Spraying the Dandelions

[dashboardc33]

My husband hates weeds. I don't mind them. I tend to just run over the dandelions with my lawn mower. The weeds that I can't stand are the prickly ones, which I will go ahead and pull by hand. I cannot stand when he sprays the dandelions with weed killer because I feel like it's not only going to get all over my garden and vegetables, but it will also get all over the grass where the kids play. What do you use for weeds? Is there a way to prevent them or at least kill them without poison?

 

[Chuck]

One gallon of horticultural vinegar (20%) plus 2 oz orange oil and a squirt of dishwashing soap will make them shrivel up and die quickly. Not letting the weeds go to seed by frequent mowing also stops them

 

[Durgan]

I use a tool to control the dandelions. Other weeds I hoe or cut down as required to eliminate seeds. It is a constant battle. Anything but spraying.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?YIJLU 6 May 2009 Weed Puller
This marvelous device is utilized for pulling weeds, mostly dandelions. It actually works and is effortless to use. Price $29.95. Don’t leave home without it. Beware of more complicated imitations. Home herbicides have been banned in my area so many weeds have to be pulled by hand.

 

[pixie N.C.]

You can actually eat'em,not that I've. tried the greens or roots .

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I know its hard to change peoples' perception, but flowering weeds in our yards are actually highly important to insects, especially early-blooming ones. I always find irony in people trying to keep weeds out of their grass. I understand most don't realize how awful our turf grass yards are, but they contain nothing beneficial to the earth and its inhabitants. They replaced what used to be prairies and in some areas, forests. I always wonder why humans decided to do that. Seems a prairie as a backyard would be pretty amazing in comparison. but I'm just rambling now... Unfortunately, I don't have an answer. As long as I have turf grass, I leave the weeds be. At least they add a little bit of color and variety. Eventually, I hope to replace everything with native plants.

 

[LIcenter]

I'm not big into chemicals, and the only thing I use on my lawn is a pre-emergent in early spring, and late fall, mainly for crab grass. All other weeds will suffer the wrath of my lawnmower.

 

[pixie N.C.]

Here in the sandhills of N.Carolina,the high end golf courses have beautiful grasses and highly educated people to maintain them,I live in a very rural area now,but when I lived in the older established neighborhoods,what they called grass was bermuda and centipede,and if you have ever had dealings with stolons (runners) to me that's nothing but a weed

 

[IcyBC]

I don't like using weed chemical either in my yard for the same reasons as you. I have children and dog and I want them to be as safe as possible. We have lots of lily of the valley, and I have to plug them by hands as they are poisonous to dog.

 

[GardenToad]

My sister once told me that a weed is any plant growing where you don't want it. Based on that, if you don't mind the dandelions, they are not weeds. I never thought of it that way before my sister enlightened me. I also leave the dandelions because I don't want to use chemicals and also because I don't like pulling them. We have learned to coexist.

 

[Cereus]

I keep dandelions in the yard. They're good for the bee population. Dandelions in the flower bed on the other hand get pulled out.