Question
Hi Charlotte. I put down a 10# bag of sugar about a month ago and have not yet seen a reduction in weeds. I have what I think is crabgrass, little lacy annoying things, and stiff leafed dark green things that everyone in the neighborhood seems to have this year. They are so nasty looking that I actually hand pulled them out....whew. if you don;lt get rid of them they develop such large and strong root systems that you can hardly get them out. I bought another 10# of sugar and am wondering if it would be OK to apply it now? I want to use your system because I would rather stay away from chemicals if at all possible. Thanks. Susan

Answer
H Susan;
You don't say how much area you covered with the augar.
If there were still chemicals in the soil, that would also make it not work.
All the sugar does is nourish the beneficial micro-organiams that do the actual work of enriching the soil.
10# of sugar would have covered about 2000 sq.ft or a plot 100X20 ft.Did you water it in well?
You can put sugar down anytime you want, and as much as you want. If you put way too much, it will not burn the grass like chemcials do, it will just waste some sugar.
But you should put at least 4 pounds per 1000 sq.ft.
Is your soil loose, and does it let water soak into it?
If the soil is hard clay, and water does not soak in, the sugar nor anything else can get into it.
You have to add some things and prefferably till it in to loosen up the soil.
Crabgrass isn't lacy looking.
Put    crabgrass, pictures     in your search engine, andf you can get up sites with weed pics. or put in   weeds native to Illinois.
If you put in the name of a weed and pics, you can get pictures of almost every weed known to man.
For the ones with tough root systemns, that you want to go ahead and pull out, get an asparagus cutter. That will make it easier because it cuts them off at the root, just below the soil surface.
It is a tool you can get in just about any hardware store or garden center, and looks something like this

  ===========<  

it is just a long rod about a foot long, with a handle on one end and a forked tool about 2 inches long on the other end.
Slip that forked end in the ground at an angle to cut the root, and a slight tub gets the weed out.
Charlotte