Crabgrass Removal and Reseeding in Las Vegas: Fescue Choice and Prevention

Las Vegas homeowner hand-pulled crabgrass from 12x12 ft lawn, plans topsoil and fescue seeding. Wants dark green, wide-blade grass.

Grass Selection for Las Vegas

Fescue has slender blades. Kentucky bluegrass is darker green but needs more water. Soil nutrients determine color more than variety. St. Augustine (warm-season) is very dark but not cold-hardy. Consider heat-tolerant bluegrass hybrids or tall fescue cultivars bred for color/width.

Preventing Crabgrass Return

After hand-pulling, apply corn gluten meal in early spring as pre-emergent. It feeds grass while stopping crabgrass seeds. Topsoil helps but must be weed-free. Improve native soil with organics long-term.

Organic Program (From Dallas Experience)

• Sugar (4-5 lbs/1,000 sq ft) feeds microbes that suppress weeds
• Alfalfa meal, lava sand, green sand for nutrients
• Deep weekly watering to 6"
• Baking soda for fungal issues
• Corn gluten meal for pre-emergent + nitrogen

Organic approach: 90% less work/cost, thick dark lawn, no chemicals. Earthworms, beneficial insects return. Weeds die in rich soil.