We just got thru rehabbing a horribly neglected lawn (not that I like a lawn and soon
there will be less lawn) but it is at our rental property. big bald spots and more
weeds than grass. We made a mistake in using pre-emergent. dont.
start with weed and feed, watering every day or every other day. cut the grass.
then after a couple weeks overseed with good fresh grass seed. at least up here in
zone 5 the temp is ideal right now. we just reseeded. Ingrid

zxcvbob wrote:

wrote:
I'm about to replace a my girlfriend's lawn that's heavily infested
with crabgrass.

What's the best approach to doing this? Some of the different
suggestions I've received are as follows:

- Spray the lawn as it is (without digging it up first) with
preemergent and then cover it with a tarp for several weeks before
digging it up
- Remove the top layer of grass before spraying it
- Not spraying it at all

I guess I have two basic questions - do I really need to take off the
top layer of dead grass before spraying it and do I really need to tarp
it after spraying it? Any and all suggestions will be helpful.

Christopher

P.S. I live in Northern California if that makes a difference.



Crabgrass is an annual. Just keep it mowed this year and put up with
it. Next spring, apply a preemergent herbicide to kill the seedlings.
(I've never used a preemerge herbicide before, but I have one little
strip of lawn next to my driveway where I'm going to try it next year.)

If the crabgrass has totally taken over, that's a sign that the lawn is
not healthy. You may be cutting it too short or not watering properly, etc.

Best regards,
Bob



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