Some tips on removing and preventing dandelions
 (Read 100+ times)
By Jared Garrett
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I love my neighbor. But I hate his lawn, or rather that thing in front of his house. Because it is not a lawn in the traditional sense. It is a dandelion garden. It was lovely when the flowers were glowing golden in the spring sun. But then shudders of fear ran down my spine when those yellow buds became a vast field of seeds just aching to blow onto my lovely lawn. And blow they did. And sprout they did.
So now I have dandelions. Or at least I had dandelions. They are gone now. How did I do it? Simple! Oh, and my method is organic.
Basically, you have to be very proactive. Think, "The hard, diligent work I do today will be rewarded tomorrow." What I do is I go out and hand water my lawn. I like to do this because it is a nice stress reliever. When I head out, I take my handy-dandy weeding prong. Basically it looks like a long flat-head screwdriver. But its head is two prongs that slide deep into dirt and cut roots deeply enough to kill them.
So every time I see a dandelion, I set the running hose down on the grass, crouch down, and use the weeding prong to get the dandelion out. I toss the removed weed into a little bucket and when I am done watering, I compost the dandelions. I only compost if they haven't gone to seed yet. Now, if the dandelions have gone to seed, you still ought to pull them, but then you want to bag them up in order to control the spread of those awful seeds.
My method works because I pick about 10 dandelion plants a night. Since I do this three times a week, I am able to get rid of dandelions pretty fast and very effectively.
Another thing to keep in mind is that old adage that says, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." But how do you prevent dandelions without using pesticides? Any master gardener and landscape expert will tell you that one of your greatest defenses against weeds in your lawn is to have a healthy lawn with healthy soil.
So be sure to overseed at least once a year in order to keep your grass tightly knit. If your grass is strong and healthy, it simply won't allow dandelions or other weeds to get a foot hold. Or a root hold, I guess.
Aerating is good for your soil as well, but don't do that during the time that dandelion seeds are blowing around.
When all is said and done, it is best to take good, responsible care of the world we live in. Thus, don't give in to the temptation to use pesticides.
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Author Bio Box: Jared Garrett
 http://www.helium.com/user/show/45690
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