crab grass coming up

I have a 4 x 8 SFG that crab grass is beginning to poke up through the weed barrier and out of the mm. It isn't a lot right now, but then its been so cold I don't think it's growing very fast yet and I'm worried that once warm weather hits, so will the crab grass... Right into my bed! My first plan was to dismantle the entire bed and dig out the crab grass. Before I do that, I wonder if anyone else has this problem and if there is an easier solution.

My hopes for this bed is to put strawberries in it this year.

Also, is there a weed barrier out there that crab grass will not grow through?

Oh dear, I am sorry to hear this, it's such a hassle.
This is the reason I took up the sod before I placed my beds. Maybe another member will have some good advice for you. Good luck!!

jbh29 wrote:I have a 4 x 8 SFG that crab grass is beginning to poke up through the weed barrier and out of the mm. It isn't a lot right now, but then its been so cold I don't think it's growing very fast yet and I'm worried that once warm weather hits, so will the crab grass... Right into my bed! My first plan was to dismantle the entire bed and dig out the crab grass. Before I do that, I wonder if anyone else has this problem and if there is an easier solution.

My hopes for this bed is to put strawberries in it this year.

Also, is there a weed barrier out there that crab grass will not grow through?

I am wondering if there is hole in your weed barrier or whether the weed fabric came in a 3 foot length and you had to piece it together... perhaps this particular bit of crabgrass entered through one of these openings.

If it were me I would empty the square where the leaves of crabgrass came through, put in some more landscape fabric, and then place a piece of heavy corrugated cardboard over the opening to prevent any more of the rascals from finding their way into the garden.

Otherwise, I would think the weed barrier should work as intended. IF nothing is planted there, dig down and find out how it came through... it could be something as simple as a stick or rock poked a hole into the fabric allowing the crabgrass to make it up. I would think the crabgrass should be smothered by lack of sunlight in short order otherwise.

(of course some joker could have put some crabgrass into the mel's mix just to mess with you)


Mark

When we put the beds in place, I did debate weather or not to dig down and try to remove the crab grass. But I decided to try letting the weed barrier do it's thing. I did dig down and the darn grass actually grows through it.

I've also entertained the idea of using a little weed spray just on the blades of grass that make it up to daylight. I don't really like that option, but I'm not excited about the time and work to dig everything up either. I don't know much about weed sprays. If I can carefully apply it only to the crab grass renegades, do you think that would work?

Don't take offense to this, but it's NOT crabgrass this early in the season. We don't get the first sprigs of crabgrass down here until late May. You need daytime temps in the upper 80s and overnight temps in the upper 60s...consistently...before the stuff will even sprout.

You may have something else, though. Please try and get me a pic, and I can better help solve the issue once it's properly identified.

You'll have to work harder than that to offend me. I'm certainly no expert, I don't have a pic right now, but to describe it, the one coming up in my SFG is a single shoot coming up from under the weed cloth. No other roots shooting off. The shoot is rather thick, maybe as thick as a pencil lead. Outside the bed, I have already seen what I thought is crab grass. It started showing itself a couple weeks ago when we had a few days in the 70s. That patch, the roots are LONG and I usually dig it up with a pitch fork like tool (I don't know what it's called ) so I don't actually cut the roots, just loosen them and I can sift through the sand and get all the shoots. It reminds me a lot of bermuda grass I battled when we lived out in WA state. It's the same type of creepy crawly grass. Is there another variety besides 'crab' that it might be?

I'll get a pic tomorrow.

If it grows by spreading or crawling, you are in for some work. That stuff seems to come out of nowhere. Bermuda is the biggest bully of the bunch, but all types are tough to erradicate without getting other grasses/plants you want to keep.

If it has a "tap root" that is "long," you can likely get it with any broadleaf based weed killer. But, you have to be super careful around your veggies because any windblown spray will nuke the baby plants. None of the stuff is harmful to soil, and it doesn't stick around long. It kills by going through the leaves down the root systems.

As always the best solution is to just dig it up. But, if it's nutsedge (another hot weather plant like crabgrass that isn't around yet), it will self-divide like a daffodil bulb and naturalize. Nutsedge, or nut grass, has a single shoot that goes straight up and gets tall quickly. When you pull it, it seems to come out really easy, but you never seem to get the root. When you roll it between your fingers, you can literally feel a triangular shape with firm edges/sides.

The reason I mention crabgrass and nutsedge is because they are so stubborn, you need a more powerful, specific chemical to get them efficiently. When trying to control weeds/grasses, the best method is to dig them up. If you can't or it's too time-consuming, you need to use chemicals. If you use chemicals, you need to do your best to get them in one shot. The more you have to repeat applications, the more you risk any of the bad side-effects.....like wind spray and soil contamination.

I hope that helps a little. If you have any other questions, or can get a picture, feel free to ask away. We'll get those little suckers.