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KBG seedling, Crabgrass & Drive75 – Pictures

5K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  ChiTownAmateur 
#1 ·
I over seeded my 1 acre Kokomo, IN lawn with Cisco Premium Sod blend of KBG on April 3rd & followed up with Cisco “Executive Sun Mix” 60% Rye & 40% KGB mix to fill in the bare spots on May 15th.

The KBG in the “Sun Mix” started to germinate June 1st.

The newly seeded areas of my lawn are being overrun with crabgrass at an alarming rate.

The label on the Drive75 container indicates that KBG / Rye seedling should be 28 days old before Drive 75 is applied.

Check out these pictures of the crabgrass taking over my new KBG lawn:
I do not think I can wait until July 4th weekend because the crabgrass is so prevalent.

It is my understanding that if your lawn has >50% weeds then spray it with roundup & go back to square one.

My plan is to spot spray a mist on the solid crabgrass with Drive75 & hope it does not kill the KBG seedling.

Has anyone used Drive 75 on 14 day old KBG seedling?

What type of results did you get?

Any advice will be much appreciated!

Thanks!
Andy

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#4 ·
you did a nice job with that plot, you posted pictures a few weeks ago which showed a lot of bare areas

the question i have is what will you do with the crabgrass infested areas? If you plan to kill the crabgrass and seed again...will you use a crabgrass preventer this time?

or do you plan to kill the crabgrass and then just let the existing lawn spread and fill in until fall? you could plant some quick growing rye grass in that space for coverage and then aerate and overseed those areas with the nicer kbg in fall

what's your plan with those areas once the crabgrass is gone?
 
#5 ·
Spray the Drive--you have waited long enough--28 days after emergence--maybe the label directions are very conservative. But you might consider spraying a small area today--give it about 4 days to see how bad the Drive injures your good grass--then decide. Possibly 2 or three light applications will work better. Be sure to include a good spreader-sticker or crop oil concentrate as suggested by directions. Remember--most of the grass you have is probably ryegrass. Msma can also be used for emerged crabgrass, but its even tougher on new grass I suspect. Mix them together? You are in unknown territory--completely!
You can if you wish--hand weed, cut the plants off at the soil line with a serrated steak knife. The roots do not sprout (I don't think). Keyhole saw or tree saw also work well.

Bear in mind, the crabgrass will be ugly, and you can spray the Drive a little later, but it stops growing when temp drops to 40 at night. Seed through the crabgrass at that time and the seed sprouts through the crabgrass and fills in as the crab dies in the fall. Add extra fertilizer applications in the fall to build thickness. Be sure to apply 2 crabgrass applications in the spring. Be sure to use the maximum permitted rate.
 
#6 ·
These pics are 4 days after spraying Spectracide Weed Stop for Lawns plus crabgrass killer.

The major ingredients are:
2,4-D - 3.74% Very popular weed control Chemical

Quinclorac - 1.79% Preferred chemical for crabgrass

dicamber - .43% Very popular weed control Chemical

Sulfentazone - .22% Spectracide specific weed control Chemical

Other - 93.82%

I wanted to apply Drive, which is also called Quinclorac, but I had to make a 76 mi rounds trip to purchase it.

I could not wait until the weekend to get the Drive / Quinclorac because the weeds were taking over my lawn.

Thus, I studied all the Post Emergence Chemicals at the local big box store & focused only on the ones that included Quinclorac because my research indicates it is the preferred chemical for crabgrass.

1. The crabgrass in some areas is turning brown.
2. The crabgrass in other areas is showing no effect
3. Zero to very minor damage to the new KBG seedling germinated April.

I mixed Spectracide per the instruction on the pkg & applied it with a hand sprayer.

I sprayed only the crabgrass infected areas because of the age of the new seedling.

Rain prevented additional post emergence Crabgrass control be applied today.

I will plan to post pic weekly so everyone who is interest can see the reaction of Quinclorac on crabgrass & the effect on KBG seedling.

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#7 ·
When you got crabgrass like that the post mergents will work but not like they would on a standard weed. The blades turning red is when you can tell it is working. Whatever you do DO NOT spray again you WILL kill the grass.

Just might have to wait til fall when frost comes and it dies out and then get it noce and thick so it does not come back again.

Crabgrass is some nasty stuff and it is hard to get rid of.
 
#9 ·
I know this isnt the answer you want, but chill out a lil bit. Don't be such a slave to that grass. Killing crabgrass is NOT as easy as the labels would make you think. That crabrass will be a nice insulator for all the new seed during the summer. And no..it wont kill the bluegrass at all. It will just prevent the KBG from becomming dense. You would be better off spending 30 minutes and picking it if it bothers you that much. Just like your last post.(which by the way..nice improvement!) way too much thought going into a simple and easy process.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I know this isnt the answer you want, but chill out a lil bit. Don't be such a slave to that grass. Killing crabgrass is NOT as easy as the labels would make you think. That crabrass will be a nice insulator for all the new seed during the summer. And no..it wont kill the bluegrass at all. It will just prevent the KBG from becomming dense. You would be better off spending 30 minutes and picking it if it bothers you that much. Just like your last post.(which by the way..nice improvement!) way too much thought going into a simple and easy process.
Excellent advice imo.

As a amateur I have quickly learned myself that in each season there are things you can do to greatly improve a lawn.

The key word being "improve". You canot control it completely and you cannot make it perfect in one season. It's a gradual and fun process and one where simply following the steps each season is more important than anything else.

Remember also that KBG is a very slow to establish grass, not just germinate. It takes quite a while for the tiny seedling to mature into a full size grass plant. The blades will get much taller and wider, and will have several blades off each plant soon enough. Getting the rooting established is your ONLY priority now, you want to keep what you've got!
 
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