I live in a rural neighborhood. My lawn approx 2 acres is infested with
dandelions this year. I've read on the net to only cut a bit of lawn (height
wise) to keep the lawn tall so the dandelions don't get any sun. Of course I
will have to cut very often to avoid clumping. I've decided the above method
is what I'm going to try this year.

My neighbor is a different story. They seem to love cutting their grass and
are out there the minute spring arrives. They cut theirs very, very
short..bald you could say, and they seem to cut every third day or so. I've
been watching and they don't seem to have very many dandelions..or they are
cutting the heads off of them so maybe the lawn looks deceiving?? My yard
looks terrible compared to theirs because of me not mowing as often as them
(I have to wait till it gets tall)

Soooo will my plan work? Or should I do what they are doing?

"Jinxy" wrote in message
...
I live in a rural neighborhood. My lawn approx 2 acres is infested with
dandelions this year. I've read on the net to only cut a bit of lawn
(height
wise) to keep the lawn tall so the dandelions don't get any sun. Of course
I
will have to cut very often to avoid clumping. I've decided the above
method
is what I'm going to try this year.

My neighbor is a different story. They seem to love cutting their grass
and
are out there the minute spring arrives. They cut theirs very, very
short..bald you could say, and they seem to cut every third day or so.
I've
been watching and they don't seem to have very many dandelions..or they
are
cutting the heads off of them so maybe the lawn looks deceiving?? My yard
looks terrible compared to theirs because of me not mowing as often as
them
(I have to wait till it gets tall)

Soooo will my plan work? Or should I do what they are doing?


Looks like you answered your own question.

You've observed the results of mowing before the weeds bloom and you said it
looks good.

If you don't like mowing (sometimes I don't like to either) why not locate a
12 year old that likes the extra $6 a week to do it for you?

--

"_" wrote in message ...

"Jinxy" wrote in message
...
I live in a rural neighborhood. My lawn approx 2 acres is infested with
dandelions this year. I've read on the net to only cut a bit of lawn
(height
wise) to keep the lawn tall so the dandelions don't get any sun. Of
course
I
will have to cut very often to avoid clumping. I've decided the above
method
is what I'm going to try this year.

My neighbor is a different story. They seem to love cutting their grass
and
are out there the minute spring arrives. They cut theirs very, very
short..bald you could say, and they seem to cut every third day or so.
I've
been watching and they don't seem to have very many dandelions..or they
are
cutting the heads off of them so maybe the lawn looks deceiving?? My yard
looks terrible compared to theirs because of me not mowing as often as
them
(I have to wait till it gets tall)

Soooo will my plan work? Or should I do what they are doing?


Looks like you answered your own question.

You've observed the results of mowing before the weeds bloom and you said
it
looks good.

If you don't like mowing (sometimes I don't like to either) why not locate
a
12 year old that likes the extra $6 a week to do it for you?

--



Wow if you know *anyone* who'll mow 2 acres for $6.00 send em our way!
Average around here is $20.00 a shot for an 9,000 sq ft (and smaller) lawn
with a house taking up 1500 sq ft of it! They'd use up a third of that money
on gas alone on 2 acres if they're using an appropriately sized lawn
tractor. lol

All kidding aside though it's a sure bet that waiting until dandelions turn
fuzzy and deposit seed everywhere before mowing is a fantastic way to insure
another bumper crop of dandelions!

"Jinxy" wrote in message
...
I live in a rural neighborhood. My lawn approx 2 acres is infested with
dandelions this year. I've read on the net to only cut a bit of lawn
(height wise) to keep the lawn tall so the dandelions don't get any sun. Of
course I will have to cut very often to avoid clumping. I've decided the
above method is what I'm going to try this year.

My neighbor is a different story. They seem to love cutting their grass
and are out there the minute spring arrives. They cut theirs very, very
short..bald you could say, and they seem to cut every third day or so.
I've been watching and they don't seem to have very many dandelions..or
they are cutting the heads off of them so maybe the lawn looks deceiving??
My yard looks terrible compared to theirs because of me not mowing as
often as them (I have to wait till it gets tall)

Soooo will my plan work? Or should I do what they are doing?


Dandelion flower stems come in a great variety of lengths, naturally. If
you cut the long ones down then eventually you'll have only the ones that
will flower and produce seed at heights below your cutting height - natural
selection. For years I've seen this scenario develop on the grounds of a
nearby school district since low cutting heights were preferred by
supervisors and no type of herbicide was permitted. There were always some
tall ones taking root but the predominant flower stem was so short that the
flower seemed to sprout directly from the center of the plant.

Either your neighbors are using a herbicide or they weed by hand. Take a
walk through the yard and look for empty spots where weeds have been removed
and when the neighbor catches you, g, ask about how they manage to have
such a nice lawn. Btw, have they got dogs in the yard? Watch your step : )

--
Tom

If it's a typical cool season grass mix that we're talking about, I'd
cut it about 3", which should leave it looking very nice and help keep
out weeds. The key word here is "help." You're still going to have
some. Since you currently have a lot, I'd use a herbicide to get rid
of them, which is very easy with dandelions. If you can spot treat
them, which is most effective and uses the least herbicide, get a back
pack sprayer. If there are too many to do that, then I'd use a weed n
feed product. Once you get rid of most of them, if you properly care
for the lawn, you can spot treat them from then on.

As for the neighbors lawn, you may not see the dandelion flowers
because they are mowing it frequently and short. If that's the case,
they can still be there along with other weeds, crowding out the grass
and making it look like hell.

Thanks