Quackgrass Update

[redleader74]

In another much older thread here I had talked about my quackgrass dilemma. So, I tried the "mowing low" and fertilizing technique as means of preventing the growth/spread of quackgrass by keeping it from growing leaves, while at the same time fertilizing and water to compensate for the shock the lawn will experience from the low mowing. Well unfortunately, soon after we learned we were in or headed towards severe drought (we're in CA) so I cut the watering. Naturally the lawn went brown and the quackgrass came back with a vengeance, coming back taller and more numerous. So I returned to watering (I guess I'll cut my water use in other ways) and finally got myself some Round Up. I really wanted to avoid using chemicals/toxics, but everything I've read here and everywhere else seemed to suggest Round Up was the only way to get rid of quackgrass. It's not as fast as I thought, it usually takes a few days before I see the quackgrass turning brown and withering. One question I have is, once the Round Up has been absorved by the quackgrass and has dried up, does it still pose the same toxic threat? What about Round UP that's landed on say, surrounding paved areas, is it harmless once it's dried up or should I hose off the surfaces?

[MorpheusPA]

Round Up is one of the least toxic substances you can use, actually. Although I'll give the nod to even less toxic Tenacity. But that's not all that good on Quack.

Once RU reaches soil, it binds very quickly. Once absorbed into the plant, ditto. On pavement, it should be hosed off, but you shouldn't've had much overspray, if any, as no herbicide should be applied in a heavy wind. For a mere bit of spray on quack that was at the edge of a bit of pavement, there's no real reason to worry about it.

As far as some of the claims about RU...don't get me started on a rant here. And I use organic methodology. I'm merely open to a bit of IPM (Integrated Pest Management) when required.

[redleader74]

Ok, thanks. So it's been a few weeks now since I started using Round Up and as I said above, it does take a few days before you see any results. Here's a photo of what the quack looks like a few days after application of Round Up.


Its the long brown/tan weeds you see on the edge. Quack grows much, much faster than the grass so they're easy to spot. Although, I don't understand why they tend to grow along the edges of a lawn. I'm continuing to apply on new quack growths about once a week as I see them but I feel like it's still a losing battle. In fact, on my front lawn, which is what is shown in the photo, closer inspection of the lawn shows seems to suggest that what from a standing distance looks like all lawn, appears to be continuous quack growth as evident by the familiar "thick/firm" stalk with leaves growing from the side. Granted, withouth the long seed heads.

My next question is, when applying the Round Up, do we just apply it to the tall seed head stalk? Or do we apply it to the entire growth, including the thick leaves that sprout out all round it?

[MorpheusPA]

There's space and sunlight at the edge of the lawn that doesn't exist in the middle. Weeds take advantage of that fact.

This may feel like a losing battle, but it really isn't. If you can get half of it and thicken your lawn at the same time, you're not allowing new quack to take its place. That's a great thing. But if the lawn stays thin, it's a problem... Your lawn doesn't look like it has much of an issue. Once defeated, it should stay defeated.

Application of RU is usually to the leaf area, but any green area of the plant will do. Get as much as you can without going too crazy about it. Seed head stalks usually don't actively photosynthesize very much, nor do they absorb things extremely well, but they often do work to eventually absorb RU and kill the plant. Still, hitting at least some leaves would be best. It won't take much RU or much area covered to kill the plant.

[Masbustelo]

I had some success with roundup this spring by touching the spray tip in the center of plants and giving a very little squirt. That way you don't have any overspray.

[MorpheusPA]

That's what she said.

[bolson32]

That's what she said.

[redleader74]

There's space and sunlight at the edge of the lawn that doesn't exist in the middle. Weeds take advantage of that fact.

This may feel like a losing battle, but it really isn't. If you can get half of it and thicken your lawn at the same time, you're not allowing new quack to take its place. That's a great thing. But if the lawn stays thin, it's a problem... Your lawn doesn't look like it has much of an issue. Once defeated, it should stay defeated.

Application of RU is usually to the leaf area, but any green area of the plant will do. Get as much as you can without going too crazy about it. Seed head stalks usually don't actively photosynthesize very much, nor do they absorb things extremely well, but they often do work to eventually absorb RU and kill the plant. Still, hitting at least some leaves would be best. It won't take much RU or much area covered to kill the plant.

My method is a bit different from most others. Instead of a paint brush, I use a sponge. I dip the sponge in a cup of Round Up, then squeeze/wrap the sponge around the bottom of the seeding stem/stalk and just pull up, brushing everything along the way, any leaves, seeds, etc. The brush method was just taking too long and Round Up was dripping on nearby surrounding grass. Per your last paragraph, that may explain why I'm not seeing any browning/wilting until 3-4 days later, some times 5 days later.

I'm thinking back to how my lawn was before I replaced it last summer....the blades of grass were so hard and prickly you didnt' want to walk barefoot on it. In addition, the lawn wasn't a "blanket" like look/feel, it was more like patches and tufts of grass all grouped together. I used to have a gardener come by to mow the lawn and what probably happened was over the years quack took over the entire lawn and he just continued to mow it like a lawn, week after week. I doubt any typical gardner, no matter how much you pay them, is going to work on quack the way we're discussing here. I bet none of them would even know what it is. Heck, when I first saw signs of quack about a month after my current lawn was installed last summer, I sent a photo fo the landscape contractor that did it and his response was "I don't think that's a weed, I think that's lawn"

[MorpheusPA]

Without me, where would you go for quality snark and double-entendres?

[redleader74]

Ok, another update on my batlle of the quackgrass. So far, it "appears" as if the quack has slowed down a little, there are still new growths, but not as numerous/aggresive as before I started treatment. Lately though, I've started seeing this showing up:



At first It hought it was quackgrass but I'm pretty sure it's not. Can anyone tell me what this is and what's the best treatment for it?

Second question, I now have a lot of brown patches all over the lawn from the quackgrass treatment. How should I address these patches? Will the lawn eventually grow back here or should I apply seed, or?

THANKS!

[bolson32]

Looks like Poa Annua seedheads to me.