Gardening Tip 16: Don't waste your money on crab grass killer
3:21 p.m. Monday, August 25, 2008
The KTKA Community Garden is experiencing what many gardens are this time of year, so we brought in our garden expert to address these concerns.
Dave Jackson is seeing a lot of crab grass, even in his own garden.
"There's good news and bad news here, and that is you are seeing the seed heads now, and they are coming out just as fast as they can right now because the days are going shorter, and the crab grass wants to go to seed," Jackson said.
He urges property owners to mow off the crab grass before the seed matures otherwise the natural process will mean more crab grass next year.
Before you apply more crab grass killer, take a good look at coloration of your crab grass. If some of the stems are starting to turn red that means that the crab grass is nearing the end of its growing cycle. If that's the case, don't spray it. Just keep it short. The crab grass will die in about a month, Jackson said.
Labor Day weekend brings the peak season for seeding your lawn. Mow it to about 1.5" and rake it up before applying seed, he said.
Fall webworm or leaf rollers are plaguing shrubs and trees causing blight in your landscape.
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Whether you are an experienced gardener or a novice, KTKA and Jackson's Greenhouse wants to make it more fulfilling for you.
The worm eats the leaf, killing it.
"About all you can do right now is trim that part off, just take your trimmers and prune the part out, and then this fall -- since it had some activity in terms of being killed -- remember to give your shrubs and your trees a little bit of fertilizer and that will happen in October," Jackson said.
Related content: KTKA Community Garden stories
To contact Jackson, drop by Jackson's Greenhouse, 1933 NW Lower Silver Lake Road, or call (785) 232-3416 or submit your question via our Web site by clicking into the link (above right) that says "submit your garden question here.
Gardening Advice
See other interviews with a representative from Jackson's Greenhouse for more advice on gardening.
- Gardening Tip 24: Arrival of fall means more yard maintenance (October 27, 2008)
- Gardening Tip 23: Attack broadleaf weeds before it's too late (October 20, 2008)
- Gardening Tip 22: Next spring's weeds are making plans for your yard (October 13, 2008)
- Gardening Tip 21: Put your green thumbs to use in October (October 6, 2008)
- Gardening Tip 20: Don't assume flower growing season is over (Sept. 29, 2008)
- Gardening Tip 19: Lawn beautification starts with a simple test (Sept. 22, 2008)
- Gardening Tip 18: Some pure seed bags are not that innocent (Sept. 15, 2008)
- Gardening Tip 17: Got rotting tomatoes? The problem may be more than meets the eye (Sept. 8, 2008)
- Gardening Tip 16: Don't waste your money on crab grass killer (Aug. 25, 2008)
- Gardening Tip 15: Protecting your tomatoes (July 21, 2008)
- Gardening Tip 14: Weeding out grass look-a-likes (July 14, 2008)
- Gardening Tip 13: Combating plant-damaging beetles, bugs (July 7, 2008)
- Gardening Tip 12: Freeze threat over; check for soggy ground before planting (May 10, 2007)
- Gardening Tip 11: Don't get too anxious to start gardening (March 9, 2007)
- Gardening Tip 10: Start caring for your plants before weather warms up (February 8, 2007)
- Gardening Tip 9: Bring outdoors inside during cold weather (Nov. 20, 2006)
- Gardening Tip 8: To preserve your blooms, cover perennials at night (Oct. 12, 2006)
- Gardening Tip 7: Put down lawn seed by second week in October (Sept. 14, 2006)
- Gardening Tip 6: Moisture, fertilizer critical to beautiful lawns (Aug. 24, 2006)
- Gardening Tip 5: Soak your plants weekly (July 13, 2006)
- Gardening Tip 4: Water, fertilizer crucial during summer months (June 9, 2006)
- Gardening Tip 3: Hold off on planting fruits (May 11, 2006)
- Gardening Tip 2: Sow your seeds on Mother's Day (April 13, 2006)
- Spring time is almost here; get your greenthumb out (March 9, 2006)
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