For the past couple of months I have been in a fierce battle with crabgrass. Sadly, I am not
winning. I didn't fight hard enough in the beginning; I let it get the upper hand.
Now it's out of control.
I relate this sad tale for anyone who is moving into a house for the first time, even the White House,
in hopes you will not make the same mistakes I did.
Background:
After the snow melted in the spring, I had some good-sized dirt areas in my yard. Having just purchased the house after living in apartments and condos for 20 years, thus inexperienced at lawn maintenance, my response was mostly puzzlement and head shaking.
I consulted the previous owner who told me not to worry, it would all fill in and become a gorgeous lawn. I didn't discover until later the previous owner knew nothing about lawns and had hired someone who did all maintenance.
After awhile I noticed some tendrils snaking over the bare areas. They didn't look exactly like grass as I remembered it but they were greenish. I thought it must be a different kind of grass than I was familiar with so I encouraged it by watering regularly.
Within a couple of months the greenish tendrils had taken root and completely filled the bare areas. My goal of having a beautiful lawn seemed right around the corner.
But after awhile I noticed the new grass just didn't grow like the other grass. It grew low to the ground, hardly needed mowing and went to seed quickly. Worried that something was amiss, I went to the internet to see what the experts said about different types of grass and lawns in general.
What a shock when I saw a picture of crabgrass. I had let the evil weed take over about half my lawn, even helped it. Something had to be done! This would require more online research, expert advice on how to resolve the problem.
The first expert said once it has taken root the best way to get rid of crabgrass is to pull it out. Pull up half my lawn by hand? The second expert said for lawns with a large infestation (like mine) there is some stuff I can apply to the lawn. But he also said that the only effective stuff is a chemical you put on in the early spring that keeps the crabgrass seeds from germinating. Then you seed or sod the bare areas with real grass and keep it healthy so crabgrass can't get a toehold (roothold?).
Okay, that works for next summer. So it's back to pulling it by hand this year.
One day last week, I ran into the previous owner's lawn guy. I asked him about the crabgrass and he said, 'Some people like it because it's easy to grow and doesn't require mowing too often.' That attitude explains
why I inherited such a robust crop.
Current Affairs:
Every day I go out and pull up a little pile of crabgrass before work. That clears one small area...for
awhile. I can't really win as there is so much of it and only one of me and the stuff keeps spreading.
I've developed a blister on my thumb and my back is killing me!
Lessons Learned:
- Get expert advice in the spring, don't wait until the situation is out of control in July.
- Make sure the advice you follow is from real experts, not just a friend.
- Accept when you have done it all wrong, walk away and come back next spring with a better plan, a whole new direction.
- A permanent solution requires encouraging and strengthening the friendly grass so it helps squeeze out the unfriendly crabgrass.
- And finally, don't expect the groundskeeper to make your decision about whether to kill the crabgrass. He'll just follow whatever plan you lay out.