| Penny |
| | April 07, 2007 | Reply with quote | #1 |
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I went to a seminar last summer on pesticide free lawn care. Part of it talked about using a corn-based product early in spring to control dandelions- it was a powder that you applied directly on the lawn. If I remember correctly, it had something to do with binding whatever minerals are needed for proper root formation. I've since misplaced the handouts we had picked up at the seminar. Has anyone heard of anything like this to control dandelions? Thanks. |
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| chris |
| | April 08, 2007 | Reply with quote | #2 |
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Here are some simple tips which will help with a natural healthy lawn.http://www.ciseattle.wa.us/util/rescons/n-6step.htm 1. Mow often and mow high. Set you lawn mower at 2" to 3" to develop deeper roots and crowd out weeds. 2. Leave your grass clippings on the lawn. "Grasscycling" provides free fertilizer. Your hand mower will do the job fine if you keep the blades sharp. Consider buying a " mulching" lawn mower. This will cut the grass clippings finer and blow them into the lawn. 3. Water deeply but infrequently. Grass does better when watered to the root zone and then allowed to dry out. Water slowly starting and stopping to give the water time to sink in. 4. Use organic slow-release fertilizer in September and May. If you choose to fertilize only once then do so in Fall. Over fertilized lawns are prone to disease, thatch buildup and drought damage. 5. Over seed in the Spring or Fall after aerating or raking. 6. Remove unwanted weeds by hand pulling. The above strategies will serve to decrease your weed population by crowding them out with healthy grass. |
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| Jim Kohut |
| | April 09, 2007 | Reply with quote | #3 |
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I've heard about using "corn gluten meal" to control weeds in a lawn - it might be similar to what you heard. Here's some info I found;
http://www.pesticide.org/pubs/alts/cgm/cornglutenmeal.html
I have no experience with it, and I've heard more than one person say that it doesn't work on dandelions because they're perennials (not sure if I follow the logic, though...).
Sometimes this whole "organic" thing becomes a way for savvy marketers to appeal to unwary gardeners or homeowners looking for a way to save the environment. Often these don't work well, or if they do, it's because they're as harmful or even more harmful than the so-called "chemicals".
But again, I can't recommend this solution one way or the other.
Jim K.
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| akeimou |
| | April 13, 2007 | Reply with quote | #4 |
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maybe a future hot topic but some of those marketing ploys in gardening are just either incredibly awesome or incredulously ridiculous. my current favourite is the honeysuckle popper.
--meg
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| Penny |
| | April 16, 2007 | Reply with quote | #5 |
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Thanks for the reponses, everyone. Jim, I'm pretty sure this wasn't a marketing ploy to sell corn meal gluten (and it was corn meal gluten they mentioned)- the inservice was put on by a local environmental group in Winnipeg and offered free at the library and included many good, environmentally-friendly tips on lawn care. Good website link- thanks for that. I already do most of the things you mentoned, Chris. We always leave the clippings on the lawn and get the blade sharpened every year- this year we're going to see if we can have a mulching blade put on to replace the old blade. (If we've left the grass too long between mowings I rake it afterwards and add it to one of my composters.) I plan to overseed this week as I am raking the lawn today. And I do hand-pull weeds as they come up- have one of those dandelion puller things and it does a pretty good job of pulling up a good bit of root. The back of our property backs onto a walking path that is frequently chock-a-block in dandelions so it's hard to keep up at times in the ackyard. We haven't however fertilized at all since we bought the property 2.5 years ago. Any suggestions on a good organic fertilizer? |
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| akeimou |
| | April 17, 2007 | Reply with quote | #6 |
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corn gluten is supposed to work as germination inhibitor so it won't work on dandies that are already up and running.
in Calgary, we have these sources (old list but some should still be around) for corn gluten http://www.pesticidefreeyards.org/Pages/Resources.html near middle of the page.
