# Crabgrass Dominated



## Lambo (May 21, 2018)

It has been a hot, dry summer, but my TTTF is still kicking. Have had times where I've worried that I am not watering enough (3 times a week, 20 minutes a zone, approx. .20 to .25 inches per watering), but I am dominating the hood. People who live around me be 'mirin.

I spread plenty of pre-emergent early this spring, but maybe not early enough. It was cold late into April and then straight into brutal hot. No spring, really.

I tried spraying crabgrass in my yard, but all it did was change most of it to pretty colors for a short time, and very little of it died. I am trying to be the @wardconnor of TTTF, so I got fed up and spent the better part of 4 hours last Saturday and an additional hour on Sunday picking crabgrass out of my yard. I made sure I was getting the roots, and now have some minor bare dirt spots, but better than crabgrass. I couldn't believe how much I was finding and filled up almost 5 five gallon buckets! Although not something I want to repeat regularly, it was very rewarding and almost therapeutic.

Who else has done this? Did it substantially decrease the amount you had the next year? Chemicals are great and all, but I don't mind hard work. Hopefully this pays off.


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

If your crabgrass was not crabgrass but rather one of several perennial grassy weeds that people often confuse with crabgrass that could explain why it didn't die. You didn't say what you used to kill it. Pre Emergent will prevent new grassy weeds just like crabgrass but the ones that are already there just eat it and say "mmm give me more of that stuff!"

Dallis grass Quack Grass Johnson Grass and many others are sometimes confused with crabgrass even by knowledgeable people. They can be difficult to distinguish.


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## Lambo (May 21, 2018)

Good point. Consider this topic to be retitled, "Grasses/weeds I didn't plant dominated".


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## ken-n-nancy (Jul 25, 2017)

Yes, hand-pulling is a technique that can be very satisfying, and, if one is getting the entire root system of the weed, is almost always immediately, permanently successful.

I do a lot of hand-pulling. Immediate results. Doesn't make the desirable grass look sick.

I'd highly suggest applying a spring pre-emergent next year, though!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

When you applyed the prem this year? Which one? How much?

Could you post pictures of what you pulled?


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## JDgreen18 (Jun 14, 2018)

Damn @Lambo thats too much work for me...I had good results using quinclorac it killed most of it took about 2 weeks tho...so probably wasnt crabgrass as previously mentioned.


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

Those pesky crab grass weeds are a pain in the butt. If they are the grassy weeds that gene spoke of... Even worse


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

Lambo I filled 2 heavy duty gorilla carts with crabgrass my wife and I pulled 2 years ago. It's hasnt been back since other than a few here and there, likely blown in from the neighbors yard that is a "warm season" turf of crabgrass and dandelions.


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

I hand pull if it's about a week or two old and plucking it is about as fast as spot spraying it. Roots are still very shallow at that stage so it easily plucks right out. Hundred percent effective. :nod:

It's absolutely true that a thick stand of tall grass is a fantastic preemergent. What the sun doesn't hit won't germinate. By this time of year, hard not to have a few spots here and there going a little dormant and thinning just enough to give some crabgrass what it needs. If it's not much, hand picking it makes a lot of sense.


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## NoslracNevok (Jun 12, 2018)

While mowing, I've been pulling them as the pop up in my backyard. Luckily I haven't had any in my front lawn. It is immediate satisfaction. <3


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## Lambo (May 21, 2018)

Here is the culprit I pulled a ton of, and, yes, it went into the fire:



Also, this is the stuff I used. It's from a local lawn store called GrasssPad. To its credit, the weed grass was primarily around the perimter, rather than the interior, of my yard. I'll have to check and see if I still have the bag or it's contents. It is granular. Considering using a spray next time.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

That does not look like crabgrass. It might be bermuda.


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## Lambo (May 21, 2018)

Here is another view. Pulled fresh from the edge of my front yard:


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I see hairs near the leaves, but the leaf blades look large and wide. Maybe someone else might give you positive Id. For sure it is not crabgrass.


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## Turfguy93 (Aug 30, 2017)

Large crabgrass aka hairy crabgrass. Maybe


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I don't see the red in these imags like on crabgrass. Maybe it is a new hybrid of weed. The leaf still looks to big for Bermuda.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

The picture posted at 8:37 almost looks to show a different weed than the ones posted at 5:41.

5:41 looks like dallisgrass to me. A seedhead would confirm. I bet @gene_stl could make it positive.


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## bellts02 (Apr 16, 2018)

Lambo said:


> Here is the culprit I pulled a ton of, and, yes, it went into the fire:
> 
> 
> 
> Also, this is the stuff I used. It's from a local lawn store called GrasssPad. To its credit, the weed grass was primarily around the perimter, rather than the interior, of my yard. I'll have to check and see if I still have the bag or it's contents. It is granular. Considering using a spray next time.


I too am high on grass. I bought my seed from grasspad in omaha.


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## Mozart (Jul 17, 2018)

Lambo said:


> Here is another view. Pulled fresh from the edge of my front yard:


Not an expert but looks like goosegrass to me


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## outdoorsmen (Jul 23, 2018)

It looks like it isn't going to grow anymore to me, and thats what counts. I did alot of pulling the first fall i mobed in. I was real wet n rainy and that made the job easier. After i pulled yhe clump i dropped in new seeds. Worked out great.


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

It doesn't look like the dallis I have growing here. It does have a racing stripe and little crenelations on the leaves but it just doesn't look quite right to me. It might be some other _Paspalum _species. The other ones I don't recognize solidly but nimblewill comes to mind. Maybe crabgrass species different from what I have here in St. Louis. Where the clouds opened up today and it will be cooler.


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