Newbie Weeding question
 

Newbie gardeners. Just moved into a house where the small front lawn (20 -
25 sq m) is about 15 or 20 percent dandelions. Can anyone here either advise
us what to do, or point us in the direction of a good site/book/resource? Do
we dig them out? (I had a go at a big one and the root was approximately 2cm
diameter, deeper than I could get, and I've left an impact crater.)Use
weedkiller? (We've got three young kids so we're reluctant to do this. Is
there environmentally and kid friendly weedkiller?)

Thanks in advance

dd

Newbie Weeding question
 

Newbie gardeners. Just moved into a house where the small front lawn (20 -
25 sq m) is about 15 or 20 percent dandelions. Can anyone here either
advise
us what to do,

I got one of those ready made lawn weedkillers and sprayed mine. It took 2/3
apps but eventually worked. (I did this because I did not have the time to
dig them all out and wanted to keep most of the "weeds" as I really like
daisies and many other wild flowers, just wanted to get rid of the
dandelions.)
Hayley

Newbie Weeding question
 

DDEckerslyke wrote:

Newbie gardeners. Just moved into a house where the small front lawn (20 -
25 sq m) is about 15 or 20 percent dandelions. Can anyone here either advise
us what to do, or point us in the direction of a good site/book/resource? Do
we dig them out? (I had a go at a big one and the root was approximately 2cm
diameter, deeper than I could get, and I've left an impact crater.)Use
weedkiller? (We've got three young kids so we're reluctant to do this. Is
there environmentally and kid friendly weedkiller?)

Thanks in advance

dd


I generally just dig them out with a knife, getting as much of the root as
I can, and keep at it until it gives up the ghost. But really big ones will
have lots of resoruces left in the chunk of root you leave behind and will
keep going for a while. So you may be best using Roundup, and painting it
on the leaves with a brush. This needs to be done on a dry day (it needs at
8 hours before being washed off to be taken up by the plant) and will be
translocated throughout the plant and kill it in one go (although actually
painting the leaves of each dandelion will take longer than just digging
them out). As long as you keep the kids/pets off the lawn for this period,
it is broken down and rendered harmless so it a realtively env friendly
herbicide.

Anita

Newbie Weeding question
 

A.Malhotra wrote:

DDEckerslyke wrote:

Newbie gardeners. Just moved into a house where the small front lawn (20 -
25 sq m) is about 15 or 20 percent dandelions. Can anyone here either advise
us what to do, or point us in the direction of a good site/book/resource? Do
we dig them out? (I had a go at a big one and the root was approximately 2cm
diameter, deeper than I could get, and I've left an impact crater.)Use
weedkiller? (We've got three young kids so we're reluctant to do this. Is
there environmentally and kid friendly weedkiller?)

Thanks in advance

dd

I generally just dig them out with a knife, getting as much of the root as
I can, and keep at it until it gives up the ghost. But really big ones will
have lots of resoruces left in the chunk of root you leave behind and will
keep going for a while. So you may be best using Roundup, and painting it
on the leaves with a brush. This needs to be done on a dry day (it needs at
8 hours before being washed off to be taken up by the plant) and will be
translocated throughout the plant and kill it in one go (although actually
painting the leaves of each dandelion will take longer than just digging
them out). As long as you keep the kids/pets off the lawn for this period,
it is broken down and rendered harmless so it a realtively env friendly
herbicide.

Anita

This is commonly believed and people are encouraged to believe it by the
manufacturers,
but it is not the truth. N-phosphonomethylglycine or Glyphosate is not
actually broken down that quickly.
The figures I have seen sugest that in 6 months time 10% of it is still
intact. (This is far far more than
8 hours.)

--
Neil Jones- http://www.butterflyguy.com/
"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog
National Nature Reserve

Newbie Weeding question
 

"hayley" wrote in message
...
Newbie gardeners. Just moved into a house where the small front lawn
(20 -
25 sq m) is about 15 or 20 percent dandelions. Can anyone here either
advise
us what to do,

I got one of those ready made lawn weedkillers and sprayed mine. It took
2/3
apps but eventually worked. (I did this because I did not have the time to
dig them all out and wanted to keep most of the "weeds" as I really like
daisies and many other wild flowers, just wanted to get rid of the
dandelions.)
Hayley

A thousand thanks. That sounds like exactly what we are after. Do you have a
brand/chemical name, or if I go into, say, Homebase and buy some lawn
weedkiller are they all pretty much the same?

dd

Newbie Weeding question
 

"A.Malhotra" wrote in message
...


