Personal wars on weeds are a way of life for the gardener. One year it's fleabane, the next horse nettle. Conquer and eradicate we say, little by little, one square foot at a time. This year one of my personal wars is on crabgrass. The weed that loves 103 degrees, growing in one day from nickel size to dinner plate, oh yes, it's a nasty one.

So a little information about crabgrass; it's a warm season annual. The seed needs light to germinate. Its root system is shallow. It can look like a crab. Two hands work best to pull it. The seeds sprout from April to September. It came from Europe.

The botanical name is Digitaria sanguinalis and this is only 1 species of digitaria, there are about 229 more. The digitaria is from Latin, digitus or finger, referring to the way the seed head spreads out like a hand. Its horizontal habit of growth often keeps it lower than your mower blade, allowing it to bloom and produce seed all around its little annual self. We consider it a weed, but since it will grow in the worst heat, farmers (especially in the south) plant it as a summer forage for horses and cattle. Crabgrass hay is considered one of the best, cattle will gain more weight when compared to more traditional forage hays and they often prefer it. In fact the US patent office introduced it as a forage crop in 1849, like so many other forage grasses, few are native.

So how do you eradicate (or attempt to eradicate) crabgrass from your garden and lawn? Hit it where it hurts, there are a few weaknesses in crabgrass, the seed needs light to germinate and it's an annual. The roots are more shallow than standard turf grasses therefore it thrives with regular watering. To take advantage of these Achilles heels, fill holes in your lawn with compost to bury the seed before it sprouts in spring (March). This can also be done in very late fall, after crabgrass has been killed back by freezing temperatures. Sow your preferred turf seed in the compost and allow your lawn to grow a little higher than usual to shade out any sprouting crabgrass. Secondly, water deep and infrequently rather than often and shallow. In the garden, pull it out as it appears, do not let it produce seed heads. Also mulching over the ground will keep old seed from germinating. There are plenty of pre-emergents that work, but these are temporary solutions, working for 3 months (at best). The seeds are not killed, rather hampered from sending out a radical or root. The use of pre-emergents becomes a cycle that needs repeated indefinitely and hampers many good plants from sprouting. No easy solution it seems, the hotter the weather, the more you have to work it. Two hands are better than one and a crabby disposition may help.