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#1
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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 |
#2
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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 |
#3
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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 |
#4
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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 |
#5
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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 |
#6
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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 |
#7
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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 |
#8
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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 |
#9
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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 |
#10
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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 |
#11
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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 |
#12
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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 |
#13
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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 |
#14
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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 |
#15
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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 |
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