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Caring for Newly Seeded Lawn over Winter

7 years ago

Hi, I recently did a complete kill and reseed on my front lawn. I waited till about October 1st since I was hoping the ground would have cooled off enough to reduce warm weather weed germination and was just about perfect for tall fescue germination here in Maryland IMO. It's really looking beautiful at the moment save a few bare spots that I filled in or overseeded this past weekend. Question is regarding caring for this over winter and into spring. I WISH I only had crabgrass problems here. The bigger issue is goosegrass (which everyone around here confuses with crabgrass). This stuff is perennial so there's no, "well, if it pops up and you care for your lawn correctly it will get choked out." Nope, it does not, and MD Extension essentially says Round Up is needed for it. So, what can I do as far as weed and feed and preemergents between now and my feared goosegrass apocalypse in the spring?

When would be a safe time to start using these products? I know the Scott's brand weed and feeds typically say, "wait until you have mowed it 4 times". I do not anticipate mowing it for the fourth time until early June, long after 99% of the weeds have germinated, and it's hard for me to believe I have to wait 8 months before doing anything. I am not married to Scott's so any suggestions are welcome. One last thing. I really am not concerned about clover, dandelions and things like that that I can kill and control later, it's really just goosegrass and similar perennials that are tough to kill post-emergence that cause me any concern.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Featured Answer

User

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

You should be doing the first mow shortly and the second one a week after. If you didn't apply fertilizer at seeding you need to do so, they need to develop properly to survive summer. By day 60 after germination you should have mowed 4-5 times.

Use a pre-emergent as described here in spring (since it's perennial, this will not affect already established goosegrass, see below for post control):

http://lawniac.com/conquering-crabgrass-and-annual-weeds

Use the method described here for post-emergent control( yes, I know it says Bermuda, same combo is used for goosegrass):

http://lawniac.com/eliminating-bermuda-from-your-lawn

Multiple treatments may be needed to achieve control. Avoid spraying fluazifop in hot weather, it will wipe out the fescue as well.

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Comments (6)

reeljake
7 years ago
When all else fails, 10 seconds with a shovel can make weeds disappear quite well
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The biggest mistake made was roto-tilling the area, but you can't change that now. The reason you are seeing germination in those particular areas is because those are the low areas that hold more water, thus they are going to germinate more quickly. As you continue to water each day, you should see more germination and more areas will fill in. Be patient.
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owlnsr
7 years ago
Goosegrass is a summer annual grassy weed. It will die around the same time as crabgrass. Don't stress it. Just use a pre-em in the spring and you'll be all set next year.
towsonite
Original Author
7 years ago
I believe I must have confused the name. I'm assuming it was actually quackgrass I must have. Whatever it is, it certainly is perennial. I Round-up'ed the heck out of the lawn for about 6 weeks prior, so hopefully whatever anything was there is now dead down into the rhizomes, but we'll see.
towsonite
Original Author
7 years ago
I know pre-emergents are generally applied in the early spring, but is there any benefit to applying it this fall? If so, is there a particular type that's safe for a lawn with seedlings? I would obviously not want anything with a weed killer, but I was not sure if pre-emergents are safe for a new lawn once I'm satisfied all of the seeds are up.
C&N
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
No benefit, not in MD, any weeds that may sprout up will be killed off quickly with the first frost. Use a pre emergent very early next year, say even before spring as you want to kill the seeds BEFORE they germinate. With our temps around here, if you put it down in April it is likely too late for some weed varieties. Early March or even end of February is a good time in MD esp if you are using a pre emergent that has some staying power eg will kill for 2 or 3 months+

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