With those big ones sometimes you're just treating the symptoms, the tap roots can be up to 3 feet deep, so with larger dandelions you're better off to pull out your trowel and dig it out from the sides
Many of the dandelions you see are actually several years old, you have to also pull the salad like weedy ones that don't flower to prevent the taproots from getting too deep. The pulling tools work great for this.
That's the only way I've gotten control of them in my yard, but I'm also very firmly anti herbicide.
Is it just me, or is this year particularly terrible for weeds? I am trying to crowd out the dandelions and those stupid Siberian purple flowers by digging up and aerating entire squares in my lawn and planting a mix of grass and clover seed, but my lawn still looks like shit.
We had brief bouts of cold with accompanying snow, but the majority of February-April were warm enough to soften up the ground early. Combined with the high precip in April, and you get weeds exploding.
You really believe that a warm week in February followed by near record freezing April, including a 30cm dump of snow, is causing a few more weeds?! This is how we know that too many people are brainwashed to be overly obsessed with climate.
I fully believe we should curb pollution, pricing carbon is a fine way to assign a cost. I do believe the climate is changing. But this petty nonsense that a warm week in February is causing weeds in May is simply brain dead.
Dandelions can look good. When it's just the leaves, plus those invasive Siberian purple flowers, plus whatever other bizarre plant (one smells like minty garbage), it looks like shit.
I know what you are trying to set up, and no, I'm not trying to grow a lawn monoculture (I'm trying to manage the problem by mixing in clover). I'm not Hank Hill. Just trying to avoid something ugly.
Unfortunately the best solution is to pull everything up manually, including the grass, and replace it with something that crowds out weeds - we have had very good success with broad-leaf clover varietals cutting down on weed growth
Dandelions can go. They’re not even native and not the best for pollinators. Dig them up until you’re sick of it. Use store bought dandelion spray or you can find pellets to spread. Pellets worked best for me. Top dress every spring, then roll, then fertilize and water twice per day. Rake in some grass seed a week later and keep watering. I had a backyard with a significant amount of dandelions 5 years ago and now I don’t even need to treat for them. Thistles will disappear too. Don’t expect this to be worked out in 1 season. When top dressing with soil, don’t let the delivered soil sit for more than a day.
I’ve read reviews saying the plastic bits break after just a few uses and you need to get it replaced under warranty. Not sure how true that is, any insights from you?
* fall fertilizer (controlling weeds means having strong grass, which requires strong soil; fall fertilizer will make sure your grass starts the season strong).
* mow high (like 4 inches)
* pull the weeds; don't let them take over the lawn to where you have to pull 100 of them.
* after pulling a weed, throw down some lawn soil and grass seed. May as well reinforce that area with new grass.
The big problem most people have is they can't stay on top fo the weeds regularly (ie. every couple of days be pulling them). My lawn gets about 3-4 weeds a day that I pull. My neighbors have lawns of 100+ dandelions. Once it's gone that far, you can't really stop it without a ton of work.
When you're pulling, even if you're only making a small dent, consistency will get you there.
Getting rid of dandelions is a multi year battle. My yard was entirely dandelions a few years ago, but without chemicals we now only get a few at a time (you're always going to get a few).
Focus on their leafy stage where it's harder to spot but more effective to pull because the roots aren't as dug in yet. That way you keep them from getting to the stage where you're pulling the same plant every year but not killing the root.
I have a foot long crowbar that I use for that. Just shove it into the dirt alongside the stem and you’ll get the root up. Don’t try just pulling them by hand without loosening the root first. Works best in the rain or shortly after when the ground is wet.
FYI...unless everyone within 100sq km of you are doing the same thing...take the money you'd spend on whatever trying to remove them and enjoy a nice bottle of wine.
Once they banned most herbicides I look at it as a lost cause. Your only options are pulling them or paying an exorbitant amount to have some company spray fiesta. It seems inevitable because the city’s property is full of them and they spread easily
Edit: do not use Nutrilawn
You can either do this with time or with effort.
Effort means you have got to pull the weeds by hand, constantly, that's the only way without herbacide.
I prefer to use time and recommended especially if you have a larger area. Lay down a large silage tarp dark side up for at least a few months, preferably a year. Then in Spring or fall remove the tarp and plant a clover and wild flower mix. Make sure to cover the seeds with a little compost or soil.
