HI HI- wrote:

X-No-Archive: yes
is there a good way to get rid of weeds in the lawn without killing or browning the grass and trees, bushes etc? im looking for a way that works. i dont want to have to pay hundreds of dollars a year to have some professional do this. is there any wa
y?
thanks

Yes, it's called hand weeding and combined with good lawn management, it is the best and most ecologically sound way to control weed problems.

pam - gardengal

Yes. There is weed killer which will not kill the grass. Walmart has the
best prices. Read the labels on the weed killers and get the one which says
it will not kill grass. Then just go around and spray the weeds. It works!

Also this ****es off the enviro-wackos. So you can get rid of weeds and
tick off the enviro-wackos at the same time!



"HI HI-" wrote in message
.. .
X-No-Archive: yes
is there a good way to get rid of weeds in the lawn without killing or
browning the grass and trees, bushes etc? im looking for a way that works.
i dont want to have to pay hundreds of dollars a year to have some
professional do this. is there any way?
thanks





__________________
Starting at the bottom is one thing.
Staying there is another.

invest in a little tool called a dandilion digger or asparagus digger. It is
a hard tempered steel rod that ends in a forked, split "V" and is curved. As
you poke it under weeds, the bent part gives leverage to lift the weed out
by the roots. If it's the purple henbit that is blooming now, set your lawn
mower to very low and whack the tops off those flowers on the henbit now
before they set more seeds. The grass will recover.

madgardener zone 6b Sunset zone 36
"HI HI-" wrote in message
.. .
when you say hand weeding is this pulling them up by hand? i do that yet
they seem to be popping up all over the place now...

HI HI- wrote:
thanks for the info, if you dont mind my ignorance please explain where
weeds come from and why they grow so fast.

It depends on how you define weeds. If you're trying to create a golf
course putting green type lawn, you might consider daffodils to be
weeds. A "weed" is simply a plant you don't want to grow where it's
growing.

A healthy lawn will have very few "weeds". The turf will choke most of
them out. There will still be an occasional weed, but not enough that
you'd be complaining about them, and they'll likely be easy to pull.

The way many people care for their lawns encourage weeds. Problems
include:
1. Using a grass that is not suited for the area.
2. Allowing thatch to build up.
3. Over fertilizing.
4. Mowing too short, or cutting too much off at one time.
5. Watering too often and not deeply enough.

Making those mistakes will leave you with a lawn that's not healthy
enough to choke out the "weeds."

Some other things you can do include making sure that you get to the
"weeds" before they set seed heads, and completely remove the roots and
runners when you pull them. Some "weeds" will set multiple runners, and
come up in four different places if you simply chop-off the above ground
part of the weed.

Generally you want to avoid spreading weed killing chemicals all over
your lawn. These chemicals are designed to kill vegetation, and if you
misuse them, including using them in the wrong situation, they'll kill
far more than the weeds in your grass, and they don't do anything to
help the turf become healthy enough to control it's own weeds.. They'll
also join the run-off, and end up in any local streams. And you don't
want your kids playing on the lawn when those chemicals are there.

Occasionally you might want to treat a particularly bad localized area,
but if things are really bad in a small area, you might also want to
consider removing the turf, and then smothering whatever is there before
putting in new grass.

There are no good instant solutions. If you find a solution that seems
to work instantly, you're just setting yourself up for a lot more work
down the line. It's going to take some time to develop a healthy lawn,
but in the long run it's going to be less work, less expensive if you
don't fall into the trap of spreading and spraying more and more deadly
chemicals.

Contact your county extension office, and see if you can get somebody to
look at your lawn to make some specific suggestions. You might have a
build-up of thatch. You might have a type of grass not well suited for
your area. Or you just might be trying to grow a lawn in a place not
suited for a lawn.

There are lots of good websites that address lawn care. Try to avoid
taking advice from sites that exist to sell you stuff. For example, if
you follow the instructions at Scott's website, you'll end up with a
lawn that's dependant on their products -- you'll have the lawn
equivalent of a dope addict.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Environmental wackos? Another Rush wannabe.


