My dandelion lawn

I’ll probably just mow them down at some point.  It actually looks pretty cool at the moment, but any recos for taking them out?  


Every time I go out with my CobraHead to dig them out one by one, my wife rolls her eyes and explains that dandelions are actually good for the lawn and what’s the point. Shall I send her over for moral support?


I can tolerate them better then Simone and she's currently out of town - so I was curious to know if there was a really easy way to get rid of them without taking them out one by one.  I'm sure if I started with one or two - I would get OCD over it as well.


jamie said:

I'm sure if I started with one or two - I would get OCD over it as well.

That’s me. 

My dad is a landscaper, and hand-to-root combat was the only way I knew. Someone may have some weed-killer suggestions, but that’d be beyond my experience.


I've ended up too close to the OCD side with a stand-up weeder like this. 

https://www.target.com/p/stand...

It even gets a nice rhythm going while weeding out the dandelions. 

That said, with as many as you have, My approach would be to mow first, then weed out just the ones that still have a flower attached afterwards.  My aim is to avoid having the dandelions go to seed. Eradicating them from my lawn completely seems too ambitious.


But early in the season, they are one of the first abundant food sources for bees and other pollinators. Maybe give them a little more time before pulling them out? At least until more things are in bloom.



1. Remove flowers before any seeds develop.

2. Use spray lawn weed killer. Dandelions are amoung the most susceptible of lawn weeds. You don't need "max"or nuclear approaches. Pay attention to the product's admonition about avoiding rain after application.


Dandelions are good for your lawns, provide food for bees, and best to just accept them as a part of the lawn. No need to kill or remove them.  



We've been chemical free for decades and you do pay a price in weeds, especially as the weather gets hot, which seems to favor the meanest and ugliest weeds over the stuff we all like.  But I don't get the distate for dandelions.  They're basically pretty yellow flowers.  


My daughters would be happy picking these all day long. Maybe I should start a business.... question 


we were away for a few days, and when we got back yesterday I noticed how many dandelions there are.  The town hall lawn is covered in them.  I'm always struck each spring and summer by what different species of plant, animal or insect seems to have thrived in the particular weather and environmental conditions that occurred during the change of seasons.  One year we had tons of ladybugs, another year woodpeckers, another carpenter bees, another ants.  This year appears to be the year of the dandelion.


Off the top of my head, I recall one acorn year, one apple year, and one cicada year...


Mowing is the easiest way, but it doesn't prevent their return.

Chemicals are bad for you and your neighbors.


bub said:
We've been chemical free for decades and you do pay a price in weeds, especially as the weather gets hot, which seems to favor the meanest and ugliest weeds over the stuff we all like.  But I don't get the distate for dandelions.  They're basically pretty yellow flowers.  

 I like the flowers, but I don't like the rest of the plant ... especially after the bloom has wilted.



sac said:


bub said:
We've been chemical free for decades and you do pay a price in weeds, especially as the weather gets hot, which seems to favor the meanest and ugliest weeds over the stuff we all like.  But I don't get the distate for dandelions.  They're basically pretty yellow flowers.  
 I like the flowers, but I don't like the rest of the plant ... especially after the bloom has wilted.


 Well they can be tasty...


@cody is right. Please leave the dandelions until you have to mow. Maybe even TWO mowings.

Honestly, there's no reason to get rid of them. Unlike clover, which will dull a mower blade if there's too much, dandelions are fairly harmless. (I actually have a friend who likes to eat the young leaves - swears by the health benefits.)



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