QuestionI live in Mid Michigan. This summer was very dry and I did not water my grass enough. Out of the blue in August my lawn turned to a crab grass field. I sprayed it with Ortho B Gon Max, to kill the crab grass. Now my whole yard looks burned and there is still crab grass every where. What should I do to bring my lawn back?
Answer "Now my whole yard looks burned and there is still crabgrass everywhere." Before this you had sprayed with a post emergent weedkiller. Here are some things you can do to help us get a good grip on this problem.
1. Have the 'crabgrass' accurately identified; the County Extension Service is a good resource.
It seems to be a real menace; surviving a drought AND an application of weedkiller.
2. There is a very real possibility that your lawn was mostly plants (weeds?) which were susceptible to the weedkiller; or the weedkiller was applied at a rate strong enough to kill the lawn grass if any was present. Only you know which is more likely.
From what you write, it is imperative that you work out some method of watering the lawn thoroughly (adequate coverage and quantity) before you attempt reseeding or resodding. My best suggestion is to kill the remaining vegetation (whatever it is). Use glyphosate at a high enough rate to kill it. The label will tell you. Allow enough time (7 to 10 days) for it to translocate to the roots. As long as you are sure that all the vegetation is dead, you can resod right over the residue. If you choose reseeding instead, you will have to prepare a seed bed.
But I wish to stress that reliable irrigation is essential- whatever your choice.
