"Tree like"? Are you sure they're not sow thistles?

"The Ranger" wrote in message
...
My "resting" garden plot has been invaded by several dozen tree-like
dandelions. Inattentive maintainance allowed this. At first I dug
the buggers up individually but the roots are 18-20" deep. Worse,
those that I have managed to dig out successfully show off-shooters
from broken or missed pieces.

I don't want to start throwing down my consumer-grade agent orange
but it's now reached epidemic proportions. My plot looks like I'm
cultivating the yellow buds for commercial distribution throughout
my neighborhood. Is there a way of ridding my garden area of these
pests without resorting to chemical purfication?

Many thanks.

The Ranger