New lawn started year great, now crabgrass

10 years ago

Here is my background post from last year. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lawns/msg081332221957.html

I started a new lawn last year, planting it on Labor day. I had limed it a month or two ahead. The fall rains were just right and everything came up roses.

I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but over the winter, a friend have me a bunch of brown lime that had been soaked then hardened in the bag. It sat in the elements for a couple of years. I dried the stuff out then went at it with a hammer to try and get out the lumps. Turns out, no way would it work in my Scotts spreader, so this spring I scattered it around by hand. Of course my application was uneven.

The lawn started nice and green, we had nice rains this spring. When things started to dry out some brown spots started showing up here and there. The spots started where a tree had been cut down and started with a pattern of the roots. This area gets a lot of sun. In the south exposure there is more shade and the grass has done much better.

The past two months it's been pretty dry (I haven't watered) and now big crabgrass has taken over parts of the yard. A lot of the grass is also brown, but I figured it was going dormant and would revive next year, or if it ever starts raining again.

How can I make this better? Use a crabgrass killer now?

Open to suggestions.

Thank you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crabgrass & Spots photo

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Comments (4)

dchall_san_antonio
10 years ago
Well, that was an interesting walk down memory lane.

The best crabgrass killer you can get now is the calendar. Crabgrass only grows in the summer, so it is all dying about now.

I would suggest you start over like you did last year. But no matter what you do this year to fix the lawn, if you don't water it at least once a week in the summer heat, you're going to be cycling through a major repair every year.

Since you got the Logan Labs soil test, I assume your first app of lime was the proper type of lime and the proper amount according to what you got from tiemco and Andy. What was up with that second app??? It sounds like it was quicklime. Next time you want to try something a little sketchy, please ask here first. I don't know if it had anything to do with your lawn dying, but I am betting the lack of water had a lot more to do with it.
sammyq2
Original Author
10 years ago
Head bowed, properly chastised.
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andy10917
10 years ago
In Zone 6B, the crabgrass is nowhere near dead yet - it's at the peak of the reseeding cycle, and that's part of your problem. Disturbing the soil aids in making the crabgrass seed ready to flourish next year.

No matter what direction you take, proper pre-m applications when the forsythia bloom in the Spring are going to be critical to breaking the crabgrass cycle. Make sure to know how long your specific pre-m lasts and re-apply if needed to break the crabgrass cycle. It's all pretty simple, but the war is fought when the enemy hasn't be seen yet (March/April), and not when it makes its presence known.
albany1
10 years ago
Sammy,
I'm not sure how the 'revived' lime played into it,but last I had finally gotten a wonderful lush lawn from seed- and a lot of care.BUT then about 1 month later I decided to put down winter care fertilizer from an older bag.It looked sketchy but I forged ahead with it.Within a week it killed all of the new grass.
I'm just sayin'...