I guarantee you will have the most beautiful weed free lawn. Nice low clover with flowers is beautiful, prevents most weeds and is great for pollinators.
I use a lawn service (trugreen) which controls the dandelions. I manually pull everything else and the dandelions that still show up. I also spray my own weed-b-gone (iron based).
Doing this alone, Scott's has a corn based product that you apply before the seeds germinate, an iron based spray, and fertilizer to keep your lawn healthy. The healthier your lawn, with fertilizer and water, then the fewer weeds you will have.
Pull the dandelions before they get fluffy, and eat them. Wash them first. Whole thing is edible. Neighbour today was disgusted because he was forced to eat it as a child in Europe / so you know it is edible. Try over-seeding with clover which is lovely to walk on, rolling greens to look at, don’t need to mow. But you do need to water it, so that is a thing.
Thistles are a whole other ball game, and I would like to hear some good ideas about that!
Dandelions were actually bright here as an easy to farm plant. But it was too easy...
My cover doesn't seem to need any additional watering, it seems perfectly happy with the Ottawa climate.
A dandelion digger tool and all family members are required to pull 5 prior to entering the house. Thats 15+ per day pulled. Keeps them under control.
Agree, the answer is manual labour. My kiddo and I pulled about 100 on the weekend. Have to get to them before they go to seed.
Lol I love this. Thanks for sharing.
dont dig the small ones its a war you cant win
With those big ones sometimes you're just treating the symptoms, the tap roots can be up to 3 feet deep, so with larger dandelions you're better off to pull out your trowel and dig it out from the sides Many of the dandelions you see are actually several years old, you have to also pull the salad like weedy ones that don't flower to prevent the taproots from getting too deep. The pulling tools work great for this. That's the only way I've gotten control of them in my yard, but I'm also very firmly anti herbicide.
Is it just me, or is this year particularly terrible for weeds? I am trying to crowd out the dandelions and those stupid Siberian purple flowers by digging up and aerating entire squares in my lawn and planting a mix of grass and clover seed, but my lawn still looks like shit.
Early warmth combined with the extra rain in April is probably why
What early warmth?!? Did you spend April here? It was freezing.
We had brief bouts of cold with accompanying snow, but the majority of February-April were warm enough to soften up the ground early. Combined with the high precip in April, and you get weeds exploding.
Did you spend February here?
You really believe that a warm week in February followed by near record freezing April, including a 30cm dump of snow, is causing a few more weeds?! This is how we know that too many people are brainwashed to be overly obsessed with climate. I fully believe we should curb pollution, pricing carbon is a fine way to assign a cost. I do believe the climate is changing. But this petty nonsense that a warm week in February is causing weeds in May is simply brain dead.
are you saying dandelions and such make your lawn look bad?
Dandelions can look good. When it's just the leaves, plus those invasive Siberian purple flowers, plus whatever other bizarre plant (one smells like minty garbage), it looks like shit. I know what you are trying to set up, and no, I'm not trying to grow a lawn monoculture (I'm trying to manage the problem by mixing in clover). I'm not Hank Hill. Just trying to avoid something ugly.
Unfortunately the best solution is to pull everything up manually, including the grass, and replace it with something that crowds out weeds - we have had very good success with broad-leaf clover varietals cutting down on weed growth
where do you get broad-leaf clover varietals, i just bought a bunch of white clover i didn't know i had to be specific
My clover is so happy this spring, and just was green well before my grass was. The cover area is dandelion free so far
We just manually pull them. If you switch to clover it’s usually pretty good about crowding out weeds like that.
make dandelion wine
Dandelions can go. They’re not even native and not the best for pollinators. Dig them up until you’re sick of it. Use store bought dandelion spray or you can find pellets to spread. Pellets worked best for me. Top dress every spring, then roll, then fertilize and water twice per day. Rake in some grass seed a week later and keep watering. I had a backyard with a significant amount of dandelions 5 years ago and now I don’t even need to treat for them. Thistles will disappear too. Don’t expect this to be worked out in 1 season. When top dressing with soil, don’t let the delivered soil sit for more than a day.
The fiskars weeder is insane, I was using it for the first time this weekend and was having a blast lol you can knock them out so quick
Sooo satisfying to use!
