Question
i SEN YOUR ARTICAL ON GOOSE GRASS AND AT THIS POINT i NEED TO DO THE ROUND UP i HAVE TOO MUCH OF IT WHAT ROUND UP BRAND DO i USE OR TYPE?  AND WHEN AND WHATS THE BEST TIPS FOR RESEEDING SOME OF THIS IS ON SLOPES IN YARD TO?  ALSO i CANT USE THE ROUND UP AROUND FLOWERS OR BEDS WHAT DO i USE THERE

THE GOOSE GRASS I HAVE HAS SPORADIC PURPLISH SPLOTCHES ON SOME AREAS NOT JUST CERTAIN AREAS ON PLANT

Answer
Not sure if this is Goosegrass?  Bring a sample to your Cooperative Extension for a look-see and i.d. it -- KNOW THY ENEMY.  Otherwise, how are you gonna kill the Goosegrass?

Meantime, we can try to do this a little quicker than an appointment with the Co-op Agent.  Goosegrass (Eleusine indica) photos are posted here:

www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/elein.htm

and here:

www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/WEEDS/goosegrass.html

One of the SCARIEST things about Goosegrass is how fast it spreads.  University of Florida's Golf and Sports Turf Management program studies it and points out some of the basic 4-1-1 about this Weed.  Why Goosegas is a problem:  'One mature plant can produce as many as 50,000 Seeds.'

FIFTY THOUSAND Seeds!  Imagine what the world would be like if every woman had 50,000 offspring.  The human race would croak in no time flat.

In Florida, Goosegrass Seeds sprout in March or April, when Soil temps hit 68 degrees F.

Over- or under-watering and compacted Soil are PRIME conditions for Goosegrass (also called 'Silver Crabgrass').  Your Soil is the problem here.  Not the Goosegrass.

Because your Soil is making your Goosegrass VERY HAPPY.  And it's not doing enough to keep your Grass strong.  The bigger the Goose, the smaller the Grass.  Things just get worse, and worse, and worse.

But...

There is something WONDERFUL about Goosegrass.  Can you guess what it is?

Tick tock tick tock...

Give up?

Goosegrass is an ANNUAL Weed!  By definition, it will NEVER be a problem more than ONE year!  Yayyyyy!

Just by keeping your Goosegrass from blooming, you solve your Goosegrass problem.

And if you work with WOW! from Gardens Alive or a similar Cornmeal Gluten-based organic herbicide, you won't find any renegade Goosegrass sprouts next Spring.

Some Weeds, you can mow them to death.  Unfortunately, this is a Weed that must be hand picked out of the ground.  Goosegrass is not bothered by close mowing heights.  If you are noticing it mainly in a high traffic area, the compacted Soil is probably the reason.  That's the conditions that are MOST favorable for Goosegrass, and of course they are most UN-favorable for Turfgrass, i.e. your Lawn.

You can hand pull this Weed and try aerating the Soil to make your Grass happier.  Watch the sprinkler to make sure you don't overwater.

Now let's address your insane solution about using ROUNDUP on this Goosegrass.  Are you nuts?

Once down, Roundup-treated areas will keep EVERYTHING from growing where you used it.  In the words of the manufacturer, Roundup builds 'an invisible barrier' to all new growth -- Yikes!  You know what that is?  That's Madison Avenue code language for telling you that the Soil becomes SO poisonous NOTHING will grow there.

No matter what that Weed is, this little problem is no excuse for turning your house into a Superfund Site.

Want to get rid of this Goose?  Yank it out Goose by Goose.  Remember before Scotts was selling Round-Up how people used to WEED by hand?  This is a good old fashioned way to get rid of Weeds.

If you have too many to do this, then re-do the whole area.  Mow your Grass nice and low, then hoe and till everything growing there.  Rototill if you have a large area.

Sure, it's more fun to spray Round-Up all over everything.  You run around the yard with a little bottle and pull the trigger.  You don't break a sweat.  But this Round-Up is VERY bad for the Birds and the Bees.  And you, too.

Then rake up and toss the removed Weeds and Grass into a nice big heap and start a compost pile.  You can add this back to your Lawn next Summer.  It's packed with Nitrogen and other terrific things for your Weed-free Grass.

Get some nice seed and in the Fall put it down on your Weed-free plot.  I like the seed on the internet from Seedland:

www.seedland.com

You give no clue as to your location so we can't recommend a Grass, but what you have is probably fine.

Let's talk for a second about a phenomenon that people write about from time to time when they turn over a new grass-growing leaf.

They ask me, I never paid attention to my Grass before.  I had some Weeds, and I had some Grass, I never fertilized, I never watered, I never paid much attention. All I did was mow.  And I never had any problems.  But now, I am applying crabgrass killer in the Spring just like I'm supposed to, and I put down Grub killer, and I put down a Nitrogen fertilizer, and then I apply Weedkiller for the broadleaf Weeds, and instead I have brown patches all over the Lawn.  I water the Grass, I have an expensive automatic sprinkler system that goes on every night and waters faithfully.  But it's one problem after another.  I don't get it.

That's what they say.

And it is really very simple.  Putting down the Scotts and Ortho is a bad idea.  It creates problems you will never have to deal with if you stay away from those.

And instead of ignoring your Lawn, if you put some intelligent effort into your Grass, you will have an even better Lawn, with a few carefully planned tasks.  Your Grass will win the local beauty contest every time -- but NOT if you spray and dust with weapons of mass destruction.

I refer you now to 'God's Take On Lawns':

www.richsoil.com/lawn/god.html

This is a divine message for those Weed-And-Feed Round-Up people who still don't get it.

Fix your Soil.  Grow your Grass.  Peace.

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER