Crabgrass, also known as Digitaria sanguinalis, is a species of grass that is not considered appropriate for a lawn. It is also known as hairy finger-grass, hairy crabgrass, purple crabgrass, crab finger-grass and large crabgrass. Many prefer considering crabgrass a weed.
Crabgrass can often be identified by older leaves that turn from green into a dark-reddish color. It thrives in areas of your lawn that are thinning or bare of vegetation.
Crabgrass will germinate in the late winter and spring, grow throughout the summer, and die as late fall or early winter begins.
It can produce thousands of seeds every year meaning crabgrass control can potentially be very important to the overall health of your lawn.
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HOW TO PREVENT CRABGRASS FROM SPROUTING?
Treat your lawn with pre-emergent herbicides to prevent crabgrass. The pre-emergent herbicides form a chemical layer at the surface of the soil. As crabgrass seeds germinate, they absorb the herbicide, which prevents crabgrass seeds from sprouting.
Make sure to apply any pre-emergent herbicides in the early spring. Wait for the soil temperatures at around 55 degrees at a depth of four inches.
You can apply post-emergent herbicides in the summer, if necessary.
HOW TO KILL CRABGRASS ONCE IT STARTS?
Crabgrass can spread very quickly. If you let it grow for a whole season, or if you miss a particular area, you could find yourself with a growing problem. Thus, pick the crabgrass when it’s still young to prevent seed-spreading. Whenever you see some crabgrass, simply pluck it out by hand from the root.
You can try pouring boiling water over the crabgrass to kill it. Pour the hot water on top of the plant. This may kill or damage the roots enough to prevent the weed from growing back.
The safest and most effective way to kill crabgrass is by using gardening vinegar. Gardening vinegar, which is stronger than household vinegar, will put crabgrass down in 24 hours. Fill a spray bottle and spray the weed thoroughly with the vinegar. The next day, rip the crabgrass out and discard it.
CAN YOU CONTROL CRABGRASS?
You can control crabgrass with proper lawn maintenance. This lawn maintenance includes proper mowing, watering and overseeding.
You can mow your lawn less often by letting your grass grow in the early spring. Please allow your grass to grow longer than three to four inches. Crabgrass needs plenty of sunlight to grow. This process will allow more shade, controlling the growth.
Give your lawn a good watering about once a week. Provide your lawn with roughly 1 inch of water. This amount will encourage the grass’s root system to develop deeper than the crabgrass’s roots, which will keep it from spreading.
Overseed your lawn to promote the right sort of growth. While you only have to overseed patches where crabgrass thrives, it might be helpful to overseed your entire lawn every two to three seasons.
We hope these helpful tips will help your lawn stay away from the threat of crabgrass. Keep those lawns looking good, North Texas!
