Victory Declared in Crabgrass War

It is with great relief and satisfaction that I hereby declare my war against crabgrass to be over at last! I have won the war!

For decades, I battled those dreaded crabgrass infestations in my lawn with every tool at my disposal. But the best I could do was a holding action. Never victory. I tried every lawn weed killer I could find with little success. They never seemed to actually kill the crabgrass. It would kill the other lawn weeds O.K. but the crabgrass just laughed at it. I came to understand that the claims you read on the weed killer label are wildly exaggerated.

I also tried different means of digging up the crabgrass. This, of course, left blank patches in the lawn. I figured the lawn would eventually grow into the bare spot and was right as far as that goes. However, to be successful digging the crabgrass up, you have to get every single bit of the roots. Of course, that was not really possible and the crabgrass would just grow back again.

Then, I discovered my “secret weapon.” The subject of my crabgrass war came up while talking to John Foster of Diablo Vista Landscaping one day. He told me about a new product he had heard about that unlike the usual weed killers actually would kill the crabgrass while not harming the lawn. The secret weapon is Turflon Ester Specialty Herbicide by a company called Monterey. He also told me that I would not find it in the usual home and garden stores. I had to go to a store that served professional landscapers.

So I went to Watersavers Irrigation on Carroll Court in Brentwood and bought me some. It was pretty expensive but is very concentrated and goes a very long way. In fact, I still have about half of my tiny little bottle of concentrate left after a couple of years. Then I put my secret weapon into action. Following the directions, I experimented with the strength of the mixture. One thing that is very important is to shake or swirl the mixed weed killer fairly often. The product does not actually completely dissolve into the added water. It is an emulsion and needs to be agitated to distribute well.

My secret weapon won the crabgrass war! My lawn is now completely crabgrass free! Once in a while, I will spot an infiltrator but wipe it out with just a couple squirts of the bottle. The stuff works great on the other lawn weeds too!

It’s important to get the right product. Monterey Company makes a number of Turflon products as well. It can be confusing. To see what the bottle and the actual label looks like, take a look at this photo.

Just to be sure I was not wrong, a little while ago when I was in the area, I checked our local Home Depot to see if maybe by now they are selling it. They’re not. If you want to try this stuff and don’t want to go find a landscaper supply store, click here to go to Monterey Company’s website where you can buy online and have it delivered.

Great stuff!