Chemical free lawn care?

[rebl_rn]

And what are the vestiges of weedkiller, insecticide, fertilizer, weed-eradicator, sod replacement services, pet poo-poo removal services, chemical detoxification programs, runoff water pollution issues?

Ok, maybe I'm missing something because I'm slightly drunk right now at 2:32 AM, but my original post was all about trying to AVOID these things - at least the weedkiller/insecticide/chemical part. I don't have a dog, so doo-doo removal is not an issue.

I guess what I'm asking is, what's your point?

Why do I want SOME (by no means all ) of the weeds out of my lawn? I don't have big issues with weeds, but I happen to kinda like grass too. I'd like some of it, in a decent ratio to the weeds, in my lawn. In my Spotted Cow and Jack/OJ/Cranberry Juice induced drunkeness at this time, it's the best answer I can come up with.

[WyoBadger]

So, rrn--it seems to me like more than half the battle is finding the right kind of grass. Something that actually wants to grow where you live. That should be doable in upper midwest, right? Even in dry wyoming, the grass is gradually replacing the weeds and alfalfa on the parts of pasture I'm turning into lawn. All my efforts to fight the weeds with poisons and so on didn't work. But just waiting for it, keeping it mowed, and letting the grass do its thing seems to be working.

Of course, our grass is FIERCE. We let some of it take over our garden a couple years ago. We were pulling up 2 inch thick carrots with grass roots penetrating all the way THROUGH the carrot! Glad it moves slow or it would be coming after us! Maybe I should send you some seeds!

Anyway, most "weeds" seem to grow on disturbed ground. I am finding that if I give it a few years to let things sort themselves out, the weeds gradually get replaced by more desirable things. Anything else seems to be a losing battle in the long run.

Tom

[Flyingcursor]

Corn gluten is the trick.

Check out this site- you'll find everything you ever wanted to know about chemical free growing/planting/etc.

I listen to him on the radio and have learned a lot.

http://www.whyy.org/91FM/ybyg/

Cool. I'll check it out. We have a swamp/wetland within 500 feet of the home and I hate using chemicals because it might harm the swamp creatures.

[mutepointe]

And what are the vestiges of weedkiller, insecticide, fertilizer, weed-eradicator, sod replacement services, pet poo-poo removal services, chemical detoxification programs, runoff water pollution issues?

Ok, maybe I'm missing something because I'm slightly drunk right now at 2:32 AM, but my original post was all about trying to AVOID these things - at least the weedkiller/insecticide/chemical part. I don't have a dog, so doo-doo removal is not an issue.

I guess what I'm asking is, what's your point?

Why do I want SOME (by no means all ) of the weeds out of my lawn? I don't have big issues with weeds, but I happen to kinda like grass too. I'd like some of it, in a decent ratio to the weeds, in my lawn. In my Spotted Cow and Jack/OJ/Cranberry Juice induced drunkeness at this time, it's the best answer I can come up with.

I wasn't out to get you rebel, I was wondering about all those folks that I do know who do use these things. I know a family that lives in one of those McMansion neighborhoods that has a neighborhood code of conduct and I happen to know that this family is not happy. But, by golly, they have the nicest weedless lawn with no tacky lawn ornaments, no clothes lines, recreational vehicles parked in appropriate areas, houses of certain colors and construction. What does it profit them?

[chas]

Well, last night I had one of the best salads I've had in years. A little leaf lettuce, a bunch of greens from the dandelions I'd popped, some flowers from some sort of ground cover (a mint-family thing; my wife verified it's edible, and it's really tasty), and some other conventional stuff. Of course, if we treated our lawn with chemicals, we wouldn't be able to eat the stuff.

More dandelion greens tonight.

[emmline]

Yes Mute. I don't get the perfect lawn McMansion ideal at all.
Reality check: clotheslines can be a beautiful thing.

I'd like to be utterly free of any kind of [thing you don't want]-icides.
I'm not utterly free of them. I sprinkle some little bit of ant bait around the base of the foundation outside the kitchen a couple times throughout the summer. But I use Terro, which is just sugar and borax, when they come inside.
The thing is, when we started to have an ant issue a few years ago, I called one of the pest-control companies to get their take, and the person launched into a 10 minute spiel about how they'd coat every surface of my kitchen cabinetry, inside and out, with poly-morpho-glorbo-hexa-mutathon (or something like that,) and strafe the exterior with small nuclear detonations (again...or something like that.)

I said no thanks.

Hence, I'd rather--if I must use anything chemically--use it in the smallest, most measured manner I can.
Sadly, I must now treat for carpenter bees, using a minimalist approach.

[MusicalADD]

A couple of years ago we hired a woman who does organic lawn care. She too recommended corn gluten. She warned that it wouldn't show immediate, dramatic results, but if we kept up the treatment, then over 3 years we'd see good results (controlling weeds).

Okay, so far so good. But....... the next year, she told us that corn was in such high due to the interest in bio-fuels, that corn gluten had gotten prohibitively expensive. It's always something, isn't it?

She also told us to let the grass grow relatively long -- raise the lawn mower wheels as high as those wheel height adjusters will allow. She said something like, letting the grass grow taller helps the grass out, but I forget why. I think it helps choke out the weeds?

I like the idea of going out every other day or so, and trying to pull up the dandelions by the root. However, they staged a mass assault. One day, nothing. The next day, a dozen dandelions -- those I got, by hand. The next day, countless dandelions. I give up.

[s1m0n]

She said something like, letting the grass grow taller helps the grass out, but I forget why. I think it helps choke out the weeds?

Taller grass = more leaf surface = more photosynthesis = faster growth. Faster growth helps any plant to choke out its competition.

[dwest]

She said something like, letting the grass grow taller helps the grass out, but I forget why. I think it helps choke out the weeds?

Taller grass = more leaf surface = more photosynthesis = faster growth. Faster growth helps any plant to choke out its competition.

That' why keeping the mower blade sharp is likely the best and least expensive thing to do for maintaining a "healthy" lawn.

[SteveShaw]

You can't really win. Tall grass allows the weeds with leaves all up the stem to thrive. Cutting grass favours the rosette weeds like daisies and dandelions. Big dandelion rosettes can be unsightly. I have a special tool which is a little fork with just two long prongs, which is for getting down to those dandelion roots and lifting the plant out intact. Otherwise I don't mind the weeds.