RE: crabgrass in lawns, was hollyhocks/pest control

I have heard that suggestion before, and it is a good one.  Our problem --
and it is embarrassing to admit -- but we are really crummy about mowing the
lawn, so ours often gets much longer than that and the grass then lies down,
which is probably the equivalent of mowing it short.  Oh well.  I guess one
way or the other, I'm going to have to work a little harder!
 ----------
From: margaret lauterbach
To: perennials@mallorn.com
Subject: crabgrass in lawns, was hollyhocks/pest control
Date: Monday, January 25, 1999 4:35PM

At 03:58 PM 1/25/99 -0500, you wrote:
>I agree completely about pesticides.  What I sink to, occasionally, is
>weed-killers for our lawn.  I just don't seem able to get rid of crabgrass
>without it, and then it gets into the garden.  Any suggestions about how to
>avoid herbicides?

A couple of years ago, Kay Klier Lancaster suggested that setting your
lawnmower to 3 inches cutting height would shade out or choke out
crabgrass.  We set our lawnmower to cut that high from the first mowing in
the spring through the last fall mowing.  We have had no crabgrass in our
lawn the past two years, although it's all over the veggie garden scant
feet away.  I know the seeds are in the lawn, we must bring them on our
shoes, but they have not taken root or shown themselves.  We do get some
dandelions, black medic and herbs such as borage and caraway taking root in
that lawn, but no crabgrass.  It's easy, cheap, effective and non-toxic.  I
highly recommend this solution.  Margaret L

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