Weeding a lawn
 

Hi

My new lawn is looking very good. I put the seeds down myself in September
having prepared the ground beforehand very thoroughly last summer.

I am mowing it regularly and this does indeed keep the weeds at bay very well
indeed. It's also getting a lot of water in this very dry period.

I do have a few dandelions and I'm wondering what is the best way of removing
them? I am a newbie at gardening completely so forgive me if my question has
a very obvious answer.

If I dig them up doesn't this leave a hole in the lawn? I understand the lawn
will fill the hole in after a while, but is there a technique to digging them
out leaving just a very small hole? or something...


--
Patrick

Weeding a lawn
 

I use a length of 15mm copper tube with a length of 1/2" steel inside it for
ejection.
I place the copper tube directly over the centre of the dandy, push down a
good few inches, then retract. I then eject plug of 'lawn' into bin, using
the 1/2" rod. More often than not, the plug contains the whole root.
It leaves a clean cut hole in the lawn, ideal for filling with
sand/compost/seed, or leaving alone!

Jase.


"PJ" wrote in message
. com...
Hi

My new lawn is looking very good. I put the seeds down myself in September
having prepared the ground beforehand very thoroughly last summer.

I am mowing it regularly and this does indeed keep the weeds at bay very
well
indeed. It's also getting a lot of water in this very dry period.

I do have a few dandelions and I'm wondering what is the best way of
removing
them? I am a newbie at gardening completely so forgive me if my question
has
a very obvious answer.

If I dig them up doesn't this leave a hole in the lawn? I understand the
lawn
will fill the hole in after a while, but is there a technique to digging
them
out leaving just a very small hole? or something...


--
Patrick

Weeding a lawn
 

On Mon, 11 Aug 2003 15:29:49 +0100, Jase wrote
(in message ):

I use a length of 15mm copper tube with a length of 1/2" steel inside it for
ejection.
I place the copper tube directly over the centre of the dandy, push down a
good few inches, then retract. I then eject plug of 'lawn' into bin, using
the 1/2" rod. More often than not, the plug contains the whole root.
It leaves a clean cut hole in the lawn, ideal for filling with
sand/compost/seed, or leaving alone!

That's very ingenious!

--
Patrick

Weeding a lawn
 

"PJ" wrote in message
. com...
On Mon, 11 Aug 2003 15:29:49 +0100, Jase wrote
(in message ):

I use a length of 15mm copper tube with a length of 1/2" steel inside it
for
ejection.
I place the copper tube directly over the centre of the dandy, push down
a
good few inches, then retract. I then eject plug of 'lawn' into bin,
using
the 1/2" rod. More often than not, the plug contains the whole root.
It leaves a clean cut hole in the lawn, ideal for filling with
sand/compost/seed, or leaving alone!

That's very ingenious!

Unfortunately it would not work for me. My garden is as stony as can be,
and the dandelion roots know how to hide below stones.
It just has to be glyphosate or paraquat.

Franz

Weeding a lawn
 

On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 9:42:21 +0100, Franz Heymann wrote
(in message ):

Unfortunately it would not work for me. My garden is as stony as can be,
and the dandelion roots know how to hide below stones.
It just has to be glyphosate or paraquat.

I'm thinking of trying something like this. What is the best method for
application? I only have a handful of weeds and if I apply the killer to just
the plant then I will have used very little. I think if I start trying to dig
them out it will break the root because this handful of weeds have been there
for some months as I wasn't sure how to remove them without digging holes in
the lawn. All I have been doing with them is pulling the leaves off them
which grow back very quickly indeed.


--
Patrick

Weeding a lawn
 

"PJ" wrote in message
. com...
On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 9:42:21 +0100, Franz Heymann wrote
(in message ):

Unfortunately it would not work for me. My garden is as stony as can
be,
and the dandelion roots know how to hide below stones.
It just has to be glyphosate or paraquat.

I'm thinking of trying something like this. What is the best method for
application?

I use one of two ways:
"Murphy's Tumbleweed" (glyphosate) can be obtained as a gel-like soup,
equipped with a small brush in the bottle top. It is very handy and
economical to just dab it on as many leaves as you can conveniently reach.
The second method is to use liquid glyphosate in a very small watering can
with a fine rose. The sort which is used for watering pot plants. The
model I use is a Hawes type, made of green plastic. It holds just over one
litre, and is available at garden centres. It is somewhat less precise than
the gel, but is quicker in use.
Remember glyphosate is fairly slow acting (around a week), but when it
kills, it kills dead. Leave the dead weed in situ until it is utterly
dessicated before removing it. In fact, I often don't bother removing the
dead weeds at all. Mother nature manages it quite conveniently, if slowly.



I only have a handful of weeds and if I apply the killer to just
the plant then I will have used very little.

If you have only a few isolated weeds to cope with, the "paint-on" method is
best.

I think if I start trying to dig
them out it will break the root because this handful of weeds have been
there
for some months as I wasn't sure how to remove them without digging holes
in
the lawn.

All I have been doing with them is pulling the leaves off them
which grow back very quickly indeed.

Don't try. You simply cannot eradicate dandelions from a cultivated spot by
digging away at them or pulling at the leaves. Some piece of root *always*
stays behind and regrows.

Franz

Weeding a lawn
 

"PJ" wrote in message
. com...
On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 9:42:21 +0100, Franz Heymann wrote
(in message ):

Unfortunately it would not work for me. My garden is as stony as can
be,
and the dandelion roots know how to hide below stones.
It just has to be glyphosate or paraquat.

I'm thinking of trying something like this. What is the best method for
application?

