Re: crabgrass in lawns, was hollyhocks/pest control
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: crabgrass in lawns, was hollyhocks/pest control
- From: M*@aol.com
- Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 20:36:25 EST
In a message dated 1/25/99 3:54:49 PM Central Standard Time, mlaute@micron.net
writes:
<< We have had no crabgrass in our
lawn the past two years, although it's all over the veggie garden scant >>
I just want to add a side bare to the crabgrass story line.
The seed for this plant can stay viable on/in the soil for 20 years.
They need light to germinate so if you had grab grass and it's gone to seed,
you can still get grab grass after 10-15 years if the area is disturbed again.
When I moved into my House it was all crab grass-The finches would circle the
yard in the fall by the fifties and then drop down in the crab grass to feed
on 1/'4" deep layer of seeds.
The next to years were a lot of work to take control back- I had to water
every two weeks, fertilize every four weeks and I put down preemergant
herbicide.
I hate watering grass-waist of time and effort, so my grass is hardy and deep
rooted and still green when every one else's is brown. So all the watering
was a chore.
Crabgrass
likes infertile open soils-so if you can make to soil rich -- that weakens
the plants, (Then you can rake they out as they grow or pull them) and if you
make the grass thick -- the seeds will not germinate and you can wait out the
20-30 years it might take to kill the seeds already in the ground.
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