Question
We moved into our new home 6/30/06. We live on Marylands's Eastern Shore. Our front & side lawns are sod, the rear is seed. With the very hot summer we've had, we watered a lot, but some areas are a little brown, and there are some patches of no growth. We have a big problem with crab grass too.

My questions are;

1) What to do about crabgrass. We have manually pulled some from the front for now. I've heard two messages ; one says treat in the fall, another says treat crabgrass in the spring. What is best method/time/product?

2) A neighbor suggested using lime on the lawn along with fertilizer in the Fall. Would you suggest lime?

Thank you

Answer
Hi David;
Organics will get rid of the crabgrass and any other weeds you have.
I used sugar, when I read in an organic columnist's column to use dry molasses.
He said if you couldn't find dry molasses, sugar would work.
I have put nothing but sugar on my lawn each spring and fall for the last 8 years, and I have no weeds.
My neighbor has a weed farm, and his weeds kept my lawn seeded with them. I had crabgrass, johnson grass, clover, dandelions, and a bunch of others that I worked almost full time trying to keep them dug or pulled up.
About 2 weeks after I used the sugar the first time, the weeds started to diasppear.
After each mowing or two, there were a lot less, until after a month or two, there were none to be seen.
I had good, loose soil to begin with, so it worked a little faster for me.
I would suggest using NO fertilizer at all.
Fertilizers don't enrich the soil, they just feed the vegetation, including the weeds. They also kill the beneficial microbes that DO work round the clock enriching the soil.
Make rich soil, and the weeds will go away. Weeds love POOR soil.
Fertilizers, weedkillers and insecticides also kill all the beneficial insects that feed on harmful insects, and the toads. lizards and grass snakes that feed on those insects.
Actually, chemicals MAKE problems, rather than solve them.
I have no problem with weeds or insects since I stopped putting chemiclas on the lan, and made a healthy enviornment for these little friend.
Lime works on the PH factor in the soil, not the weeds.
Charlotte