Dandelions/weeds

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

When you realize your version of a nice lawn is a direct result of a hyper-successful marketing campaign by a herbicide company 60 or so years ago, I don't see how you can't feel like a sucker.

I'm no sucker. I don't care about successful advertisements that my grandparents watched. I don't care if your version of a nice lawn is different. I like what I like.

[The Yen Man]

Honestly, for about $200 - $250 per year, just get Greendrop or Weedman to come, and your dandelion problem goes away. The commercial grade stuff they use is fantastic, and I've yet to see any dandelion on my lawn.

It costs probably $100 a year just on stuff you buy at the store and do on your own. I wouldn't mind the extra effort if that stuff actually worked, but ever since they banned weed and feed, none of the store offered stuff is that effective. For an extra $100 ish a year, I think it's worth it just to hire a lawn company.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by peter12

You're a joker.

... he's a smoker. He's a midniiiiight tooooooker.

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

When you realize your version of a nice lawn is a direct result of a hyper-successful marketing campaign by a herbicide company 60 or so years ago, I don't see how you can't feel like a sucker.

Considering neither you nor I were alive 60 years ago, I believe what you're describing is an 'indirect' result of said marketing campaign.

I like things that look clean, neat, and well kept. I want my lawn to look like lush, green carpet. And if my carpet in my house had weird sh-t growing out of it or stay strands going everywhere, I'd probably take action to fix it too.

[Canadianman]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Honestly, for about $200 - $250 per year, just get Greendrop or Weedman to come, and your dandelion problem goes away. The commercial grade stuff they use is fantastic, and I've yet to see any dandelion on my lawn.

It costs probably $100 a year just on stuff you buy at the store and do on your own. I wouldn't mind the extra effort if that stuff actually worked, but ever since they banned weed and feed, none of the store offered stuff is that effective. For an extra $100 ish a year, I think it's worth it just to hire a lawn company.

I bought 1L of concentrated Killex over a decade ago for $14. I've got about half of it left.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I'm no sucker. I don't care about successful advertisements that my grandparents watched. I don't care if your version of a nice lawn is different. I like what I like.

Of course you do. But what you like (and the processes you think are needed to achieve it) was not decided solely by you, pretty much nothing we value is, external forces are always at play. And in this case, we can point to a single external source as the root cause for what you like.

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

... he's a smoker. He's a midniiiiight tooooooker.
Considering neither you nor I were alive 60 years ago, I believe what you're describing is an 'indirect' result of said marketing campaign.

I like things that look clean, neat, and well kept. I want my lawn to look like lush, green carpet. And if my carpet in my house had weird sh-t growing out of it or stay strands going everywhere, I'd probably take action to fix it too.

It’s pretty direct. Just because you didn’t hear it from the original source, does not mean it can’t be directly traced to there. It’s the exact same ideal.

Your lawn isn’t a carpet though. It’s a living thing. And again, if you want to avoid random things from sprouting up, take care of the living thing properly and ensure whatever living there is living cohesively with everything else.

If something was growing out of your carpet, would you just cut it out and never bother to wonder why something was growing out of your carpet in the first place? Seems weird.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Of course you do. But what you like (and the processes you think are needed to achieve it) was not decided solely by you, pretty much nothing we value is, external forces are always at play. And in this case, we can point to a single external source as the root cause for what you like.

You are saying I like a green lawn because of external forces yet the old "successful marketing campaign by a herbicide company" (this is cut right from a website as I've read this propaganda before) is something that's being used as an external force by environmentalists to tell us that we were brainwashed into liking green lawns. The reality is that we have always enjoyed a nice green lawn and weed and feed simply made green lawns easier to attain. I get that you are trying to be the external source here telling us that maintain a nice lawn is wasteful but I'm choosing to be selective about what external forces influence me.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Of course you do. But what you like (and the processes you think are needed to achieve it) was not decided solely by you, pretty much nothing we value is, external forces are always at play. And in this case, we can point to a single external source as the root cause for what you like.

I don't believe that, to be honest. You're telling me the only reason why I like the look of lush, green, well maintained grass vs. patchy, weed ridden growth with dry patches is because marketing trained our brain to do so? So natural aesthetic preferences have nothing to do with it?

[CroFlames]

What if I want xeriscape front and back yards, but I still want to help the bees? What do I do?

Potted plants?

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

It’s pretty direct. Just because you didn’t hear it from the original source, does not mean it can’t be directly traced to there. It’s the exact same ideal.

Direct is binary, either it is or it isn't. Pretty direct is still indirect by definition.

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Your lawn isn’t a carpet though. It’s a living thing. And again, if you want to avoid random things from sprouting up, take care of the living thing properly and ensure whatever living there is living cohesively with everything else.