DDEckerslyke wrote:

Newbie gardeners. Just moved into a house where the small front lawn
(20 -
25 sq m) is about 15 or 20 percent dandelions. Can anyone here either
advise
us what to do, or point us in the direction of a good
site/book/resource? Do
we dig them out? (I had a go at a big one and the root was approximately
2cm
diameter, deeper than I could get, and I've left an impact crater.)Use
weedkiller? (We've got three young kids so we're reluctant to do this.
Is
there environmentally and kid friendly weedkiller?)

Thanks in advance

dd


I generally just dig them out with a knife, getting as much of the root as
I can, and keep at it until it gives up the ghost. But really big ones
will
have lots of resoruces left in the chunk of root you leave behind and will
keep going for a while. So you may be best using Roundup, and painting it
on the leaves with a brush. This needs to be done on a dry day (it needs
at
8 hours before being washed off to be taken up by the plant) and will be
translocated throughout the plant and kill it in one go (although actually
painting the leaves of each dandelion will take longer than just digging
them out). As long as you keep the kids/pets off the lawn for this period,
it is broken down and rendered harmless so it a realtively env friendly
herbicide.

Anita

Again many thanks. At the moment I think I'll go with the Lawn Weedkiller
suggested elsewhere in the thread. That said my better half has a degree in
Fine Art so I could suggest to her she would be much better at painting the
leaves than me :-)

cheers

dd

Newbie Weeding question
 

"DDEckerslyke" wrote in
:

"hayley" wrote in message
...

I got one of those ready made lawn weedkillers and sprayed mine. It
took
2/3
apps but eventually worked. (I did this because I did not have the
time to dig them all out and wanted to keep most of the "weeds" as I
really like daisies and many other wild flowers, just wanted to get
rid of the dandelions.)
Hayley

A thousand thanks. That sounds like exactly what we are after. Do you
have a brand/chemical name, or if I go into, say, Homebase and buy
some lawn weedkiller are they all pretty much the same?

I *think* Hayley means she got a spray that allowed her to treat individual
plants with one squirt, rather than a weedkiller that only does dandelions
that she sprayed generally on the whole lawn. So far as I know, there are
no weedkillers that will leave some wildflowers intact while killing off
others.

I have just been reading Oliver Rackham's Illustrated History of the
Countryside, and was interested to read this about the long-term impact of
weedkillers: "The Cambridge city commons still bear the marks of a
weedkilling twenty-five years ago (from which the weeds quickly
recovered)".

Not important if you have a new lawn and house, but perhaps to be
considered if your lawn takes in grass that has been around long enough to
develop a wide range of different plants, only some of which you dislike
;-)

Victoria

Newbie Weeding question
 

"DDEckerslyke" wrote:

Hello DDEckerslyke

D Newbie gardeners. Just moved into a house where the small
D front lawn (20 - 25 sq m) is about 15 or 20 percent
D dandelions. Can anyone here either advise us what to do, or
D point us in the direction of a good site/book/resource?
D Do we dig them out? (I had a go at a big one and the root
D was approximately 2cm diameter, deeper than I could get, and
D I've left an impact crater.)Use weedkiller? (We've got three
D young kids so we're reluctant to do this. Is there
D environmentally and kid friendly weedkiller?)

Digging them out will work - a long handled weed extractor is probably
the best widget. It looks like a short tube on a stick with a slot in
it.

Or, as I'm doing, just enjoy having a yellow lawn for a few weeks. :)

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/

Newbie Weeding question
 

"DDEckerslyke" wrote in message ...
Newbie gardeners. Just moved into a house where the small front lawn (20 -
25 sq m) is about 15 or 20 percent dandelions. Can anyone here either advise
us what to do, or point us in the direction of a good site/book/resource? Do
we dig them out? (I had a go at a big one and the root was approximately 2cm
diameter, deeper than I could get, and I've left an impact crater.)Use
weedkiller? (We've got three young kids so we're reluctant to do this. Is
there environmentally and kid friendly weedkiller?)

Thanks in advance

dd

Noam might be able to help you out on this.

