I have seen MSMA in stores like Lowes, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, local farm supply stores, WalMart, and even Albertson's. You may need a herbicide with 2-4D in it or a combination of 2-4 D and MSMA. Sometimes it's just called crabgrass killer. Herbicide companies try hard to disguise their products by calling them by there own made-up Brand Names. I always read the ingredient labels. Go somewhere that has a good selection of herbicides and read the ingredients, and instructions to find out what they are used for and what grasses are not affected. You can educate yourself this way. Research herbicides on the internet. There is a lot of information out there on the subject.

Hello folks. This is my first post, but I have found your comments in all the other forums helpful to a novice such as myself. I have a serious problem with my soil. Take in mind I don't own the property but would like a nice green lawn. The ground is hard as concrete and even after I have tilled it to a depth of approx. 10" the landlord was able to (easily) drive through it with his truck w/o getting mired up. I have put lime, Scotts starter fertilizer and Milorganite (sp?) on it and let it set for a couple of weeks to let it blend in. I have Scott's Tall Fescue (supposedly self repairing) and some clover I intend to put down with it. In addiction, there are seriously sunny spots and seriously shady spots. The sunny dries out very fast and leaves the ground hard so the seed (I planted in sections) doesn't come up or dies shortly thereafter) and an ugly green fungus or moss invades the shady spot. Is there an aerator product that someone can suggest (that is reasonably priced) that will help with the hard soil and the moss in the moist (shady) areas? Thank you for your comments and help. Harry

I'm just a novice with only 8 months experience, but crabgrass is one weed I almost never pull. Being an annual, it will die on its own after dropping thousands of seeds in late summer / early fall. So instead of pulling it, what I like doing is spraying the tops of crabgrass patches with 5 percent white distilled vinegar. The vinegar will destroy the seedheads and, I think I've found in almost all cases, will prevent the seed heads from returning for the rest of the season. But keep an eye on it to be sure. I was able to get rid of a big 5-foot by 2-foot patch of crabgrass exactly that way, and smaller patches too. As the weeks passed, I then noticed healthy grass growing in those ground areas where the once-vibrant crabgrass had initially shaded over; the crabgrass patches were receding in a big way. I had tried pulling and mowing crabgrass seedheads, only to see the seedheads re-grow after a short amount of time. The vinegar did the permanent trick though. I didn't see re-growth of seedheads after spraying with vinegar. Even a single crabgrass plant occupies a large amount of space in the soil, so if you pull the plant, all you're left with is bare soil. Bare soil is a blessing for every other weed seed species that's occupying that spot of soil--and it amazed me to see how many tons of dormant weed seeds are lurking in every inch of bare soil--they're just waiting for the sun to smile on them - Lol And some of them are far worse than crabgrass. I think it's better to have crabgrass to deal with than the perennial warm-season quack grass, or the annual cool-season henbit. Much harder to reign in those weeds I think. And they *love* bare soil.

Again, if I misread something, just correct me. Now my left eye's a little bleary too, but, well, the dahlia won't plant themselves and there were twelve flats to be hauled out to harden off... Corn can go any time the soil's not cold, so no limitations on that! If you're looking to apply pre-em, it's warm enough, so whenever convenient is great. Alfalfa isn't recommended for monthly usage on northern lawns (the growth hormones, paradoxically, make the roots stop growing when overapplied). Ten pounds per month, sure. More than that, no. Plus alfalfa isn't a very good feeding at roughly 2-1-2 equivalent as a fertilizer. I usually recommend soybean meal instead (7-1-2). Apply that at 15 pounds per thousand square feet in May, August, September, and October and that alone provides sufficient protein (and consequently nitrogen) to keep the lawn healthy. Milorganite at 20 pounds per thousand is a good substitute if you can't get soybean. Other months, you can always put down corn if you like. Alfalfa can go in April and September (doubling up with the soy isn't a problem). Proper mowing and watering are, as you found out, critical. :-) It sounds like you're on the right track there. Bentgrass: Reduce the stress on yourself and spray it with Round Up. Spray again 2 weeks later even if it seems to be dead. Then let your lawn spread back in, or reseed in late summer if it's primarily fescue. If you'd rather not use Round Up, Tenacity will also take out bentgrass. Two sprays will probably be required, and the Tenacity also provides about a month of pre-emergent protection from bentgrass sprout as well, which will give your lawn time to spread. In the area around the kill, double the organic feeding. That'll accelerate lawn spreading there.