On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 08:37:51 -0800, "Bill" wrote:

Yes. There is weed killer which will not kill the grass. Walmart has the
best prices. Read the labels on the weed killers and get the one which says
it will not kill grass. Then just go around and spray the weeds. It works!

Also this ****es off the enviro-wackos. So you can get rid of weeds and
tick off the enviro-wackos at the same time!



"HI HI-" wrote in message
. ..
X-No-Archive: yes
is there a good way to get rid of weeds in the lawn without killing or
browning the grass and trees, bushes etc? im looking for a way that works.
i dont want to have to pay hundreds of dollars a year to have some
professional do this. is there any way?
thanks





__________________
Starting at the bottom is one thing.
Staying there is another.

On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 08:37:51 -0800, "Bill"
wrote:

Yes. There is weed killer which will not kill the grass. Walmart has the
best prices. Read the labels on the weed killers and get the one which says
it will not kill grass. Then just go around and spray the weeds. It works!

Also this ****es off the enviro-wackos. So you can get rid of weeds and
tick off the enviro-wackos at the same time!

What Bill means is, if you're not a confirmed "organic" gardener,
'broadleaf' weed killers will, for the most part, kill the leafy (most
noticable) weeds down through the roots, and leave the grass alone.

The problem with hand-weeding (which doesn't mean so much "pulling up"
as "digging out") is that many weeds will propagate from the tiniest
root fragments. As Pam says, a vigorous lawn will prevent many (not
all) weeds from taking hold at all.

where [do] weeds come from and why they grow so fast?

Weeds are plants that grow where people don't want them. Where they
are uncultivated, they develop very strong survival characteristics --
able to withstand drought in drought-prone areas; resist common local
deseases; and develop defenses against eradication by bugs and
animals. They are the tough guys. I maintain that if a culinary use
for tumbleweed (or the zebra mussel) is found, it will disappear
completely within a decade. All you have to do is decide you *want* a
plant to grow to have it wither and die.

In article , "HI HI-"
wrote:

thanks for the info, if you dont mind my ignorance please explain where
weeds come from and why they grow so fast.

They come from the planet Diptor & they grow fast because they have no
natural predators on the Earth.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 11:14:18 -0500, "HI HI-"
wrote:

X-No-Archive: yes
is there a good way to get rid of weeds in the lawn without killing
or browning the grass and trees, bushes etc? im looking for a way
that works. i dont want to have to pay hundreds of dollars a year
to have some professional do this. is there any way?
thanks

You could always grow garlic;


* Exported from MasterCook *

Garlic Chip Cookies

Recipe By :yumyum.com
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Cookies Drop
Formed

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
10 cloves fresh garlic
boiling water
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup butter -- softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

Drop garlic cloves into boiling water for about 5 minutes until
tender.
Peel and chop garlic and soak in maple syrup for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cream butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla together until light
and fluffy.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add to cream mixture.
Then stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Drain garlic and add to cookie batter.
Blend well.
Drop cookie batter by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet about 2
inches apart.
Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and cool on racks.

In article , "Bill"
wrote:

Yes. There is weed killer which will not kill the grass. Walmart has the
best prices. Read the labels on the weed killers and get the one which says
it will not kill grass. Then just go around and spray the weeds. It works!

Also this ****es off the enviro-wackos. So you can get rid of weeds and
tick off the enviro-wackos at the same time!

Or, of course, one could weed properly, assisted by a carrot-digging tool
(sometimes called a "weed-poper," looks a bit like a wood chisle); a
"transplant knife" or "angle weeder" (it has a blunt angle-iron type blade
& grabs dandelion roots or burdock or taprooted thistles right out of the
ground); or a "dibble" (somewhat auger-like), & seasonally overseed so the
grass outcompetes the weeds. This would NOT be so as to **** off
anti-enviroment felons, but performed out of an actual affection for one's
yard as well as for the environment, & a desire to keep the lawn safe &
healthy for one's self, kids, & pets. You know, done for love, not for
hate? Odd idea, huh? Can always tell when someone already knows he doing
wrong when he's admitting he actually doesn't give a darn & only does it
to annoy people!

