Pulling weeds
 

Just so we are clear; do I need to get the root or not?

Yes, unless you want it to come back.

I tried to do the green thing and just pull dandelions rather than use chemicals, but it seems like four more would grow in the same spot. Probably because some of the roots remained in pieces.

You need to get to the root of the problem ! You can always lay down newspapers covered with dirt to help keep the weeds down too.

Thanks.

I’m trying to minimize use of a herbicide. I discovered clover, so I’m gonna need it.

Yo Cliff....

This would have been a great post in our new gardening thread!

But I digress.....

It depends on the weed. Some weeds don't have much of a root system and some do. Then there are those (like nutgrass) that has underground rhizomes that make it even harder to get by hand.

I applaud your efforts to minimize use of conventional control products.

You know, I was in the business of selling them for 10 years so it's in my DNA to go that route. The key is when using a control product to use it the way it is intended and in those cases you are not doing any harm.

I use them on my property and you should see the flora and fauna that thrive on my property!

But there are limitations of what they will do and sometimes mechanical means are the way to go.

It's a real science so no way to go into as much detail here but when you do it a while, you'll learn what to do with what weed on what circumstance.

Not sure that I helped but feel free to post any questions and I'm happy to give my thoughts....

As far as I know there's no such thing as an 'unfriendly to dogs' weed and feed.
But check with your local suppliers as to what type to get for your type of turfgrass.

If used according to directions, your dog(s) will be fine.

If you have an area to clear, kill it with fire, rent/borrow a roto tiller to stir in your soil amendments, then do the newspaper bit. If you do this a few months ago, you have a spot about ready to put your tomato plants. You might get some weeds come back, those are the ones you puil.

I am hopeful that the puppy will not entirely decimate my garden. If I yell at him for digging out there in front of the other one, it ought to be okay.

you could always cover it for a week with clear plastic, (solarization).
http://r.duckduckgo.com/l/?kh=-1&uddg=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.weekendgardener.net%2Forga nic-weed-killer%2Fsolarization-100710.htm

Roundup is your friend.

I don't like putting toxic substances in the ground to kill weeds. Toxins leech into soil and eventually could end up in the drinking water. I do it the old fashioned way and dig them out or pull them out. You can also rotortil them and pick them up after.

Pace yourself. Don't try to do them all at once. In the spring when we get dandelions I will pick fifty of them a day and walk away. I dig them up by the roots and put them in the recycle bag. :)

How you kill it depends on the weed. Some plants have their "life force" (for lack of a better word) underground and for others it is in the green part. You can shave grasses and a lot of creeping type weeds right to the ground and they will come back because their life force is underground. Most prairie natives that need to survive wildfires have this ability. Other plants (Jimson and Polk weeds) will die if you cut them to the ground.

I'm very cognizant of the chemicals I put on my lawn. I physically pull up some plants, like crabgrass and dandelion. For others, for the first attack I use 20 Mule Team Borax (10 oz) in 2 1/2 gallons of water. If that doesn't work I go to commercial broadleaf weed killer. I do not cover the whole lawn, I just spray the actual growing weeds using a tank sprayer.

The east side of my 'lawn' is all creeping charlie and nimblewill. Some years the creeping charlie will be dominant and take over and other years it's the nimblewill. But I can't get grass to grow for the life of me this side of the house. I just deal with it. On the plus side, it never needs mowing so I only ever really have to mow half the yard. :D

If we're talking about weeds in turf grass, the best defense is a good offense. Do whatever it takes to rid the lawn of weeds (i.e., 2,4-D, weed n'feed or whatever home recipies you choose). THEN propogate a strong lawn by letting it grow to 3-4 inches (for perrenial rye, Kentucky bluegrass and fescues). I dont know about the other wimpy grasses that grow in the tropics such as anywhere south of the Michigan/Indiana border.

Turf grasses require enormous amounts of dihydrous oxide, depending on the soil. Once the shock and awe is done, turf grasses do very well. I spend 10 times as much time and energy on maintaining the lawn than anywhere else.

The Borax stuff works particularly well in creeping Charlie.