I use one of two ways:
"Murphy's Tumbleweed" (glyphosate) can be obtained as a gel-like soup,
equipped with a small brush in the bottle top. It is very handy and
economical to just dab it on as many leaves as you can conveniently reach.
The second method is to use liquid glyphosate in a very small watering can
with a fine rose. The sort which is used for watering pot plants. The
model I use is a Hawes type, made of green plastic. It holds just over one
litre, and is available at garden centres. It is somewhat less precise than
the gel, but is quicker in use.
Remember glyphosate is fairly slow acting (around a week), but when it
kills, it kills dead. Leave the dead weed in situ until it is utterly
dessicated before removing it. In fact, I often don't bother removing the
dead weeds at all. Mother nature manages it quite conveniently, if slowly.



I only have a handful of weeds and if I apply the killer to just
the plant then I will have used very little.

If you have only a few isolated weeds to cope with, the "paint-on" method is
best.

I think if I start trying to dig
them out it will break the root because this handful of weeds have been
there
for some months as I wasn't sure how to remove them without digging holes
in
the lawn.

All I have been doing with them is pulling the leaves off them
which grow back very quickly indeed.

Don't try. You simply cannot eradicate dandelions from a cultivated spot by
digging away at them or pulling at the leaves. Some piece of root *always*
stays behind and regrows.

Franz

Weeding a lawn
 

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 07:52:55 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:

Remember glyphosate is fairly slow acting (around a week), but when it
kills, it kills dead. Leave the dead weed in situ until it is utterly
dessicated before removing it. In fact, I often don't bother removing the
dead weeds at all.

Be careful with glyphosphate in lawns: stepping on a painted dandelion
and walking across the grass may spread the stuff if it isn't full dry
or absorbed, leading to a track of dead grass in footprint-shaped
patches a week later. Grass is more sensitive to glyphosphate than
some weeds, and I've tracked the stuff from a path into the lawn...

Either work carefully from one side to the other and stay out of the
lawn (it'll say on the bottle how long, six hours or until dry ISTR),
or use a herbicide that won't harm grass, but will kill dandelions.

Thomas Prufer

Weeding a lawn
 

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 10:15:23 +0200, Thomas Prufer
wrote:

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 07:52:55 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:

Remember glyphosate is fairly slow acting (around a week), but when it
kills, it kills dead. Leave the dead weed in situ until it is utterly
dessicated before removing it. In fact, I often don't bother removing the
dead weeds at all.

Be careful with glyphosphate in lawns: stepping on a painted dandelion
and walking across the grass may spread the stuff if it isn't full dry
or absorbed, leading to a track of dead grass in footprint-shaped
patches a week later. Grass is more sensitive to glyphosphate than
some weeds, and I've tracked the stuff from a path into the lawn...

Either work carefully from one side to the other and stay out of the
lawn (it'll say on the bottle how long, six hours or until dry ISTR),
or use a herbicide that won't harm grass, but will kill dandelions.

How do you keep small furry animals from sitting/walking on it?
--
Martin

Weeding a lawn
 

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 10:20:27 +0200, martin wrote:

How do you keep small furry animals from sitting/walking on it?

It's not a problem unless they have large feet...

Thomas Prufer

Weeding a lawn
 

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 11:16:10 +0200, Thomas Prufer
wrote:

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 10:20:27 +0200, martin wrote:

How do you keep small furry animals from sitting/walking on it?

It's not a problem unless they have large feet...

or big bums.
--
Martin

Weeding a lawn
 

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 8:52:55 +0100, Franz Heymann wrote
(in message ):

I use one of two ways:
"Murphy's Tumbleweed" (glyphosate) can be obtained as a gel-like soup,
equipped with a small brush in the bottle top. It is very handy and
economical to just dab it on as many leaves as you can conveniently reach.

[snip]

This is the method I'll use I think.

Remember glyphosate is fairly slow acting (around a week), but when it
kills, it kills dead. Leave the dead weed in situ until it is utterly
dessicated before removing it. In fact, I often don't bother removing the
dead weeds at all. Mother nature manages it quite conveniently, if slowly.

Presumably after a week or so when the weed is 100% dead I can remove the top
if it is there leaving the, no doubt, decaying dead root in the ground?



--
Patrick

Weeding a lawn
 

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 9:15:23 +0100, Thomas Prufer wrote
(in message ):

Be careful with glyphosphate in lawns:

[snip useful info]

Thank you for this I will heed your warnings.

--
Patrick

Weeding a lawn
 

In article , PJ
writes
On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 9:42:21 +0100, Franz Heymann wrote
(in message ):

Unfortunately it would not work for me. My garden is as stony as can be,
and the dandelion roots know how to hide below stones.
It just has to be glyphosate or paraquat.

I'm thinking of trying something like this. What is the best method for
application?

Buy a Verdone weed gun and spot squirt those weeds you want to kill.
Glyphosate will kill the grass as well as the weeds, Verdone won't.

--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason,
put jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see deadspam.com

Weeding a lawn
 

"PJ" wrote in message
. com...
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 8:52:55 +0100, Franz Heymann wrote
(in message ):

I use one of two ways:
"Murphy's Tumbleweed" (glyphosate) can be obtained as a gel-like soup,
equipped with a small brush in the bottle top. It is very handy and
economical to just dab it on as many leaves as you can conveniently
reach.

[snip]

This is the method I'll use I think.

Remember glyphosate is fairly slow acting (around a week), but when it
kills, it kills dead. Leave the dead weed in situ until it is utterly
dessicated before removing it. In fact, I often don't bother removing
the
dead weeds at all. Mother nature manages it quite conveniently, if
slowly.

Presumably after a week or so when the weed is 100% dead I can remove the
top
if it is there leaving the, no doubt, decaying dead root in the ground?

Yes, if the top growth has actually dried to a frazzle.

Franz