Trust Me, It's Not Crabgrass

Poa annua, or annual bluegrass, appears bright green
with a white seed head

Think you have crabgrass in your lawn? Let me be blunt: you're wrong. Here in the Pacific
Northwest, crabgrass is rarely a significant problem in lawns; in fact, even when it is you won't notice it showing up until summer heat sets in. The fact is, if you think you have crabgrass in your lawn during the cooler spring months, it's not crabgrass at all. It's poa.

Somewhere back in lawn care history, someone thought they'd sound smart if they walked into a nursery and asked for a weed killer that would take care of crabgrass in their lawn. It's the gardening equivalent of walking into your doctor's office with the wealth of knowledge you found on WebMD. You'll sound smart, but the diagnosis is way off.

Don't fault yourself, though--for better or worse, the term "crabgrass" has come to be used among gardeners today to describe a broad range of grassy weeds. The fact of the matter is, however, that the grassy weed you're probably fighting in March, April and May is a different beast altogether, and it's called poa annua, or annual bluegrass.

Poa is a cool-season grass, meaning it typically goes dormant during the heat of summer. This time of year, though, it's rampant in spreading through our lawns. You'll notice poa by the lighter green color of its foliage, a slightly broader blade than typical lawn grass, and a bright white seed head that appears while the grass is still short.

It's that aspect--a seed head at a very low height--that allows poa to spread so readily. Even mowing your grass short will often miss most of the seed heads, and it regenerates so quickly that it will often go to seed just a few days after mowing.

So, now that you know it's not crabgrass, what steps can you take to eliminate it from your lawn? Sadly, to date there's no total cure; since poa is so genetically similar to lawn grasses, most weed killers that outright kill poa would also kill your lawn.

The best method to eradicate poa is prevention. Since poa is considered an annual grass, it won't be a permanent part of your lawn (typically, a poa "plant" only lasts for a year or two before dying). If you can break the life cycle of it reseeding itself, you'll have a good chance of eventually eliminating it from the lawn.

At Vander Giessen's, we've found a couple of very good pre-emergent (preventative) weed killers that are effective in prevention. Both Scotts Halts Crabgrass Preventer and Bonide Crabgrass & Weed Preventer are effective in prevention of poa (I know, they both have crabgrass in the name, but we're still talking poa!). Apply either of these granular products to your lawn in spring and fall to cover the cooler growing season.

A new product that Bonide has just introduced shows a lot of promise in preventing poa from growing, and it offers some help in killing young poa plants in your lawn. Bonide Crabgrass Plus is both a pre-emergent (meaning it kills weed seeds before they sprout) and post-emergent weed killer, but only for young plants. Keep in mind that this product will not kill larger, established areas of poa, but it will prevent it from spreading and kill recently-sprouted patches of poa. If you choose to use Crabgrass Plus, you don't need to use either of the others I've mentioned.

Next time you're ready to get advice on how to deal with the weeds in your lawn, be bold in asking for help, because now you know at least one of the weeds you're dealing with...and trust me, it's not crabgrass!

Four Tips for a Better Vegetable Garden

Shady areas in the garden? Plant lettuces
and spinach and watch them thrive!

With this year’s mild winter, our gardening season in the Pacific Northwest has gotten off to a much earlier start than normal. From lawns that needed a good mowing weeks ago to fields of tulips in bloom well before the height of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, signs of an early spring have been plentiful. As you prepare to plant your vegetable garden this year, here are four tips for a more productive, rewarding garden.

1. Give each plant in your garden the sun exposure it needs. Now, with adequate water, most vegetables will produce best in full sun. The breadbasket of California’s Central Valley wasn’t born from its abundance of shade! However, if your garden space doesn’t have full sun, understand that plants grown for their roots or fruits need sun; those grown for their leaves will do well even in some shade. So, as you decide what to plant where, keep your peppers, tomatoes, beans and carrots in the sun and let the lettuce and spinach grow in the shadier areas. 

2. Know what plants to grow next to each other. Browse blogs and you’ll find lists of plants that aren’t “compatible” in the garden. Here’s a little secret: I’ve broken several of those rules (mostly unknowingly) and my garden grows just fine. If your garden lays out best with beans next to onions, don’t sweat it—you won’t end up with toxic onions or shriveled beans. 

What I’m referring to, rather, is this: give each plant the space it needs to produce. Tomatoes are notorious space hogs in a small garden. Realizing this, I’ve found it best to plant early-season crops like broccoli and cauliflower next to my tomatoes. By the time the tomato plants are big enough to infringe on the broccoli, I’ve harvested my crop of broccoli and made room for the tomatoes to grow. 

3. Don’t expect an abundant harvest without providing abundant nutrients. Having seen the 

results in my own garden and those of many pleased fellow gardeners, I’m a big fan of mushroom compost for vegetable gardens. Spread a layer evenly over the entire garden at the beginning of the season and spade or rototill it through the soil before you plant. Then watch your garden grow! The aged chicken manure in mushroom compost will get your tomatoes growing like nothing else can. At Vander Giessen's, we carry mushroom compost in bulk--bring your pickup or trailer and we'll fill it up!--and aged chicken manure in bags.

Sevin dust is a safe,
effective way to
ensure bug-free produce
from the garden

4. Realize that you’re not the only one looking forward to a rich harvest from your garden in the year to come—bugs are too. While you can somewhat successfully deal with bugs after you find them munching on your rose bushes, nobody wants to deal with bugs in the vegetable garden after the fact (spinach à la aphids, anyone?), so deal with insects in the garden preventatively.

Each year when I plant my garden, I treat it with Sevin insect dust. This insecticide is safe to use on vegetable gardens and is effective in preventing and controlling insect populations. If you prefer an organic option, Captain Jack’s Deadbug dust or liquid is a great alternative made from a naturally-occurring bacteria shown to kill many common insects. At Vander Giessen's, we carry both Sevin and Captain Jack's, in dust form and liquid sprays.   

Given the great weather we’re enjoying this year, now is the time to start planting your garden, particularly cool-season vegetables like lettuces, peas, onions, carrots, potatoes and broccoli. By early May, we should see warm enough temperatures to move into the rest of the planting season with tomatoes, peppers, and squash, among others. 

 

Make the most of your garden this year and stop in at the nursery--we're fully stocked with compost, seeds, vegetable starts and the knowledge you need for a successful growing season ahead!