I was pretty certain the previous homeowners purposely planted dandilion seeds all over the yard because they were mad we got their house at such a great price. But then Ben told me he and Audra had fun last fall blowing the seeds off of the dandilions in the yard (and I thought we were on the same team!)
Dandilions have literally taken over our yard. We are the only ones on the street with dandilions, and I am sure they all hate us because we are apt to infest their yards as well. Not wanting our new neighbors to hate us, I have made it my mission to defeat these buggards- which means, by default, Ben has also joined the cause.
Photo #1: Unfortunately, this photo does not do the dandilions justice. You can kind of see that there are dandilions everywhere, though I admit it is hard to see. Just imagine that there are millions of dandilions all over the lawn and that half the lawn is completely yellow.
I have a routine that I have been following the past three days to try and get rid of them.1. Mow the lawn (yes, at 8 months pregnant I am going out daily and mowing the lawn- I LOVE our lawn mower- I don't even break a sweat!!!)
2. Walk around the lawn and pick any flowers that are white and ready to spread their nasty seeds (I know it's best to pull out the weeds, but I figure I need to get rid of the seedlings at a bare minimum)
3. Start pulling the weeds. On day 1 I used a shovel- BIG mistake, it gave me blisters. Day 2- a screwdriver, which was much better. Day 3- today I bought a dandilion puller and that worked really well because it is better at getting the roots. I pull up a full grocery bag every day.
By the end of my routine, the yard generally looks like this:
Ahh...much better! Until the next morning when the dandilions come back with a greater vengeance and the ritual must start again. This weekend, Ben is going to do a lot of work and hopefully together we can get this under control!
I am hoping that the neighbors see this pregnant woman out in the yard working dilligently to get rid of the nasty ones and cut us a bit of slack!
Any other suggestions??? (Besides trying to convince America that dandilions are actually flowers)
I am curious why you think your neighbors hate you for your dandelions? Did someone say something to you? If not, why not just embrace them yourselves? Seems like a much easier solution!
ReplyDeleteUmmm. Have you seen our "yard?" You know my vote then.
ReplyDeleteweed killer. there are specific kinds that can do a good job without killing the grass.
ReplyDeleteYou need some weed and feed!! Works great!
ReplyDeleteYes, I completely understand why you are concerned about your neighbors. The golf course does nothing about theirs so our lawn gets covered with them. It drives me crazy!!
ReplyDeleteI used the weed killer Jen talked about that only kills the weed, not the grass (wear gloves and don't do it on a windy day so you don't breath it in-actually you should probably make Ben do it to be safe). After a few days they just die and you can either pull it up or just mow over it. It works great! Fixed our lawn perfectly. I can't remember the name of what I used but if I find it I will let you know.
Ben is all about having an organic yard and not using chemicals, but I am about to cave- after all, I am the one pulling them every day! Tomorrow when he has off is his test to see how much work he puts in the yard- if he decides not to do much, I will be getting that weed killer!!!! I woke up so incredibly sore this morning- let me know if you figure out what kind of weed killer that was Mandy!!!
ReplyDeleteShells- our neighbors haven't said anything, but the problem is that all of our yards are connected- we all have small yards and there are no hedges inbetween them. So, what happens in our yard does affect the neighbors. If the seeds wouldn't go into the neighbors yards and cause them dandelion problems, I wouldn't care nearly as much. But, I would be mad if my neighbor had a ton of dandelions and didn't do anything and then I got them in my yard because of it. Does that make sense?
My dad is (well, used to be) the king of lawn-care, known far and wide for green, luscious grass that no one was allowed to touch. :) YOu can imagine... ANyway, he always did weed and feed. If you check your local home depot or whatever, they may even make organic stuff, you never know...worth a shot. I totally understand the wanting an organic yard, but geez...you want that kid to stay inside for another couple of months and not be driven into early labor by dandelion pulling.
ReplyDeleteMake sure if you do choose weed killer that you make ben do it - you are pregnant after all.
Well that changes things completely. You should probably revise your original post where you said convincing Americans that dandelions were flowers was one solution, although unattainable. Because it sounds like the person they really bother are you! But I understand why. I just took your original post to mean that this fight against the dandelions was inflicted by a third party and not yourself.
ReplyDelete