Pulling Out Dandelions - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

chid · 05-31-2008, 05:13 PM

I have a million dandelions in my yard and don't want to use chemicals to get rid of them, is there anything besides physically pulling them out with my hands I can use to pull them out?

KTown · 05-31-2008, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chid

I have a million dandelions in my yard and don't want to use chemicals to get rid of them, is there anything besides physically pulling them out with my hands I can use to pull them out?

There are some garden tools that could aid you. I pull them out by hand now because I barely get any. That being said, but when I first had lots I just used weed and feed. Yah its a chemical but I have the best grass on the block right now

Mightyfire89 · 05-31-2008, 05:20 PM

I use a fairly large flat tip screwdriver. It works pretty well.

Or you could buy something like this:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/pr...08474396672623

ken0042 · 05-31-2008, 05:21 PM

I use one of these but for dandelions it also kills the surrounding grass. To pull them out I use a screwdriver to losen the soil around it, because if you don't get the root it will just grow back. I had one earlier this year that wasn't a very big plant, but had a root over 2 feet long.

But yeah, I'm doing the weed and feed route myself too.

ricoFlame · 05-31-2008, 05:32 PM

make sure you take care of the root as well if you pull the weeds.

McMack · 05-31-2008, 05:34 PM

Weed and feed should be a last resort; most of it just washes down the sewer. If you have to use a herbicide, use a spot treatment type, i.e. one that you spray on the individual weeds.

Shazam · 05-31-2008, 06:04 PM

This is what I use. Pretty effective.

There's also this:

You can also burninate them:

redforever · 05-31-2008, 10:15 PM

It is pretty well impossible to "pull" out a dandelion, unless it is very immature and is in soft wet soil.

Dandelions have very long tap roots that almost require backhoes to get them out, especially if they have taken root in soils that have a lot of clay. Many plants require good rich soil to grow in, not dandelions, they can grow pretty well anywhere.

Try some long, skinny tool, such as mentioned above. You need something to get down deep, hopefully below the root, so you don't snap that root. But also try to have your soil in a soft state, by that I mean moist.

If you do not get out all of the tap root, or if you snap or cut it in two, the dandelion will come back and when it does, it will come back bigger and fatter

((

Rathji · 05-31-2008, 11:10 PM

paint roundup on the leaf of the individual plants with a small paintbrush, the stuff is safe to drink, and goes inert when it hits the soil.

I doesn't kill the plant so much as causes it to grow super fast and 'burn' it self out. If you were to spray an entire area that was weeds and soil you would have dead weeds in 2 days and plant new plants right away.

redforever · 06-01-2008, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rathji

paint roundup on the leaf of the individual plants with a small paintbrush, the stuff is safe to drink, and goes inert when it hits the soil.

I doesn't kill the plant so much as causes it to grow super fast and 'burn' it self out. If you were to spray an entire area that was weeds and soil you would have dead weeds in 2 days and plant new plants right away.

Round Up will kill a dandelion. It will also kill everything else it touches since it is a non discriminating type of herbicide. So yeah, if you spray it on weeds and soil, no problem since there are no other plants in the area that you might wish to save. It also is very safe to use compared to most herbicides.

On the other hand, a herbicide something like Killex is discriminating in that it kills broadleaf plants. So if you would spray Killex on your lawn, it would kill the dandelion which is a broad leafed plant but it would not kill the grass unless of course you mixed it in the wrong proportions in which case it will burn and kill the grass too.

So it is correct that if a dandelion is in the lawn, you will have to paint the Round Up on the leaves of the dandelion only because if Round Up touches any blade of grass, it will kill that too.

I have never seen Round Up work in 2 days though. Usually you see the dandelion or weed turn yellowish and start to wither and dry up after about 7 days. And I live in the country and can buy "farmers" Round Up which is not watered down like the product that is available in garden centers in Calgary. And you can not buy the "farmers" version unless you provide your legal land description.

The person who started this thread is interested in a green solution to getting rid of dandelions. It will require hard labor since dandelions have long tap roots and if you do not get all of the root, a dandelion is an extremely tough weed and will survive and come back with a vengeance.

chid · 06-01-2008, 10:19 AM

I realize that doing this without chemicals is going to be a lot of work and time, but I'm more than willing to put the time in. Those tools posted look better than just me carefully trying to yank them out. Thanks for everyone's advice

Tiger · 06-01-2008, 10:46 AM

A green solution you can use (but still a chemical) is add some vinegar to the dandelion (only spot treat though)

CMPunk · 06-01-2008, 11:06 AM

I'm sure if chid asked a bunch of CP guys to help her, that lawn would be done in no time

killer_carlson · 06-01-2008, 12:35 PM

try eating them.

They have a bitter taste but if you toss them into a spring mix they work ok.

Check them out on the net for nutritional value - they have got to be one of, if not THE, healthiest green leafy vegetable. Much more popular in Europe. \

I bought some at an organic store a while back and think that if you found the right recipe, you could really make them work.

STAMPEDRED · 06-01-2008, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiger

A green solution you can use (but still a chemical) is add some vinegar to the dandelion (only spot treat though)

Just regular vinegar?

I was out pulling dandelions out and couldn't believe how strong the root was and how long and I sure did not get it all out. Man those suckers are tough!

I'm use to the regular picking of a dandelion and singing the song "momma had a baby and her head popped off". So much easier back then when you didn't care about weeds!

Flames_Gimp · 06-01-2008, 07:12 PM

The Dandelions have defeated me. They took over my yard, i give up!

KootenayFlamesFan · 06-01-2008, 07:31 PM

This is what I use:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/pr...08474396672609

Works ok, but as others have mentioned you gotta be sure to get the root out with it, or it will just come back again. I try to get as many as I can with it before I go with the feed and weed.

Slava · 06-01-2008, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

try eating them.

They have a bitter taste but if you toss them into a spring mix they work ok.

Check them out on the net for nutritional value - they have got to be one of, if not THE, healthiest green leafy vegetable. Much more popular in Europe. \

I bought some at an organic store a while back and think that if you found the right recipe, you could really make them work.

You can also make both tea and wine frm them if you want to put the effort in!

Shazam · 06-01-2008, 08:51 PM

Corn Gluten Meal is a natural product you can use that inhibits seed germination and is also a good fertilizer. It's a lot more available now than when I first started to use it. You can get it at Rona, HD, etc.

Lee Valley sells a water powered weeder that can get rid of the whole weed, root and all.

SportsJunky · 06-18-2008, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redforever

Round Up will kill a dandelion. It will also kill everything else it touches since it is a non discriminating type of herbicide. So yeah, if you spray it on weeds and soil, no problem since there are no other plants in the area that you might wish to save. It also is very safe to use compared to most herbicides.
.

So, I grabbed the jug of Round Up and like a moron used it on my lawn (and part of my neighbor's lawn trying to be a good guy) to kill the dandelions. Now I have dead grass in many spots. I don't suppose anyone has some advice on fixing these spots? I'm suprised my neighbor didn't come over screaming at me.

Is it as easy as digging out the dead patch and applying grass seed?