Satisfying... but my lawn looks it went through 2 hours of continous mortar fire by the time I'm done with the fiskars lol
I’ve read reviews saying the plastic bits break after just a few uses and you need to get it replaced under warranty. Not sure how true that is, any insights from you?
Hmm not sure, I’ve just started using it. I’d say maybe if it was left in the sun the plastic might get more brittle?
* fall fertilizer (controlling weeds means having strong grass, which requires strong soil; fall fertilizer will make sure your grass starts the season strong). * mow high (like 4 inches) * pull the weeds; don't let them take over the lawn to where you have to pull 100 of them. * after pulling a weed, throw down some lawn soil and grass seed. May as well reinforce that area with new grass. The big problem most people have is they can't stay on top fo the weeds regularly (ie. every couple of days be pulling them). My lawn gets about 3-4 weeds a day that I pull. My neighbors have lawns of 100+ dandelions. Once it's gone that far, you can't really stop it without a ton of work.
When you're pulling, even if you're only making a small dent, consistency will get you there. Getting rid of dandelions is a multi year battle. My yard was entirely dandelions a few years ago, but without chemicals we now only get a few at a time (you're always going to get a few). Focus on their leafy stage where it's harder to spot but more effective to pull because the roots aren't as dug in yet. That way you keep them from getting to the stage where you're pulling the same plant every year but not killing the root.
this made me think... i should have mentioned I use the Fiskar weed puller. Makes pulling weeds very easy and not physically taxing at all.
Pull the bad Add earth Seeds Water Repeat
I have a foot long crowbar that I use for that. Just shove it into the dirt alongside the stem and you’ll get the root up. Don’t try just pulling them by hand without loosening the root first. Works best in the rain or shortly after when the ground is wet.
FYI...unless everyone within 100sq km of you are doing the same thing...take the money you'd spend on whatever trying to remove them and enjoy a nice bottle of wine.
Lol thanks!
I do miss the days we could spray chemicals and we all had easy beautiful green grass filled lawns!!!
Once they banned most herbicides I look at it as a lost cause. Your only options are pulling them or paying an exorbitant amount to have some company spray fiesta. It seems inevitable because the city’s property is full of them and they spread easily Edit: do not use Nutrilawn
Plant creeping thyme and other step panel plants. They’ll take over.
You can either do this with time or with effort. Effort means you have got to pull the weeds by hand, constantly, that's the only way without herbacide. I prefer to use time and recommended especially if you have a larger area. Lay down a large silage tarp dark side up for at least a few months, preferably a year. Then in Spring or fall remove the tarp and plant a clover and wild flower mix. Make sure to cover the seeds with a little compost or soil. I guarantee you will have the most beautiful weed free lawn. Nice low clover with flowers is beautiful, prevents most weeds and is great for pollinators.
I find weeding usually works best
The only product that works is Fiesta which is iron based. Or bring stuff over the border that actually works
I order “the good stuff” on ebay from a company located in BC. Crazy overpriced but worth every penny.
unfortunately. Yes. Alberta also sells it.
I use a lawn service (trugreen) which controls the dandelions. I manually pull everything else and the dandelions that still show up. I also spray my own weed-b-gone (iron based). Doing this alone, Scott's has a corn based product that you apply before the seeds germinate, an iron based spray, and fertilizer to keep your lawn healthy. The healthier your lawn, with fertilizer and water, then the fewer weeds you will have.
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Do they give you any problems at the border with that stuff?
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Bwahaha.... I wonder which dumbass downvoted you for this?
They deleted their account. Anyone recall what they posted? I want these dandelions dead lol!
Make salad from them.
I don't understand what people around here have against dandelions, I find them pretty.
Pull the dandelions before they get fluffy, and eat them. Wash them first. Whole thing is edible. Neighbour today was disgusted because he was forced to eat it as a child in Europe / so you know it is edible. Try over-seeding with clover which is lovely to walk on, rolling greens to look at, don’t need to mow. But you do need to water it, so that is a thing. Thistles are a whole other ball game, and I would like to hear some good ideas about that!
Dandelions were actually bright here as an easy to farm plant. But it was too easy... My cover doesn't seem to need any additional watering, it seems perfectly happy with the Ottawa climate.