Also, bag (with mower) before the mother plant drops seed, usually in Feb,
Mothers Day and by Aug 10th here in Richmond,Va. Ohio might not be too far
behind that. Remember...If you see the crabgrass, its too late for pre-em..
Apply it in early Spring, then pay attention around Mothers day and see if
it is coming up again, if so, bag till dead again, and re-apply pre-em only
(not with fertilizer) again in the end of July.. Then watch your neighbors
cut their grass and blow their crap into your pretty yard...Fun I reckon.. I
usually wait until they cut, then I cut and blow it all back...Really, mine
is fantastic green and virtually weed free and theirs is patchy brown like
card board, and I think Ortho.com got all their weed pics in their weed
finder section from their yards...
Its not rocket science, just the right timing..Have fun with it!

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 30 Aug 2005 13:10:35 -0400, "K. Kly" wrote:

Just trying to get the lawn here in NW Ohio in better condintion.

The lawn has various bare spots and lots of crabgrass. The bare spots are
not big enough for sod - so I am thinking some type of patching mix might
be
best. And there are a bunch of areas too. Is it possible to attack both
problems at one time? I know I need to apply a pre-emergent in the spring
for the crabgrass, but will I be able to grow grass at the same time? I
could start trying to patch this fall, but it's so mixed in w/crabgrass
that
it seems like I will have bare spots in the spring regardless where the
crabgrass is heavy. Any suggestions on the best way to go about this
project?

Thanks!


Crabgrass likes sunny bare areas and grows as an annual. What you
need to do now is prevent it from seeding--the seeds can live dormant
for 10 years. Also pull out (by hand) what crabgass you see. In the
bare spots prep the soil with compost and add lime if your pH is below
6.8. Seed these areas heavily and overseed the entire lawn (after
mowing close). Apply starter fertilizer. Protect the bare areas with
straw and keep moist. Use high quality seed. Next spring your lawn
will be thicker and shade out most of the crabgrass. Use a
pre-emergence next spring, wait 90 days, and apply again. Overseed
again next year as directed above. A nice lawn takes time.