Dandelions in the lawn

What's the best way to eradicate them? Ideally organically/without using glyphosate?

I have an old unopened bottle of 'feed and weed' in the shed that my dad gave me but have doubts as to how effective it might be and am pretty sure it must contain some nasty chemicals, though glyphosate is not listed on the side. Am also not convinced how effective it's likely to be?

My mum recommends a screwdriver pushed down into the roots and then salt tipped in - I've tried this in the past but it tends to be a bit hit and miss and leaves unsightly holes in the lawn for a while where the salt kills of the surrounding grass.

Digging them out - effective if you can get to all of the root but this is mostly impossible to do without leaving dirty great holes in the lawn.

Blowtorch - I've got one of these and it works well on the paths. Would decimate the surrounding lawn though.

Any other suggestions of methods or products very much appreciated.

Cheers.

 

Hello Andy,
Sorry, but its using a chemical for me,,viz., a lawn weedkiller spray.

I never use a weed n feed here because I prefer to spot treat individual weeds. Weeds in my lawns are few and far between so the use of a chemical is done sparingly

Unless the whole root of dandelion is removed it will regrow. Digging it out makes a heck of a mess, the soil is disturbed and exposed to grow more weeds. It is also very time consuming if there are lots of weeds in the lawn. I remember an elderly couple on their hands and knees with several containers full of dug up weeds and loads more weeds still to dig up. The grass looked awful ..messy and as much soil as grass. I bought them weed n feed.....yes it was appropriate to use there....and by the following week every weed was killed and the grass growing well. They were delighted. Job done.

By the way, do not use glyphosate on the lawn....it will kill surrounding grass too.

 

I use one of these

 

Its a choice really....all these weed pullers, digging out weeds, etc., all leave ugly soil gaps in the grass. Ok, re seed but still gaps remain for a couple of weeks or so. Time too??

On the other hand, a dedicated spot lawn weedkiller is almost instant and maintains a decent looking sward.

 

We had lots of dandelions in the back lawn so bought the weed puller to avoid the constant bending down. Agree, it's all down to personal choice, but for me the weed puller does the job.

 

I prefer to avoid chemicals too, choosing to dig it out. I grow ‘plug plants’ of grass too like Monty showed last year to fill gaps

 

Very similar Mark.....I grow seed trays of grass 2 or 2 weeks before I need them

 

It’s a great idea - better root system and all

 

Hi AndyS.

Garden chemicals. A matter of choice. Briefly, provided the bottle hasn't been opened and its not years old, it can still be effective. Once opened the contents will soon deteriorate and in some cases the contents can become more dangerous than before. My advice is, safely dispose of all aged chemicals.

Back to your lawn invaders. It's well worth the effort. Dandys have a long tap root. A gardening or kitchen knife is ideal. Simply insert the blade at a slight angle down the side of the weed, then simply slice the root, pull the offender out. No damage to your lawn.

 

Oooh, i like the look of that. Birthday next month too, so that's going straight on the list. Looks like it takes a fair clump out around the weed as well, though - does it leave a fair old hole in the lawn?

Never thought of this. Great idea. Sadly I don't think I could find the space or the time

 

The Fiskars puller works well and is easy to use - even one handed as I discovered a few years ago when I broke my wrist. I use it to pull weeds out where we have chickens as I wouldn't want to use chemicals there. I also use it on the lawn but it does leave its mark. That said, having dogs means that we don't have a bowling green lawn.

I do use weedol (was verdone) to get rid of trefoil from the lawn

 

@AndyS yes, it can sometimes leave a hole, it just depends how deep the root is on the weed. I just tread where I have pulled out a weed and the grass grows over it.

 

Thanks, have put one on my birthday list.

Incidentally, I love your avatar. How do you get your passiaflora to flower so beautifully?

I have a two year old plant in a container that grows well but barely flowers at all. It has sun from around 8am-2pm and I'm wondering if that's the problem - not enough? Or perhaps it's because it's in a container, though it's a reasonable size (about 75cmx30cm and approx 30cm depth of good quality compost).

 

@AndyS the avatar is of the passiflora I have in a pot. I bought it from Morrison's for £5 earlier this year and it has had hundreds of huge flowers on it this year. We have a south facing back garden and the plant gets the sun for a large part of the day. I hope it flowers the same next year

This link might help regarding your passiflora not flowering well
Passion Flower Not Blooming: Reasons Why Passion Flower Does Not Bloom

Good choice with the weed puller as a birthday present

 

I don't mind a few dandelions in my lawn (more than a few if truth be told). The Linnets and Goldfinch come and eat the seeds and it's lovely to have them.