Dandelions/weeds

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

If you have the odd weed could you not eradicate them with weed killer in an eye dropper applied right on the weed? I may have 3-4.

3-4 weeds? You could eradicate them just by picking them which would be much more effective than any weed killer.

[MoneyGuy]

Except miss one bit of root and it pops up again. Tried that and wasn’t good at it.

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Lawns are ridiculous...how much clean drinking water is wasted to try and have a greener lawn then your neighbor for 3 months

pouring chemicals into the ground is even worse

There are many more ways water gets wasted other than watering grass. More water gets wasted at the car wash with people having to have shiny rides all summer.

It rains here so much till July that grass doesn’t even need to be watered. Then for the drier months july to september a bit of summer fertilizer and the occasional watering is good enough.

Grass only needs about 22mm of water every week. Overwatering is the bigger problem.

Is there a water shortage in Calgary?

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

There are many more ways water gets wasted other than watering grass. More water gets wasted at the car wash with people having to have shiny rides all summer.

It rains here so much till July that grass doesn’t even need to be watered. Then for the drier months july to september a bit of summer fertilizer and the occasional watering is good enough.

Grass only needs about 22mm of water every week. Overwatering is the bigger problem.

Is there a water shortage in Calgary?

Whoa Whoa don't let facts get in the way of a good social justice post!

[Canadianman]

I bought a 1L concentrated bottle of Killex about 13 years ago. Still have about 400ml left.


5ml into 1L of water into a spray bottle.


Works great.


https://www.lowes.ca/product/weed-gr...entrate-263636

[firebug]

Originally Posted by Canadianman

I bought a 1L concentrated bottle of Killex about 13 years ago. Still have about 400ml left.


5ml into 1L of water into a spray bottle.


Works great.


https://www.lowes.ca/product/weed-gr...entrate-263636

I do exactly this... i suspect my bottle is close to 20 years old now lol. I even supply to the neighbours.

Healthy lawn with occasional spot treatment keeps us weed free all year with very little effort.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Whoa Whoa don't let facts get in the way of a good social justice post!

Social justice? That’s silly. It’s totally fair not to want to waste water or pour chemicals into the ground on something so vain and pointless. The fact that people also waste water in other ways that can be vain and pointless doesn’t really change that fact.

It’s funny watching people who have been completely suckered into an idea and who basically think a lawn should look a certain way because they were told so get defensive about it. It’s cool if you want to waste water and use chemicals for your personal aesthetic. It’s also cool if you don’t.

Like the post about the lady going around city property lighting dandelions up with a barbecue lighter. Might be a sign that you’re a sucker.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Is there a water shortage in Calgary?

Right now? No. Looming? Yes. We may be using less water than we did 20 years ago, but use needs to keep dropping to maintain growth the way we are. Between changing practices and other "efficiencies" it's brought down a lot of the big users, but business parks are probably the worst for efficiency and waste, and the easiest solution to reduce water consumption is to increase rates.



Flow reductions in the rivers would also affect when we can use certain amounts of water. Springbank and McLean Creek projects will be desperately needed for Calgary more-so for water use stability than they are for flood mitigation in the near future.

[cral12]

bit late, but: protect the pollinators!

(prob not what peeps want to hear here...)

https://calgaryherald.com/life/homes...work-for-a-bit

https://www.discoverairdrie.com/loca...ur-lawn-in-may

[2Stonedbirds]

Yeah, no mow May has turned into no spray May.
Cbc had an article a few weeks ago, you're either on team nature or team chemicals?
Had a picture of a green party member from out east, proud as punch in front of his absolute disaster of a yard. To each their own, just making seed for business.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Social justice? That’s silly. It’s totally fair not to want to waste water or pour chemicals into the ground on something so vain and pointless. The fact that people also waste water in other ways that can be vain and pointless doesn’t really change that fact.

It’s funny watching people who have been completely suckered into an idea and who basically think a lawn should look a certain way because they were told so get defensive about it. It’s cool if you want to waste water and use chemicals for your personal aesthetic. It’s also cool if you don’t.

Like the post about the lady going around city property lighting dandelions up with a barbecue lighter. Might be a sign that you’re a sucker.

Pepsi you need to realize that that it's not vain and pointless to people that have say gardening hobbies or take pride in their house and yard. I do agree that some people go overboard with watering but I see no problems in people that want a nice green lawn. I don't care for the unkempt lawn look but if that's how you roll then good for you. Just don't move next to me.

[peter12]

Reading this thread has just confirmed my prejudice that suburbia is pure hell.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by peter12

Reading this thread has just confirmed my prejudice that suburbia is pure hell.

Mowing sure beats scrubbing graffiti and sweeping needles, beat it yuppie

[peter12]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Mowing sure beats scrubbing graffiti and sweeping needles, beat it yuppie

I live in a very nice medium density neighbourhood with none of those problems. Certainly, the closer you get to the DTES you will find that, but most of the city's urban areas are quite nice.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by peter12

I live in a very nice medium density neighbourhood with none of those problems. Certainly, the closer you get to the DTES you will find that, but most of the city's urban areas are quite nice.

Reddit told me such statements are thinly veiled racist classism

Whatever that means

[peter12]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Reddit told me such statements are thinly veiled racist classism

Whatever that means

Haha! Nice.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by peter12

I live in a very nice medium density neighbourhood with none of those problems. Certainly, the closer you get to the DTES you will find that, but most of the city's urban areas are quite nice.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Pepsi you need to realize that that it's not vain and pointless to people that have say gardening hobbies or take pride in their house and yard. I do agree that some people go overboard with watering but I see no problems in people that want a nice green lawn. I don't care for the unkempt lawn look but if that's how you roll then good for you. Just don't move next to me.

Sure it is.

It's still ok. I like nice clothes and those are vain and pointless. It's reality.

There's just a big chasm between a poorly rooted monoculture held up only by chemicals and excess water usage and the unkempt lawn look. You can achieve something that looks well maintained and aesthetically pleasing and can withstand play without falling back on what you've been sold both should be. It helps to understand the plants, your soil, and what needs to be done to remedy the root of your issue (no pun intended). Otherwise you're just fighting off symptoms of whatever problem you're having.

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.

[peter12]

I've just spent some time looking at biodiverse lawns. They look pretty cool. If I could afford a lawn, I would probably do something like that.

[jroc]

Very timely topic for me as I'm a newbie to lawn maintenance. (Definitely miss that big perk to the condo life!)

So anyways, I picked up a weed puller similar to this: https://www.lowes.ca/product/weeders...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

I went around and picked out a couple dozen weeds, and it left hockey puck sized divots everywhere. I'm assuming the grass doesn't magically grow back in these spots, so what should I be doing? Throw in a hand full of grass seed or something on each divot?

Also- whats the deal with fertilizing?

Apologies in advance for being such a newb!