If something was growing out of your carpet, would you just cut it out and never bother to wonder why something was growing out of your carpet in the first place? Seems weird.

I'm so glad you told me that, I was about to try and use our Bissell on the front lawn until you reminded me how a similie works. The second part, I have no idea where you pulled that from when I literally said I would take action to fix it. Fixing a problem properly includes the root cause.

Spoiler!

That's a plant pun from guy in software development so it works both ways. You're welcome.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

What if I want xeriscape front and back yards, but I still want to help the bees? What do I do?

Potted plants?

Native flowering perennials



https://www.calgaryplants.com/blogs/...erta-landscape


https://alclanativeplants.com/


https://anpc.ab.ca/


For a few ideas

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I don't believe that, to be honest. You're telling me the only reason why I like the look of lush, green, well maintained grass vs. patchy, weed ridden growth with dry patches is because marketing trained our brain to do so? So natural aesthetic preferences have nothing to do with it?

Just taking the very definition of the word weed as a plant growing somewhere where it is not wanted you are not qualified to walk past a strangers house and describe their yard as weed ridden.

I've got dandelions. I don't consider them weeds. Just part of the flora of my yard. I mow occasionally and truth be told I do so on purpose to minimize disturbance. I like the look of my biodiverse lawn. That's my aesthetic preference.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I don't believe that, to be honest. You're telling me the only reason why I like the look of lush, green, well maintained grass vs. patchy, weed ridden growth with dry patches is because marketing trained our brain to do so? So natural aesthetic preferences have nothing to do with it?

No.

To be totally clear, what I mean is that the monoculture version of a nice lawn that inevitably requires chemicals and excess watering, the "ideal lawn" was a manufactured ideal for the purpose of selling chemicals.

This isn't a debate between whether you should have a beautiful-looking green lawn or a patchy mess full of weeds. That would be stupid, who isn't going to prefer the former? The reason I brought it up is because someone suggested exactly that in response to not watering or using chemicals, as though that's the only option. And the only reason it's the only option to you, is because marketing decided that was so.

The point is that you can achieve a lush, green, well-maintained lawn without the use of chemicals or excess watering. Different grasses that are drought resistant (some low growing types if you want to mow less), clover, low growing spreaders. Adding these to your lawn + working to ensure the health of your lawn by making it stronger (compost, organic fertilizer, etc) is going to establish something strong, lush, green, and well maintained that needs less (or no) excess water and fights off weeds by itself. Problem is, you keep using herbicide, and you're never going to get there. It's a cycle they want you to be in.

Marketing and chemical companies didn't decide you would prefer a nice green lawn. They created the ideal composition to a standard that ensures you'll always need their product. Why? Because their product also happens to kill the good things that aren't weeds (things that coexist nicely with grass and help it fight weeds), so instead of fixing the product, they convinced people the good things were bad, too.

The importance of a flawless putting green was a thing 30-40 years before the invention of the types of lawn maintenance chemicals we have today. How do you think that was achieved?

[2Stonedbirds]

The funny thing is, "they" don't want you to know that organic fertilizer is #### and animal waste.
Hooray for commercial farming!

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by 2Stonedbirds

The funny thing is, "they" don't want you to know that organic fertilizer is #### and animal waste.
Hooray for commercial farming!

Poop and corpses man, poop and corpses.

[Flames0910]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

What if I want xeriscape front and back yards, but I still want to help the bees? What do I do?

Potted plants?

Ya you could buy potted plants from home depot or wherever.
The comment on perennials is a good one too as there are many "xeriscape" friendly perennials that don't require much watering once established -- check the city's Yard Smart layouts for some examples.

You could also buy a xeriscape wildflower mix. I got one from West Coast Seeds and double checked that there were no invasives in the mix -- sowed some in a bed next to an alley that I don't want to fuss with too much along with a few anchor perennials and will see how it goes this year! /fingers-crossed

[2Stonedbirds]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

What if I want xeriscape front and back yards, but I still want to help the bees? What do I do?

Potted plants?

I have an American mountain ash tree in my backyard that flowers. You know the trees with the little red berry bundles that the birds love? Its flowering right now and Sunday morning when I popped out of the house I could hear the bees buzzing from about 40 feet from my door. Flowering trees and perennials are great.
I have a greenhouse, part of what I keep are some potted plants, mostly peppers that I move in and out, depending on sun and temperature. The bees love them. Annuals, but even if peppers aren't your favorite Id recommend the basket of fire variety even as a nice ornamental annual. Lots of flowers to keep bees busy and great colors when they start producing. Easy to keep as well.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by zamler

"Weed and Feed" products were banned in Canada January 1st, 2010, and I thought 2,4-D specifically. So either there is no enforcement or the gubbermint forgot about it.

I miss weed and feed.

[zamler]

Only PepsiFree would try to be avant-garde in a lawn care thread.