17 May
I hate them. If I was truly zen I’d make lovely dandelion chains and just get over it. But when they raise their fluffy white heads out of the rest of the lawn, I want to leap from my chair and choke them out.
Instead, my children usually reach them first and make wishes while blowing the seeds all over the front lawn. At that point I usually surrender.
Luckily, we did figure out some natural dandelion solutions last year that are far superior to polluting weed killers that keep our kids off the grass for a few days.
We tried corn gluten since it both fertilizes and doesn’t allow the dandelions to flower. Great, right? Nope. Those persistent yellow spots kept appearing on our lawn. Then we used Burn Out(which is made out of natural clove oil) to zap the dandelions individually. It worked! You have to wait for the right temperature and sunlight, but they die in just a few hours without all the chemicals! Then the corn gluten can do its thing and the lawn really looks nice without any caution warnings about kids and dogs.
Problem solved! My next goal is to sauté the dandelion greens and make a lovely, nutritious dinner some evening. Apparently they’re incredibly nutrient-rich and delicious. Have you tried adding them to your dinner menu? Have you made peace with them? Do tell!
9 Responses for "Natural Dandelion Solutions"
My son LOVES to crush and disperse the white fluffy heads. What exactly is wrong with dandelions, I’m wondering? If you just let them go, what happens? I mean, I know they proliferate, but will they kill your lawn? Will you eventually have a dandelion patch and no lawn? I’m just wondering if it’s just an aesthetic issue, or if there is a deeper issue. This post made me think of a post I just read about how Canada is going pesticide-free with respect to lawn chemicals.
http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/canadas_push_to_become_pesticide-free/
Thanks for the tip on Burn Out. We have been struggling with dandelions since we moved in to our home.
@Betsy, Dandelions are prolific enough that they will choke out your grass–and other desirable plants–if you let them run rampant.
My backyard is now about 30% dandelion patch, so this post is very timely! (and Betsy, it’s partly esthetics, partly comfort–I’d rather have grass to run/sit/lay on than a bunch of dandelions–and mostly to keep dandelions out of my vegetable beds).
BTW, the link you want is actually this: http://www.amazon.com/Gariel-BurnOut-Organic-Grass-Killer/dp/B0024EE5XS/
The link you have goes to a search results page that doesn’t actually feature the product!
Yes, it’s true, I’d rather sit on grass. But if you are letting your front lawn you never use go to pot, dandelions might not be so bad.
P.S. I just posted the giveaway for your book on my blog:
http://eco-novice.blogspot.com/2010/05/giveaway-and-book-review-eco-nomical.html
Did you get the email about the Q&A?
It’s an aesthetics issue for me, too. I like things to look tidy, and dandelions ruin the whole look of the lawn. Also, yes, if you let the dandelions take over, they will kill the lawn.
I have taken care of two lawns in my life, and I’ve never bought chemical fertilizers or herbicides or anything. I have also never bought natural herbicides. Basically, I just pick the weeds by hand. If you keep it up, it’s not that hard at all. But I’m talking about maybe five to ten dandelions per year!
Sounds like good exercise too, Rebecca.
We pull them out by hand as well. Seems to work so far.
I use this nice little gadget like this one. it takes work but i don’t have to bend over to pull out the weeds.
http://www.doyle-golf.com/Turf-Care/Accuform-Weed-Puller-P3082C171.aspx
Spicy greens. Love them in salads.
Leave a reply