Killing Dandelions

[Freds]

Thanks for the link DaMadman. That may be just what I need since I am downwind from a dandelion farm. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[deere755]

I have had the best luck just using plain lawn fertilizer and then spraying 24d for the weeds. Seems like for me the dry weed and feed I have used makes the lawn grow but doesn't kill the weeds.

 

[EastTexFrank]

Weed 'n Feed isn't the best product for weeds. It's good as a fertilizer though. When you apply it, the weeds have to be wet for it to stick and it has to be in contact for 24 hours, I think that's the recommended time, otherwise it just washes away. 2-4-D is faster and cheaper.

 

[KennedyDiesel]

I'm thinking the spray method as opposed to the granular for the "must be wet" reasons. It just seems that some leaves repel moisture so well. I figure a spray wets them down good so should be better.

 

[Freds]

I'll have to give the 2-4-D a try. I had thought that some of the weeds were beginning to show signs of shrivelling, but that's not the case today. I was walking the yard today and have patches of some kind of weeds 3 ft sq without a blade of grass to be found /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif .
Is the stuff actually called 2-4-D? I don't want to get talked into any substitutes.
Thanks

 

[Dargo]

Okay, I haven't read all of the replies, but I spray my entire "lawn", which is around 12 acres several times a year. By the beginning of summer I almost never have a dandelion in my yard. As opposed to your desires, I also hate clover and have a constant battle to rid my yard of clover.

I use Gordon's 2-4-D in general for weed control and Malathion for bug control. After the first spraying of 2-4-D, most of my dandelions will be dead along with a lot of other broad leaf plants. However, the clover only "looks" like it is going to die. It will curl and begin to turn a pale color. However, in about a week, the clover is back no problem. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif That prompts me to spray a 2nd time for it, and sometimes a 3rd. Wild onions are pretty well the same. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I called the Indiana - Purdue ag department and spoke with them about this issue. They explained to me that clover, most varities, have a waxy outer layer that protects the plant from a lot of herbicides. The first spraying turns out to be an even battle with most of the clover's protection. A 2nd dose will generally do them in. Also, I didn't know that clover is a type of "vine" plant. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif It does spread and the ag department does consider it a weed. However, as much as I dislike it, I would greatly prefer clover for bank control over kudzu. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif I have a tree line along a creek on the far west side of my property that the state of IN, in all their wisdom, planted kudzu in for erosion control back in the 40's or so. The best I can tell, no know herbicide will take it out. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

For kudzu, I've tried straight concentrated roundup. That killed a huge circle of vegitation only to have the kudzu pop back up in the middle of the dead patch in a couple of weeks. I've soaked it with 2-4-D. I think that is a fertilizer for kudzu. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif I tried digging it out. Much to my dismay and surprise, I've found it will take a backhoe with a big reach to get it. The main root that will have to be killed drops as far as 12 feet into the ground!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif If you don't get that, it will come back. In 15 years, I've been unsuccessful in killing off the kudzu; I've only been able to control it. About every other year I have to go through the woods and cut the vine at the base of my trees or it will choke out all light to my trees and kill them.

Sorry, I got a bit off of dandelions, but I've been studying weed control for about a decade and a half now. I think I have most things figured out except that kudzu stuff. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Moon]

Dargo,
I'd never heard of kudzu ....I have plenty of the multiflora and I wonder if I have kudzu also. From the pics I found via google I can't tell. No good pics that I could find. But I did find this little blip which says it can take up to ten years to kill. Here is part of the article:

Kudzu Control:
An Impossible Dream?

The problem is that it just grows too well! The climate of the Southeastern U.S. is perfect for kudzu. The vines grow as much as a foot per day during summer months, climbing trees, power poles, and anything else they contact. Under ideal conditions kudzu vines can grow sixty feet each year.

