I have a large lawn which is full of Dandelions ...
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!
Some sort of weed killer that just trats the weed and doesn't harm the
grass etc. ? Anyone here found something that really works ?
Thanks for any help.

In article , Olly
writes
I have a large lawn which is full of Dandelions ...
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!
Some sort of weed killer that just trats the weed and doesn't harm the
grass etc. ? Anyone here found something that really works ?

Verdone.

--
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 ransoms
at jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see

Olly wrote:
I have a large lawn which is full of Dandelions ...
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!
Some sort of weed killer that just trats the weed and doesn't harm the
grass etc. ? Anyone here found something that really works ?
Thanks for any help.

Garden centres stock a range of selective weed killers for lawns - either as
weed'n'feed or simple weedkiller.

I prefer Scotts lawn builder will weed killer. Seems to deal very rapidly
and effectively with the weeds and being a slow release fertilizer is less
prone to scorching the grass. i'd also recommend the scotts drop spreader.
Each is more expensive that most of the competition but are good value


pk

"Olly" wrote in message
...
I have a large lawn which is full of Dandelions ...
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!
Some sort of weed killer that just trats the weed and doesn't harm
the
grass etc. ? Anyone here found something that really works ?

Paint them with glyphosate. Do it with extreme care to minimise the
amount which touches the grass leaves.

Thanks for any help.

Franz

On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 08:59:33 +0100, Olly wrote:

I have a large lawn which is full of Dandelions ...
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!
Some sort of weed killer that just trats the weed and doesn't harm the
grass etc. ? Anyone here found something that really works ?

What you want is a 'broadleaf' weedkiller. In the US, I've used Ortho
'Weed-B-Gon'. Their site lists ingredients thus:

Active Ingredients: 1.30% Dicamba, 3.05% 2,4-D, 10.6% MCPP

They used to have this in an aerosol foam can, which was very handy
for spot-treating individual dandelions. It worked quite well and
definitely killed the whole plant. It also comes in spreadable
granules, and I imagine there's something similar available in the UK.

On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 08:59:33 +0100, Olly wrote:

I have a large lawn which is full of Dandelions ...
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!


What you need is a proper dandelion "grubber". It's a long blade on a
handle that you poke in beside the root and it comes our with a
satisfactorily long root, leaving a little hole which will soon grow
over. A nice relaxing job for a sunny afternoon when you have nothing
else to do!!!


Pam in Bristol

"Olly" wrote :

I have a large lawn which is full of Dandelions ...
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!
Some sort of weed killer that just trats the weed and doesn't harm the
grass etc. ? Anyone here found something that really works ?
Thanks for any help.

Why not try an organic method which is chemical-free?

Option 1: Do you, or any of your neighbours have a rabbit as a pet? If not,
consider getting one, they are not expensive, cheap to feed, easy to keep,
and make good pets.

Let the rabbit loose one the lawn, or if you are worried about it escaping
or eating other plants, put it in a large wire "run" and move it
periodically. Rabbits *love* dandelions and will eat them in preference to
(almost) anything else.

Of course the roots will remain, and eventually the dandelions will grow
again, but the rabbit will come along and eat the tasty leaves.

Option 2: Not involving a rabbit. Pick the leaves yourself, wash them and
add to salads. Those rabbits are right, dandelion leaves are delicious.

-=# Amos E Wolfe #=-

In message , Pam Moore
writes
On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 08:59:33 +0100, Olly wrote:

I have a large lawn which is full of Dandelions ...
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!


What you need is a proper dandelion "grubber". It's a long blade on a
handle that you poke in beside the root and it comes our with a
satisfactorily long root, leaving a little hole which will soon grow
over. A nice relaxing job for a sunny afternoon when you have nothing
else to do!!!

A 10 or 12" screwdriver is more useful in lots of other DIY applications
and will also prise dandelions out of lawns root and all. The holes can
be filled with sharp sand to improve drainage.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

In message , Franz Heymann
writes

"Olly" wrote in message
.. .
I have a large lawn which is full of Dandelions ...
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!
Some sort of weed killer that just trats the weed and doesn't harm
the
grass etc. ? Anyone here found something that really works ?

Paint them with glyphosate. Do it with extreme care to minimise the
amount which touches the grass leaves.

Although I sometimes do this I would not recommend it to beginners.
Grass is exquisitely sensitive to glyphosate and will die if you walk
across in boots that have over spray on the edges leaving nice clean
boot outlines. Every spec that lands on grass will be an unsightly brown
mark.

So if you walk over a treated weed you leave footprint spots trailing
away...

It isn't quite as bad as using pathclear on lawns but it requires
extreme precision to avoid serious collateral damage so cannot be
recommended.

Much easier to use a specific broadleaf herbicide like Verdone or
generic equivalent to kill the non-grasses. Avoid waste by only hitting
the weeds.

The best overall lawn treatments usually combine a broadleaf weedkiller
with a nitrogen feed. I buy mine deliberately out of sync with reality.
(ie now is the right time to buy discounted Autumnal weed and feed)

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

Pam Moore24/4/04 5:41

On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 08:59:33 +0100, Olly wrote:

I have a large lawn which is full of Dandelions ...
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!


What you need is a proper dandelion "grubber". It's a long blade on a
handle that you poke in beside the root and it comes our with a
satisfactorily long root, leaving a little hole which will soon grow
over. A nice relaxing job for a sunny afternoon when you have nothing
else to do!!!


aka an old bread or carving knife. ;-)

--

Sacha
(remove the weeds to email me)

Olly wrote
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!

Well, if you do want to remove them mechanically, don't use a fork.
You can buy special thin devices with a V-shaped notch in the end,
similar to an agricultural "docking iron" [1]

My Dad used to use a french bayonet that his great-grandfather brought
back from Waterloo. That did the job superbly, but I have no idea
what happened to it after he moved.




[1] There's a wholly different thing also called a "docking iron".
It's not one of those.

On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 17:41:17 +0100, Pam Moore
wrote:

On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 08:59:33 +0100, Olly wrote:

I have a large lawn which is full of Dandelions ...
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!


What you need is a proper dandelion "grubber". It's a long blade on a
handle that you poke in beside the root and it comes our with a
satisfactorily long root, leaving a little hole which will soon grow
over. A nice relaxing job for a sunny afternoon when you have nothing
else to do!!!


Pam in Bristol

You have a garden, that automatically means that there is always
something to do. :-)

Rick....

"Amos E Wolfe" wrote in message
...
"Olly" wrote :

I have a large lawn which is full of Dandelions ...
What is the best way of removing them apart from forking them out
which doesn't always get all the root anyway!
Some sort of weed killer that just trats the weed and doesn't harm the
grass etc. ? Anyone here found something that really works ?
Thanks for any help.

Verdone is a weedkiller for use on grass and is very effective.

I've used it often.

Alan
--
Reply to alan(at)windsor-berks(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk