Sunday, July 12, 2015

Crabgrass

First, the name makes no sense: it’s not a crab and not really grass either. What it is, is annoying for anyone trying to grow a nice lawn. It should be called Annoying Grass.

I’ve lived in my current house for 16 years and up until last summer hadn’t had much of a problem with crabgrass. Then, almost overnight, I noticed my “pristine” lawn was being overrun by the stuff.

I did some studying up on the weed and every place I looked said basically, the same thing: Don’t pull it. Pulling it will only re-seed the “grass” for next year. The best approach, the articles claimed, was to wait for the germination period the following spring and try to kill the crabgrass with an herbicide. If applied at the right time the weed killer/preventer will eliminate some of it but it was not effective once the crabgrass had started to grow. And, it further stated, once the grass reached about thirty percent of the lawn, you might as well take out everything and start over. Well that sounded promising, or not.

Since I’m stubborn, I decided I would pull it despite the warnings. My lawn was at thirty percent or better but I was convinced I could win this so-called unwinnable war. I started pulling. And pulling. By the end of the summer, I had big dirt patches in my lawn. But... No Crabgrass! Well, none that was visible anyway.

This last spring, I went to the store looking for a weed preventer. Something to kill all the little seeds I’d planted by pulling the Crabgrass. Instead, I found a product that claimed it would kill adult Crabgrass—along with preventing new growth. It also said it would eliminate all other types of weeds like; Dandelions and such, all without harming the real grass in the yard. I was a bit skeptical. And at twenty-five dollars, it was a little expensive—about twice what a normal weed and feed product would cost to do my lawn—but, I splurged. And then I started spraying.

I re-sprayed every few days. It took a few weeks to see any results. But as we got further into spring, I noticed there were absolutely no weeds in my lawn. Then, the start of the growing season for Crabgrass came with no sign of the Annoying Weed. I decided the stuff had worked. This is the best my lawn has looked in years!

I have noticed a few little sprigs sprouting up here and there. I pull them the moment I see them. Don’t need any more of that stuff. Or any other weeds: Dandelions, Milkweeds, Foxtails, clover, or thistles, which I’ve decided should all be called Crabgrass. They all ruin my grass and make me crabby. ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook and paperback on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords, or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. Amazon Profile - http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.


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