Dandelions

Davesnave

Lotus-eater wrote: »

If you can't get rid of them, it may be good to remember that dandelions are very important to bees and we all know bees are in trouble and presumeably if you are on this forum, you are some kind of a gardener, or care about nature, therefore you probably want to have some dandelions.

Yeah, but no, but.....well..:o

I have 4 acres of them ATM, and I don't touch those, but they're not in my lawn!

Let those with consciences plant buddleia as pennance.

Lotus-eater

Davesnave wrote: »

Let those with consciences plant buddleia as pennance.

But it's because the dandelions are very early flowering that they are so useful to the bees

morg_monster

I always pull off dandelion heads when they are yellow; and I spent a whole weekend at the end of last summer, sitting on the lawn with a knife and weed tool digging out EVERY SINGLE dandelion plant in the lawn. I was so careful to get all the roots out I possibly could.
I have more than ever this year. So I am giving up! I still pull out the flowers but it's like holding back the flood, behind our house is a wood, nearby a park, neighbours along the road who aren't fussed, it's pretty pointless.

I put on some weed and feed weekend before last but that seems to have hardly done anything because we've had no rain since then (I did water it in at the time). Think I will concentrate on keeping what grass there is green and healthy and ignore the dandelions!

I quite like daisies in the lawn though, wish I had more of those!

megzmam

Jesthar wrote: »

Best way to keep them from spreading is to try and go out every day and pull any flower heads off you see. If you do that and also dig up any you reasonably can, you'll reduce the problem substantially year by year. Yes, it's a pain, but if motivation is a problem I find renaming them after a person is annoying you at the moment is both motivational and thereputic ("Right, I'm just going to go pull the heads of the Blairs" )

Throw the flower heads in the household rubbish, though, not on the compost heap or other green recycling thing, as they'll turn to seed anyway after being picked.

Table salt will off them OK, but be careful you don't poison the soil around the weed too - salt is indiscriminate, and can render ground infertile for a fair while in large enough quantities. You'd need a fair bit to do any serious damage, though.

I believe there used to be advice bandied around about making paste you could paint on from concentrate glyphosate weedkillers, or you could buy commercial gels and pastes, but the EU have banned such things and such advice now according to google...

~Jes

i hate dandilions an=d i go out daily and pick the heads off too, thought i was the only person that did this lol i think neighbours must think i'm a bit loopy but i've had less and less come back easch year so it must work. . . . then again it would work better if my neighbour tended to his lawn you can't see any green its completely covered in dandilions and it really annoys my especially when they start to seed and spread about everywhere.
didn't realise about disposing of the heads though i've always put them in my garden waste bin. . . oops! will make the change

Davesnave

Lotus-eater wrote: »

But it's because the dandelions are very early flowering that they are so useful to the bees

You are right, as usual, and it's a difficult one, but there are many other wild flowers that bloom early and live in lawns less 'conspicuously' than dandelions.

A couple of years ago, when we were renting, the front lawn was a real haven for meadow herbs of all kinds. The adjoining neighbours had aimilar plantings. However, we also had a few dandelions, which the neighbours didn't have.

I took the decision to treat the dandelions, firstly because I wanted my deposit back, and also because they might upset the neighbours who were doing a good job overall with a fairly unpromising bit of open-plan grass.

I think the OP has a similar right, and personally, I'd rather they treated the weed they hate with hand applied glyphosate, than apply chemicals, blanket-style to the whole blooming lot.

Jesthar

Davesnave wrote: »

Not entirely, they haven't! :cool:

Mix a strong glyphosate solution with a bit of wallpaper paste, add some red food dye and paint the resulting gel onto the dandelion's middle bit with a small paintbrush. The red dye simply shows you which ones you've done.

Also paint the solution on anyone who tells you, "Oi, the EU says you can't do that, mate!"

It will take a good few days to work, but it will. Put sand in the holes left by the rotted roots, or leave them for miner bees (see other thread.)

Ammonium Sulphamate was even better (what used to be used in SBK and Deep Root), and way better for the environment that glyphosate too. Until the EU refused to renew the license on that, too... :mad: So you will only find ammonium sulphamate sold as compost accelerator now, and must be very careful not to spill any solution of it you make on any weeds on the way to the heap or you'll seriously annoy those nice people in Brussels

morg_monster wrote: »

I always pull off dandelion heads when they are yellow; and I spent a whole weekend at the end of last summer, sitting on the lawn with a knife and weed tool digging out EVERY SINGLE dandelion plant in the lawn. I was so careful to get all the roots out I possibly could.
I have more than ever this year. So I am giving up! I still pull out the flowers but it's like holding back the flood, behind our house is a wood, nearby a park, neighbours along the road who aren't fussed, it's pretty pointless.

I put on some weed and feed weekend before last but that seems to have hardly done anything because we've had no rain since then (I did water it in at the time). Think I will concentrate on keeping what grass there is green and healthy and ignore the dandelions!

I quite like daisies in the lawn though, wish I had more of those!

Problem with digging the plants out at the end of summer is they will already have spread their seeds everywhere. So you may have got rid of those plants, but the next years infestation was already waiting to strike... :eek:

K8eP

rabidbun wrote: »

I've been using the edge of my spade to dig down a bit and then pulling it up before replacing the grass that I dug up and treading it down. Seems to be working so far at least at the back, but dear goodness the front is not in a good place... only way I know of is weedkiller or digging them out but don't like to use the weedkiller so would also be interested in other methods!

Please please send your dandelions to me! My guinea pigs adore them! I love seeing dandelion covered lawns, they make me think of my guinea pigs and make me smile...

Hey... they make good lawn mowers! don't destroy your dandelions, just get a pair of female guinea pigs, they'll sort that and the grass for you!

*wheek wheek*

I LOVE GUINEA PIGS

Lotus-eater

Davesnave wrote: »

You are right, as usual, and it's a difficult one, but there are many other wild flowers that bloom early and live in lawns less 'conspicuously' than dandelions.

Everyone has a right to do whatever they want Especially with their lawns, but dandelions are particularly conspicuous and it's always useful to remind people how useful they are.
:wave:

lilac_lady

I pay my grandchildren 10p for every dandelion head they pick but they have to be found in my garden otherwise I'd be broke!