What is so good about crabgrass?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

September 27, 2001

Sponsored By: Gardens Alive!—>Click here.

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

Suggested Reading—>Click here.

Killer Savings Nursery Links—>Click here.

Killer Picks: Sta-Home™ Lady Beetles, Grub-Away® Nematodes, Attack Squad—>Click here.

Original WOW!® Pre-Emergence Weed Control, Turf Alive!® Brand grass seed—>Click here.

Crabgrass (Digitaria ciliaris and other species) [dij i tare' ee a sil i air' is] is a weed; at least that is what we have been taught. But crabgrass is a pioneer species, one of the hardy souls of the plant kingdom that make other life possible. It is doing its job, moving in where the earth has been damaged, changing the soil, and going away when other plants can survive on the repaired ground.

The Charred Remains of a Controlled Fire in a Clear Cut Logging Area

Crabgrass seeds are everywhere waiting for the opportunity to live. When fires, floods, or bulldozers destroy natural ecosystems, crabgrass seeds germinate.
The Charred Remains of a Controlled Fire in a Clear Cut Logging Area
Photographic Print James P. Blair View Larger
Buy Photographic Print at AllPosters.com

Crabgrass seeds are everywhere waiting for the opportunity to live. When fires, floods, or bulldozers destroy natural ecosystems, crabgrass seeds germinate. Crabgrass sends down deep roots. As the culms (grass stems) lengthen, they lay out flat to the ground, and the plant resembles a crab. The culms tiller (root at the joints) and a single crabgrass plant can colonize several square feet of bare ground.

Crabgrass prefers to grow alone. It releases an allelopathic (inhibitory) chemical from its roots that prevents other seeds from germinating. Crabgrass even puts its own seeds on hold, insuring that they will not germinate until the parent is gone. It does not grow well in shade, so this chemical stops other plants from stealing the sunlight.

When crabgrass dies, the chemical breaks down and other plants are able to grow in its place. The roots of the crabgrass have loosened the dirt. As bacteria and fungi decompose the roots, they add organic material amending the soil. Remarkably, crabgrass is even able to grow on land contaminated by oil spills.

The University of California-Davis site has a photograph of crabgrass. To view the photograph click on the link:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/D/W-GM-DISC-MP.001.html

For more information about crabgrass and its possible use in environmental cleanup work click on the link:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/01/000131080302.htm

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

Unique Professionally Designed Gardens

Springhill Nursery®

Spring Hill Nursery has unique gardens professionally designed by experts to take the guesswork out of gardening. Whether you are looking for a three season garden, foundation garden, or a garden to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, Spring Hill Nursery has created a step-by-step design just for you. Click here - $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery!

Sta-Home™ Lady Beetles

Gardens Alive!®

Adult lady beetles and their larvae are an excellent, non-chemical way to control aphids, Colorado potato beetles (egg stage) and other insect pests in your garden. But unlike the lady beetles sold by most other companies, ours are, screened to remove parasitoid-infested beetles, ready to lay eggs the day you release them and hungry for pests! Click here = $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive! [More Insect Pest Control...]

Grub-Away® Nematodes

Gardens Alive!®

Quickly controls a wide range of destructive garden and lawn pests
Only from gardens alive! Grub-Away parasitic nematodes are the effective, non-chemical answer to a wide range of lawn and garden problems! We think they're one of the best all-purpose, natural pest controls available. Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive! [More Insect Pest Control...]

Attack Squad Special!

Gardens Alive!®

These hordes of hungry insects will prey on many destructive garden bugs. You'll get 24,000 Trichogramma pretiosum and 3,000 Chrysoperla carnea (green lacewings), divided among three bi-weekly shipments. Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive! [More Insect Pest Control...]

Original WOW!® [With Out Weeds] Pre-Emergence Weed Control

Gardens Alive!®

Adds nitrogen to your beautiful organic lawn!

Only from Gardens Alive! Original WOW! kills weeds before they emerge, before you even notice them. Like WOW! Plus, Original WOW! controls crabgrass, creeping bentgrass, foxtail, lamb's-quarters, purslane and other weeds just after they germinate, before you even notice them.

WOW! contains no lingering synthetic chemicals, so your family, friends and pets can enjoy your lawn right after you apply it! As it suppresses weeds, WOW! slowly releases nitrogen to keep your lawn green and beautiful.

Apply WOW! from mid-August until first hard frost to stop fall-sprouting weeds, including many perennial types. Apply again early next spring to stop annual weeds and spring-germinating perennial weed seeds. Apply WOW! on lawns and paths and between rows of vegetable crops to suppress weeds. The nitrogen it slowly releases will feed garden plants. Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive! [More Lawn Care...]

Turf Alive!® Brand

Gardens Alive!®

For slopes and high-traffic areas.

Only from Gardens Alive! Our Turf Alive! Brand grass seed mixtures have so many advantages, we don't know why anyone would want to use any other kind!

This mixture is still the standard against which we measure others. It's the best for slopes as well as high-traffic and play areas because of its deep, vigorous root system and resilient leaf blades. Stays out of flower beds. For temperate climates.

Seed new lawns and bare spots at the rate of 6 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive!

Turf Alive! grasses:

Resist drought! Roots reach down 2-4 feet, drawing moisture from the subsoil long after shallow-rooted bluegrass has dried up and gone dormant. Grasses stay lush and green with little watering, even in summer heat.
Resist common lawn bugs! Microorganisms called endophytes live in certain varieties of grass seed, including Turf Alive! mixtures. Studies show that these endophytes produce alkaloids that are toxic to grass-eating insects, such as sod webworms, cutworms and even chinch bugs!.
Eliminate thatch! The deep roots of Turf Alive! grasses eliminates the development of thatch, which fosters disease and harbor insects.
Choke out weeds! The deep roots of Turf Alive! grasses support thicker and more vigorous top growth than bluegrass and also crowd out weeds.
Needs less nitrogen, saves money! Using only 50% to 66% of the nitrogen needed by bluegrass, grass seed mixtures produce an attractive, lush green lawn. Your fertilizer goes further, and that saves you money!

Turf Alive!® Brand Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive!

Note: Do not use Turf Alive! grasses in areas where livestock feed.