Positively New Jersey: What's the problem with crabgrass?

<p>Some people like taking care of their lawns, others not so much, and for News 12&rsquo;s Brian Donohue, a Positively New Jersey weed is keeping his lawn green.</p>

News 12 Staff

Aug 8, 2018, 12:20 PM

Updated 2,095 days ago

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Some people like taking care of their lawns, others not so much, and for News 12’s Brian Donohue, a Positively New Jersey weed is keeping his lawn green.
In parks, along roadsides, on lawns, a rainy July has the crabgrass Technicolor Ireland green, and thriving.
Donohue’s lawn looks better than ever, making him very suspicious of the advertisements on radio and TV saying crabgrass is a noxious weed.
“You don't want crabgrass,” says Rutgers biologist William Meyer.
“This year, it was a great year for growing crabgrass,” says Rutgers biologist Trent Tate. “We had a lot of rain, but as soon as that first frost hits, it's all going to die, and you'll be left with bare soil. Rainfall events and snow on bare soil, it's just going to erode and create more problems.”
It has been a great year for crabgrass, but unlike the breeds, which keep a thick carpet year round, the stuff just croaks and disappears in October leaving pools of mud.
Crabgrass is native to India and Africa, where it was grown for grain to make bread.
It was introduced into the U.S. as a food for cattle, and now it's everywhere.


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