"AJ" wrote in message
m...
Ok, I am a first time homeowner struggling with a serious bout of
crabgrass. I bought my house in November, and when the weather
started getting nice out, I spent a lot of time and money on my lawn
making it look nice, which it did, until about late May, when
crabgrass just overtook about 80% of my front yard and 60% of my
backyard.

This occured about 1-2 weeks AFTER I used Scott's Lawn Builder with
crabgrass preventer on it.

Did I not use the crabgrass preventer early enough? Most
documentation says that it should be used in early May. It mid-May
too late?


Well, it was too late if the crabgrass had already germinated.
The strategy is for the crabgrass preventer to be applied prior to the
soil temperature reaching 62 degrees F. at which point the crabgrass
seeds germinate.

Forsythia shrubs (bright yellow blooms) in your neighborhood will
indicate when to apply a pre-emergence herbicide for crabgrass control.
Typically, from the time the Forsythia starts to bloom 'til two weeks after
their blooms begin to fall is a good window of opportunity to get the
crabgrass preventer down.