Home Garden
# Home & Garden >> Garden & Lawn >> Growing Grass

When to Put Down Crabgrass

Crabgrass, the bane of homeowners who painstakingly care for their lawns, provides an effective temporary forage crop during the summer. The most commonly cultivated species is large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis), also known as digitgrass for its flower branches that resemble fingers. Large crabgrass spreads by roots, produced when the nodes touch the soil. Because it readily reseeds itself, it’s the gift that keeps on giving when grown as forage.

  1. About Crabgrass

    • Crabgrass is annual grass that most gardeners are familiar with for its annoying habit of reseeding itself and popping up every year. When grown as a forage crop, though, reseeding is desirable. It provides a quality of forage that is better than many summer grasses, according to agronomists with the University of Florida. In fact, daily gains of yearlings grazing on crabgrass averaged a half to 1 lb. more than those grazing on bahiagrass or other summer grasses.

    Timing and Preparation

    • Plan on getting the crabgrass planted immediately after the last frost. The ideal soil temperature for germination is 58 degrees Fahrenheit. Amend the planting area, if needed, to create a well-drained bed. Add lime to the soil, according to the results of a soil analysis. The key to success when growing crabgrass is soil moisture -- the seeds germinate quicker when the soil is consistently moist. According to agronomists with the University of Florida, crabgrass seeds in moist soil might germinate within days and reach a height of 6 inches within 30 days of planting.

    Planting

    • After preparing the soil, it’s important to firm up the bed. To germinate quickly, the crabgrass seed needs to remain in the top half inch of soil. Seeding rates vary, depending on what you hope to achieve and your time frame. Adequate coverage is obtained with 2 lbs. of live seed per acre. Agronomists with the University of Florida suggest that you’ll get quicker coverage if you plant 3 to 5 lbs. per acre. Mix the crabgrass seed with starter fertilizer, at half the rate listed on the label, and sow immediately after combining the two.

    Care

    • Wait until the top of the soil is dry and the seedlings reach 6 inches in height to fertilize with nitrogen. Over the course of the season, apply a total of 120 to 200 lbs. of nitrogen per acre, split into three applications, before mid-August. Remove the animals in fall to allow the crabgrass to set seed and reseed for the following season. Allow the animals to graze again when the crabgrass is no more than 12 inches high.

Previous:

Next:

Growing Grass
  1. When to Put Down Pre-Emergence Treatment for Crabgrass in Zone 7
  2. When Can I Put Lime on My Yard?
  3. When Can You Put Hyacinths Outside?
  4. How to Pull up Weeds & Put Down Top Soil & Seeds
  5. When Should I Lime Fescue?
  6. How to Put Down Fungicide on Grass
  7. Should You Put Lime Down Before Sod If the pH Is High?
  8. When Is a Good Time to Sod?
  9. When to Sow Grass Seed?
  10. When to Water New Sod?
  11. Do I Need to Add Soil Nutrients When I Put Down Sod?
  12. When Should You Put Down a High Potassium Fertilizer in Georgia?

Home Garden © https://www.98905.com