Newbie Weeding question
 

Simon Avery wrote:

"DDEckerslyke" wrote:

Hello DDEckerslyke

D Newbie gardeners. Just moved into a house where the small
D front lawn (20 - 25 sq m) is about 15 or 20 percent
D dandelions. Can anyone here either advise us what to do, or
D point us in the direction of a good site/book/resource?
D Do we dig them out? (I had a go at a big one and the root
D was approximately 2cm diameter, deeper than I could get, and
D I've left an impact crater.)Use weedkiller? (We've got three
D young kids so we're reluctant to do this. Is there
D environmentally and kid friendly weedkiller?)

Digging them out will work - a long handled weed extractor is probably
the best widget. It looks like a short tube on a stick with a slot in
it.

A 10" screwdriver is at least as good and a more generically useful tool.

That said spot weeding with a spray of broad leaf herbicide (less
environmentally friendly than glyphosate) will probably be the fastest way
of getting bulk dandelions back under control. Don't let them set seed!!!

You can also get a fat waxy crayon spot weeder in a similar vein. Keep
garden chemicals away from children.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Newbie Weeding question
 

DDEckerslyke wrote:
Newbie gardeners. Just moved into a house where the small front lawn
(20 - 25 sq m) is about 15 or 20 percent dandelions. Can anyone here
either advise us what to do, or point us in the direction of a good
site/book/resource? Do we dig them out? (I had a go at a big one and
the root was approximately 2cm diameter, deeper than I could get, and
I've left an impact crater.)Use weedkiller? (We've got three young
kids so we're reluctant to do this. Is there environmentally and kid
friendly weedkiller?)

Dandelions are the devils spawn - unless you like them of course.

Digging the blighters out works well for the smaller, less established
plants but as you've discovered the larger ones can be a little challenging.
Spot weedkillers can also work well, but I think you'd be well advised to
pick on one corner at a time and keep the kids away while the chemicals are
still present and active.

I'm afraid this will become an obsession for you but whatever happens do not
under any circumstance allow them to go to seed - you will regret it.

In any event, have fun.
--
William Tasso

Newbie Weeding question
 

"William Tasso" wrote in
:

I'm afraid this will become an obsession for you but whatever happens
do not under any circumstance allow them to go to seed - you will
regret it.

What do you mean 'Go to seed'?

When the yellow heads die off and the white ones appear?
The ones that we used to call 'clocks' when I was young?

Can I simply mow the heads off while waiting for my weedkiller to work?

Newbie Weeding question
 

Rick McGreal wrote:
"William Tasso" wrote in
:

I'm afraid this will become an obsession for you but whatever happens
do not under any circumstance allow them to go to seed - you will
regret it.

What do you mean 'Go to seed'?

When the yellow heads die off and the white ones appear?
The ones that we used to call 'clocks' when I was young?

You got it - also known as faeries by some of the younger 'helpful'
gardeners round here as they blow them around the garden - aaaaargh.

Can I simply mow the heads off while waiting for my weedkiller to
work?

Not unless you are 100% sure the seed is sterile (I don't know how you would
ensure that). I'm inclined to pick the heads off when they're at the bud
stage. It's an every-day morning task once you've declared war on them.

In any event, have fun.
--
William Tasso

Newbie Weeding question
 

"William Tasso" wrote in
:

When the yellow heads die off and the white ones appear?
The ones that we used to call 'clocks' when I was young?
You got it - also known as faeries by some of the younger 'helpful'
gardeners round here as they blow them around the garden - aaaaargh.

Wonderful inventions kids...
Perhaps someone should patent them so that most woudl be prevented from
having them! B-)

Can I simply mow the heads off while waiting for my weedkiller to
work?
Not unless you are 100% sure the seed is sterile (I don't know how you
would ensure that). I'm inclined to pick the heads off when they're
at the bud stage. It's an every-day morning task once you've declared
war on them.

I have no idea about hem being sterile....
The best I can do for now is to pick the yellow heads off.....
Ok...Lets be real here....I'll get my 4yr old to do it!

I'm pretty much down to just the odd leaf...But LOTS (And I do mean lots)
or yellow heads....
Thats why I was thinking of mowing them off

Newbie Weeding question
 

"Rick McGreal" wrote in message
...


I'm pretty much down to just the odd leaf...But LOTS (And I do mean lots)
or yellow heads....
Thats why I was thinking of mowing them off

Surely if you mow the yellow heads off then they haven't had time to make
and shed seed?

O