While they help prevent erosion, the vines can also destroy valuable forests by preventing trees from getting sunlight. This problem led Dr. James H. Miller of the U.S. Forest Service in Auburn, Alabama to research methods for killing kudzu. In eighteen years of research, he has found that one herbicide actually makes kudzu grow better while many have little effect. Miller recommends repeated herbicide treatments for at least four years, but some kudzu plants may take as long as ten years to kill, even with the most effective herbicides.

here is the link:

The Amazing Story of Kudzu

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( That prompts me to spray a 2nd time )</font>

I just came inside after doing my second spraying. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I used Ortho's Basic Solutions the first time, and I can tell it did a lot of good, even with the clover, but sure didn't seem to have any effect on the dollar weed. So this time I used a Spectracide product. The active ingredient in both is 2-4-D, but the Spectracide is about double the percentage; hope I didn't kill anything I didn't want killed. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[BlueRidge]

Two words, gentlemen:

Corn gluten.

An accidental discovery by the University of Iowa, the stuff flat WORKS.

And it's not poisonous - I mean you can eat the stuff. The biggest problem I've had with it is my dog licking it up after I spread it, the big dumb mutt! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

It's a pre-emergent - it does NOT kill anything. But use it before the things sprout, and you will have FAR fewer the first year, and you'll see fewer weeds each year that you use it. And there's a bonus - it adds nitrogen. What's not to like?

It's available online - check this official list of licensees.


In the past I've bought it from Garden's Alive, but it's the same stuff wherever you buy it, AFAIK. I'd say let price be your guide. Next time I buy some, that's what I'll do, even though I've had very good service and products from Garden Alive.

 

[beenthere]

Now stop insulting the University of Iowa that way. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Dr. Christians is from Iowa State University (my almamater too) at Ames, IA. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Interesting thing about corn gluten. I will keep it in mind for weed control. If it is easier than 2-4D, I am all for it.

The article was a bit hesitant about this stuff being all figured-out yet. I'll do a search for more info.

 

[BlueRidge]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Interesting thing about corn gluten. I will keep it in mind for weed control. If it is easier than 2-4D, I am all for it. )</font>

Dunno if it's easier, but it's non-toxic and it works. Remember, it won't kill anything, but it stops them from sprouting.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The article was a bit hesitant about this stuff being all figured-out yet. I'll do a search for more info. )</font>

Typical sholarly restraint, which is commendable. But I used the stuff for several years before selling that house and becoming a nomad for a few years, and I'll be using it again now that I have a place of my own again. It's not magical, but it does a good job.

Oh, and that big dumb mutt lived quite a while after eating my corn gluten, and showed no ill effects. I tried some myself just to see what it tasted like (rather like sand) and there's nothing wrong with me... nothing wrong with me... nothing wrong with me... ERK!
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[tomnky]

Isn't Corn Gluten Meal a tad on the expensive side? Especially for larger areas? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[BlueRidge]

It just might be, Tom. I haven't bought any in years, and that was for a city lot, where the cost wouldn't be bad.

 

[goodoleboy]

I like the ideas of less herbicides but sometimes its diffucult to avoid. Does the Corn Gluten promote or attract mice or other rodents?

 

[BlueRidge]

Not as far as I know - we did have a rat problem at that house, but they were there before we started using the corn gluten, and I didn't notice any increase afterwards.

 

[froggy]

Mid-September is the right time to apply corn gluten meal as a natural weed-and-feed for the control of winter weeds such as poa annua, dandelions, rescue grass and clover. It won't hurt desirable plants unless you are trying to grow them from seed. Put it out at 20 lbs. per 1,000 square feet (just like a fertilizer application).

After the weeds are growing, you can kill them with vinegar-based mixtures. To 1 gallon of 10-percent-concentration vinegar add 1 ounce of orange oil and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap. Spray only the undesirable plants.

 

[Boondox]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( This year seems to be the year of the Dandelion in my yard . I'd like to kill them off , or at least discourage their growth a bit .
I also have a good bit of white clover that I don't want to kill .
Is their a treatment for dandelions that won't affect the clover ?
Thanks, John )</font>

Sheep