i used to be interested in corn gluten but ended up just removing the lawn. that took care of the huge dandelion problem. also with the bigger problem of running out of planting space  .
still have odd dandelions here and there but a simple dandelion digger takes care of that real well. esp around this time when ground has just thawed and dandies are just coming out and ground is still moist and soft, should make digging out that long taproot easier.
for non-planting areas (definitely not for lawns), e.g., in the back alley just outside the fence, my favourite potion is a mixture of vinegar, salt, and dish soap (cheaper version of isopropylamine salt-based Roundup?) sprayed on the leaves. can virtually see the dandies shrivel and die.
many ideas/sources for natural/organic control on that pesticidefreeyards.org site. disclaimer :-] i don't know which ones are just marketing ploy. but one would hope that the Sierra Club of Canada is not easily taken in.
--meg
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| Penny |
| | April 17, 2007 | Reply with quote | #7 |
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Hi, Meg. Loved the pesticidefree.org site- especially the recipes using dandelions. If you can't beat 'em, eat' em- very funny! I'd LOVE to rip out the whole yard and start all over again but just can't afford to at this point. I've also tried diluted vinegar on dandelions but have found it also burn the lawn a bit so I use that when they pop up at the edge of the driveway and between paving stones- it works very well. |
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| akeimou |
| | June 15, 2007 | Reply with quote | #8 |
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just learned about the campaign for a bylaw that will phase out the use of unnecessary pesticides on public and private lands in Calgary (www.healthycalgary.ca)
i have mixed thoughts on these. first i was surprised to see the many municipalities all over Canada that already have this bylaw and how behind we are in Calgary. but then i'm concerned for those with dandy-lawns (more dandelions than grass), what are they gonna do?! natural alternatives don't seem viable for those who have other priorities, have more important things to do than maintaining a healthy lawn, esp in a fast-paced city like Calgary. i wonder how cities with this bylaw in effect are coping. wonder if we'll start to see more gardens than lawns, or more concrete...
btw, this (http://www.healthycalgary.ca/Page-73.html) suggests compost as organic fertilizer.
--meg |
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| Penny |
| | June 15, 2007 | Reply with quote | #9 |
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Meg, I think they were just debating this very thing at a City Council meeting here in Winnipeg last week. The owner of a lawn care company I think summed it up best in saying that most homeowners don't apply lawn chemicals properly- they don't read the label at all or they don't follow the instructions correctly. A lot of municipalities have a ban on chemicals/pesticides and I doubt it has really affected the number of people who have lawns. (And really, how do the municipalities enforce these bans? Pesticide police?! Doubt it!) If you have the time to apply chemicals to your lawn, you have time to use other means to manage your lawn as far as I'm concerned.
By the way the corn meal stuff seems to have done a good job on any new dandelions. We really had very few new dandelions this year. Am still slowly working at pulling upthe old ones, though! I usually wait till we've had at least one solid day of rain and they pull out quite nicely. I have one of the hand pullers that Lee Valley sells- works great! Once I've pulled one out I apply a mixt of grass seed and soil and within a week or so the hole I left is filled! Although my lawn care company- we have organic fertilizer only applied- did a visit the day after one of my weed-pulling days and left their inspection note that we had "vole damage"!! I'm a pretty big vole, I guess!!
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| Jim Kohut |
| | June 15, 2007 | Reply with quote | #10 |
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It's probably no coincidence, but this is going to be our "Hot Topic" for July - restrictions on the use of herbicides and fertilizers on urban and suburban properties. It's a big issue in many jurisdictions right now, and more than a few homeowners are having conniptions!
Jim K.
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| Mister Honeysuckle |
| | July 11, 2007 | Reply with quote | #11 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by akeimoumaybe a future hot topic but some of those marketing ploys in gardening are just either incredibly awesome or incredulously ridiculous. my current favourite is the honeysuckle popper. --meg
I was wondering what is incredulously ridiculous about my website.
Thanks, Chris
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| akeimou | |
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