-paghat the ratgirl

"HI HI-" wrote in message
.. .
X-No-Archive: yes
is there a good way to get rid of weeds in the lawn without killing or
browning the grass and trees, bushes etc? im looking for a way that works.
i dont want to have to pay hundreds of dollars a year to have some
professional do this. is there any way?
thanks

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

On Sun, 23 Mar 2003 08:37:51 -0800, "Bill"
wrote:

oh oh, can we un-ban DDT?

Also this ****es off the enviro-wackos. So you can get rid of weeds and
tick off the enviro-wackos at the same time!

There's a Seattle company that makes a great tool for this. The Diggit is
the evolved form of the lowly tent stake that a local woman had used for
years. You can see it he
http://store.yahoo.com/emerysgardenstore/digato.html

Burl

By the way - although emerysgardenstore.com is now open , we're just about
to formally launch our site and I'd love any feedback - espeically from any
of you Northwest Gardners in the group.

"HI HI-" wrote in message
.. .
when you say hand weeding is this pulling them up by hand? i do that yet
they seem to be popping up all over the place now...



"Pam" wrote in message
...


HI HI- wrote:

X-No-Archive: yes
is there a good way to get rid of weeds in the lawn without killing or
browning the grass and trees, bushes etc? im looking for a way that works.
i dont want to have to pay hundreds of dollars a year to have some
professional do this. is there any way?
thanks

Yes, it's called hand weeding and combined with good lawn management, it
is the best and most ecologically sound way to control weed problems.

pam - gardengal

HI HI- wrote in message ...
when you say hand weeding is this pulling them up by hand? i do that yet
they seem to be popping up all over the place now...


Leave any roots, and back they come. Also, many propagate by air-born
seeds.

I use a broad leaf herbicide and a hand spray bottle. I squirt each weed.
I would prefer to use a hose attachment and cover the whole yard but we have
kids on either side of us so it's weed by weed.

It's bothersome the first year, but after you knock down the initial crop,
you can get by with greatly reduced maintenance spraying in subsequent
years. The hand sprayer seems like a lot of trouble but it's faster than
you think, especially in later years.

Regards
Old Al

oldal4865 wrote:
It's bothersome the first year, but after you knock down the initial crop,
you can get by with greatly reduced maintenance spraying in subsequent
years. The hand sprayer seems like a lot of trouble but it's faster than
you think, especially in later years.

Hand digging the weeds works the same and is about as effective.

In article , Bill Seurer wrote:
oldal4865 wrote:
It's bothersome the first year, but after you knock down the initial crop,
you can get by with greatly reduced maintenance spraying in subsequent
years. The hand sprayer seems like a lot of trouble but it's faster than
you think, especially in later years.

Hand digging the weeds works the same and is about as effective.


But is a *lot* more work. In fact, what drove me to use chemicals was the
fact that I couldn't stay ahead of the weeds even though I was out on my
hands and knees almost every day, and I have a small (600 square foot)
lawn. I'd prefer to weed by hand, but there's no way...


Dimitri

On Mon, 24 Mar 2003 18:30:27 +0000 (UTC),
(D. Gerasimatos) wrote:


But is a *lot* more work. In fact, what drove me to use chemicals was the
fact that I couldn't stay ahead of the weeds even though I was out on my
hands and knees almost every day, and I have a small (600 square foot)
lawn. I'd prefer to weed by hand, but there's no way...


Dimitri

Weeding by hand is great therapy. A mug of iced tea, a towel to kneel
on, and I get lost in thought that is only interrupted when i don't
have another weed to pull. I can't use gloves either or i can't feel
to get the roots. If you were weeding that much, i don't think you got
the roots. I made money last year weeding beds for $10 hr. I am about
to call a couple of those people.
·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
jammer
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