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oofasis

Anyone know how to get rid of nut sedge in my lawn?

oofasis
16 years ago

Oh, it's horrible. It's taken over half of the backyard lawn. We tried Round-Up on it several times but the sedge just keeps right on poking up from the dirt. About a year ago we'd hired a crew who'd left a business card at our door. We have a smallish California front and back yard, and needed to have all the shrubs and trees trimmed back and a fresh new lawn. The crew chief (and the only one who spoke any English at all) was very personable, but by the time we came to realize he was a fast-talker and really didn't know what he was doing, it was too late. We opted to have top soil added and used grass seed (it's just my husband and I, so it wasn't a big deal to keep off the growing grass for a few weeks). Everything seemed fine until I noticed that an entire section of the back lawn was growing at a much faster pace -- then saw that it wasn't grass after all but what was eventually identified as nut sedge. I don't know if it was in the seed or the soil that they brought, but I'd never seen this stuff before. It just doesn't die out. It grows about two or three times more quickly than grass, so the "leaves" stick way up higher than the blades of grass and looks awful.

Any suggestions? If this isn't the right place for my question, would you know where I could go for help? Thanks.

Comments (6)

  • laag
    16 years ago

    There are a number of companies that sell "crabgrass & nutsedge" killer. The active ingredient is "MSMA" and it is available in garden centers for homeowners. Read the instructions and follow them exactly. This is for established crabgrass and nutsedge rather than pre-emergent crabgrass control.

    I have not used it myself (to the regret of my neighbors for sure), but my brother has and is happy with the results on his clients properties.

  • squonnk
    16 years ago

    There's a link down there with about 6 gajillion times more information than you ever wanted about nutsedge and control of it. I've had the best luck in turf with Manage. The first application turns the sedge a little yellow. Another application the next week may make it look a little more sickly or kill it. If the second application doesn't work, the third one should do it. Make sure that the blades are at least 3 inches tall before your first application. That gives the chemical enough leaf surface area to get get into the plant. (Oh yeah, and Manage costs a bloody fortune)

    Here is a link that might be useful: nutsedge control

  • blumenkrantz
    16 years ago

    "sledgehammer" herbicide yearly. Tubers in soil "impossible" to kill. two varieties northern one edible tubers.

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    16 years ago

    Ditto Manage or Sledgehammer (same stuff, different company).

  • gwguest
    16 years ago

    Great information here. Is it legal to use Manage/Sedgehammer in California? I have little kids who like to play in the lawn. Is it advisable to use it?

    Thanks,
    Kev

  • robtjkin_charter_net
    12 years ago

    Cultural Control: Removing Plants and Tubers
    Tubers are key to nutsedge survival. If you can limit production of tubers, you�ll eventually control the nutsedge itself.
    To limit tuber production, remove small nutsedge plants before they have 5 to 6 leaves; in summer this is about every 2 to 3 weeks. Up to this stage, the plant hasn�t formed new tubers yet. Removing as much of the plant as possible will force the tuber to produce a new plant, drawing its energy reserves from tuber production to the production of new leaves.
    Continually removing shoots eventually depletes the energy reserves in the tuber, because the nutsedge will have to use 60% of its reserves to develop the first plant and 20% for the second. However, mature tubers can resprout more than 3 times. Even though these newer sprouts start out weaker than the previous ones, plants can develop from them and produce new tubers unless you remove them.
    The best way to remove small plants is to pull them up by hand or to hand hoe. If you hoe, be sure to dig down at least 8 to 14 inches to remove the entire plant. Using a tiller to destroy mature plants only will spread the infestation, because it will move the tubers around in the soil. However, repeated tillings of small areas before the plants have 6 leaves will reduce populations. If you find nutsedge in small patches in your turf, dig out the patch down to at least 8 inches deep, refill, and then seed or sod the patch.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Nutsedge

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