Question
I used a crabgrass killer (Scott's)on my grass,     it didn't do a good job. This was the worst year for crabgrass in my yard.  Should I kill the crabgrass this Fall or just wait until next March or April? I sure have plenty of crabgrass. It was nightmare.
Thank's for any information you can giv me.

Joyce

Answer
Hi Joyce;
I used to be driven to madness with crabgrass. I like your word better, because it really is CRAPgrass.LOL
I used all kinds of crabgrass killer, including Scott's, and what killed the crabgrass also killed all the grass around where it had been growing.
When you fertilize, it also feeds te weeds, but fertilizer doesn't enrich the soil, it just feeds the vegetation and makes it grow better, and then wears out.
Dry molasses keeps alive the beneficial microbes that fertilizers kill. These beneficial microbes enrich your soil.
If you can't find dry molasses, plain old table sugar works as well, costs about the same, and is easier to handle in the smaller bags. Dry molasses comes in 40 pound bags.
It has already gone to seed for new crabgrass next soring, and this you have will stay there.I would just throw sugar on itfor now.
I used to dig crabgrass out with an asparagus cutter. It is a straight rod with a forjked end, and you shove it under the plant and cut off the root below ground.
Go throw some sugar on your lawn and water it in. If you are going to give a winter feeding, put down the fertilizer, then throw down the sugar, and water them both in together. The fertilizer will feed your grass, and the sugar will keep the microbes alive. they will work all winer, enriching your soil. Next spring, forget the fertilizer, just throw down the sugar and water it in.
I use 1 pound sugar per 250 to 300 sq.ft. of lawn and garden.
No it doesn't bring ants, because you water it in well.
Get an asparagas cutter and dig out enough crabgrass that you can luive with the rest.
You will see some of it go away by itself. Putting sugar down in a couple more weeks won't hurt, it will just activate more microbes. Use sugar for the fall feeding.
Enriching the soil like this, you will probably only have to fertilize every 4 to 6 years, because the soil will be rich enough .
Every year, some crabgrass and other weeds will come up, but in 2 or 3 mowings, you will see less and less of it, it will just not thrive. 3 or 4 years of using the sugar, you should have good rich soil, and the weeds just won't bother to come up anymore, unless you stop using the sugar, and the soil gets sallow again.
I haven't seen any of my old weeds even come up for 5 or 6 years now.I used to have crabgrass, johnson grass, clover, dollar weed, chickweed and some others. The sugar has enriched my soil so much none of those weeds even come up anymore.
The only unwanted thing that comes up is trees that are seeded in by he wind etc. They like fertile soil, so you still have to dig those out.
Always water to a depth of at least 6 inches, and re-water when the top 2 inches of soil are dry.This will encourage a good deep root system that will protect the grass from heat, cold and drought damage, and if you can water one week, your grass won't die out.Also, a deep root system will not make dead roots on the surface to trap debris and make thatch.
I have tried a lot of scott's products, and never liked the results I got with them. when I use fertilizer, I use Fertilome Lawn Food with Iron.I think Fertilome products are much better than scott's, and the iron in it keeps the grass a dark green.
Charlotte