrass
Use preventive measures before these weeds
start spring growth.
Do you have a crabgrass problem in your lawn? You'll recognize the
symptoms in the fall, especially if you've noticed patches of coarse purple grasses in
your lawn.
Crabgrass can spread particularly quickly around the edges of the
lawn, and along driveways and paths. The problem is most prevalent
in Ontario.
It's an ugly grass weed that invades weaker areas of the lawn, and
gradually takes over, creating thin, off-colour patches that detract from the lawn's
overall appearance. In late spring the plants are a light, lime
green colour with wide, short blades. If such plants appear in the
lawn as soon as the snow disappears, they are not crabgrass, and
wont' be controlled by a crabgrass preventer.
A healthy lawn: The best defense.
A lush, healthy lawn provides its own best defense against
crabgrass, because it allows few areas for the weed seeds to
germinate and establish new plants. Regular fertilization is the key to a healthy lawn ... making sure the grass gets the complete nutrition it needs to fight weed competition and resist stress from winter drought or other environmental conditions.
A typical "four-step" lawn
fertilization program might look like this:
1. Early Spring, either with a
regular lawn fertilizer or a
fertilizer with crabgrass control blended in.
2. Early summer, regular fertilizer or "weed & feed" to control
broadleaf weeds.
3. Late summer, regular fertilizer or a combination feeding/insect
control if lawn pests are suspected.
4. Fall fertilizer, a special blend to fight winter stress and
encourage fast spring green-up. (This may be the most
important, but often overlooked lawn feeding.
Be sure to use high quality, "controlled-release" fertilizers: They provide consistent feeding over several weeks, without risk of burning the lawn.
Crabgrass control strategies
Crabgrass is an annual grass weed that must re-establish itself
from seed each spring. This is the secret to effective crabgrass
control ... getting the preventer onto the soil early enough
(before May 15) to keep new seeds from germinating.
The easiest way to apply a
crabgrass preventer is to spread it on with your early spring
fertilizer application, around the time the forsythia blooms. Mow
the lawn once before applying the
preventer, so it can easily get down to the soil surface.
Vigoro makes a crabgrass
preventer/fertilizer blend that works very well, controlling the
germinating seeds while it greens up the lawn. They also offer an
alternative granular crabgrass control without fertilizer, in case
you've already applied fertilizer separately. The control
ingredient (chlorthal) only affects crabgrass, and not other weeds
or most grasses. Avoid spreading crabgrass preventers on newly
seeded lawns, bentgrass lawns or vegetable
gardens. The soil must be left undisturbed after application to
allow the grass to work on the ungerminated seeds.
Be sure to read the product label carefully and wear protective
clothing.
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