"The Only Good Thing You Can Say About Crabgrass..."

By Mark Phoenix posted September 5, 2022

I was noticing the inevitable crowding of crabgrass on my lawn this year.  Each spring, I spread crabgrass “preventer” on my lawn at the prescribed time.  Yet, there is always some crabgrass that seems to take root; less of it each year, though.

My father has said, many times, “The only good thing you can say about crabgrass is that it is green.”.  So, I did some research on this topic and discovered some positive and negative things I did not know about crabgrass.

Crabgrass, sometimes called “finger grass” and technically known as “digitaria” (thus, “fingergrass”) is, in fact, a type of grass that is generally regarded as a “weed”.  There are 235 different varieties of crabgrass which makes it easier to understand the annual proliferation of this weed. 

Crabgrass produces seeds which can be roasted, ground into flour, and fermented to make beer.  Crabgrass is also regarded as a staple crop in parts of Africa and is used by cattle and horse farmers for grazing purposes.  Crabgrass is delicious to both cows and horses since it is high in nutrition.  Perhaps you might be less annoyed by crabgrass each summer when you read the package on your next steak as “grass fed beef”. 

One crabgrass plant can produce 150,000 seeds per season.  No wonder crabgrass spreads “like a weed”!

Crabgrass, in the northeastern portion of the United States, grows best and effortlessly in thin lawns that are watered sporadically, that are not fertilized and, in poorly drained soil, such as clay conditions.  The emergence of crabgrass is not attributed to poor lawn health, but it is a symptom that will return annually if the lawn is not fertilized or properly irrigated. 

The crabgrass seeds germinate in the late spring and early summer, which is why crabgrass preventer is prescribed to be spread before the soil reaches a temperature of 60 degrees.  Once crabgrass germinates and takes root, it can spread outwardly up to 12 inches in diameter, crowding out and killing the surrounding grass.  Once the first hard frost occurs during the fall in the northeast, the crabgrass dies, leaving a void in the lawn that becomes ideal areas for crabgrass seeds to germinate the following spring and summer season.

Some good news is that crabgrass can yield itself to a healthy lawn if the lawn is overseeded on a annual basis.  It takes work, certainly.  Yet, the denser and healthier the lawn, the less room crabgrass has to germinate and grow.

“Does cutting the crabgrass or mowing the lawn frequently stop the growth of crabgrass?”  Unfortunately, no.  Cutting the crabgrass can spread the seeds.  The only sure way of getting rid of crabgrass is to remove it by hand.