Crabgrass control in small pasture?

[chipper2128]

I have read posts about crabgrass in the archives and learned some interesting things about crabgrass and horses but I didn’t find any suggestions of safe ways to combat it. I understand that horses like crabgrass and from what my vet tells me, it is OK for them to eat.
But, I would rather keep my field grasses and get rid of the crabgrass if it is feasible.

I can find chemicals that are supposed to control crabgrass (either pre- or post-emergents) but they have grazing restrictions or are only safe for certain types of grass. Does anyone know of a safe pre- or post-emergent that is effective at controlling crabgrass and also compatible with pasture grasses like brome, rye and orchard grass? We live in Western Colorado.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[carman_liz]

I think pasture pro kills it?

[goodhors]

I don’t think Pasture Pro will do anything. The main chemical is 2-4-D, which doesn’t affect grass, or my clover!

Asking where you are located, your pasture upkeep methods? I mow rather high with a finish mower in my pastures. High is 4-5 inches is to keep grasses growing without shocking the plant with too much leaf removal. I cut when grasses get up about 8-10 inches or start going to seed. I prefer the finish mower because it travels independently of the tractor, unlike a brushog, cuts all grass the same length. I have nice fields, not rough or woodsy to damage the blades. But if brushog is all you have, better to mow than let grass get too overgrown.

Height of taller grasses can start shading out crab grasses that spread but have no height.

Not sure how much crabgrass you have, but some garden friends paint on glyphosate (wearing protective rubber gloves, total body coverage) directly on the plants using sponge brushes. They have immaculate lawns and gardens! A bit of overkill for me!!

I would try ignoring the crabgrass, plant some other types of grass in those areas, see if you can shade it out. I would NOT stir up the soil, just scatter seed and cover the area with dirty bedding, sweepings from your hay storage, a bale of straw scattered about, some dirt you might have on hand. Cover prevents seed washing away, helps keep the dirt moist to sprout the seed. I have crabgrass come up every summer in the hard use barnyards. No green all winter, it is eaten, but by midsummer it comes back to cover the mud/dirt. Gets mowed when I cut the weeds in there. I really don’t have it anyplace else except the hardest used areas, gateways. Better crabgrass than other weedy plants!

[chipper2128]

Thanks for your replies. I called Gordon’s who makes Pasture Pro and they said it will not kill crabgrass. I have tried 2 4D in the past and it does OK on broadleaf weeds but not grasses.

I live in Western Colorado and only have a small pasture area about 1/2 an acre that I use for a couple horses throughout the summer. I can control their access to the area and keep them from eating it down too far so that it grows back fairly quickly. It is irrigated and grows fast in the summer months.

However, this last summer my horses were gone and I just kept it mowed (like a lawn) but I set my mower at the highest settings which is about 4 inches or so. So, the grass was probably shorter than it has been in previous years. This may have contributed to the increase spread of the crabgrass. I don’t have a lot of crabgrass, probably a couple areas about 10 ft in diameter at this point and it is already turning brown as winter arrives. I have used the “paint brush method” with Roundup to kill small areas of crabgrass in the past and have considered doing that again if need be.

Thanks for the suggestion to consider replanting those areas in the Spring. That may be the best option at this point when I see what it looks like when all the crabgrass has died back.

I am also checking with my County University extension folks to see if they have any suggestions, so they may have some options too.

[LCDR]

Image Lawn Weed and Crabgrass Killer is the only thing I have heard about that kills growing crabgrass but spares other grasses if used correctly. But, it may simply be cost-prohibitive on large pasture areas. You might couple that with a pre-emergent regimen as well. But crabgrass eradication will prove to be both expensive and time consuming, and will continue for years. Next year’s seeds are already in the soil.

I am sure that you have heard of the newer crabgrasses that are being seeded as forage.

[4horses]

I hate crabgrass. We have it every year and the horses will not touch it. I don’t know the variety but it stinks. I’ve started digging it out with the shovel and using roundup. I mow very short to reduce seeding. Haven’t tried letting the grass over grow it.

I’ve been tempted to take the tractor and rip out the sod and reseed.

It invades more and more every year.

[carman_liz]

How large is the small pasture, and where are you at? You may have enough time to mow super short with a bagging mower if the area is small enough for you to do so and get rid of all the clippings and seeds from the crab grass. Then drag the heck out of it and put down a fescue and/or rye seed to get growing before it starts staying cold depending on your location. Just trying to think outside the box for ya!

[Leather]

A big part of controlling crabgrass (which is an annual so dies off but re-seeds itself) is to make sure that the perennial grasses are in the best shape possible to outcompete the crabgrass when it germinates and tries to establish itself in the spring.

It makes sense that it grew more when the pastures were mowed shorter than previous years - while it wasn’t short by pasture standards it was probably below the level where there was a thick enough grass canopy to shade it out.

The same principles for getting rid of crabgrass in a lawn are applicable to your pasture, and are essentially good pasture management practices regardless.

Your Extension folks should be able to advise on the optimum times for seeding/fertilizing for your area. Also look into dormant seeding if you want to try to do something this fall but you’re past your optimum fall seeding time: Dormant Seeding

Good info on Crabgrass Management

If you want to have a lawn that doesn’t get crabgrass, you need to get aggressive. Ideally you would create a well-aerated soil and healthy soil that holds moisture due to good structure and humus. The roots of the grass would dig in deeply, and would be slow to dry out.

The lawn would be well-fertilized in the spring so it gets nice and thick. Any bare or thin spots would be seeded early. It would also have plenty of soil moisture to keep it actively growing when crabgrass season has begun.

The lawn would be tall, which helps shade the soil and also helps with deeper rooting. There would be no scalped edges inviting crabgrass to establish. If the grass is a shorter mowed type, it would be so thick that it still would have a dense canopy to shade and keep out crabgrass.

And finally, in the fall, any areas of lawn that are thin or bare would be seeded.

[chipper2128]

Thanks for the inputs. Since I posted this thread in October , I have found out that I have very little crab grass but do have some areas of bermuda instead. So, I have been researching ways to combat the bermuda as well. It is a perrenial and treating it when it is growing takes several applications per growing season probably for several years in a row. So, my plan now is to mark the areas with bermuda grass while it is easy to see since it is brown now and then treating these areas in the spring. There are several herbicides that can be used that will not kill my grasses if used correctly. I am also going to do my best to keep the hay grasses as healthy as I can and probably grow them higher than last summer. I will keep the horses off the treated areas for a season or two.

[SusanO]

Why are you trying to kill the bermuda? It is good pasture grass - horses like it and it spreads by runners and is tougher than “clump” grasses like orchard grass. I was not aware that is cold hardy but maybe common bermuda is. Most of what is grown for hay down here would never survive a Colorado winter.