Comments on Raise a Green Dog!: A b-e-a-u-tiful and safe lawn for you and your gre...

For the person with the dandelions, have you tried...

2011-05-10T19:47:04.271-04:00

For the person with the dandelions, have you tried a tool like this:
http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?c=&p=44725&cat=2,2160,40706

If you can do it standing up, it's a lot less work, though still a pita.

Thanks Ellen, great tips!!!

2010-08-31T16:13:06.354-04:00

Thanks Ellen, great tips!!!

As a Master Composter for the county of Santa Clar...

2010-08-31T15:23:41.676-04:00

As a Master Composter for the county of Santa Clara, I can add a bit. (1) Most thatch is caused by watering too often too shallowly--it's the roots and stems growing on the surface. Read up on how to determine how much water your lawn needs for your soil. Or ask at a nearby garden center if you have one where they know what they're talking about.

(2) Do grasscycling. That is, leave the clippings on the lawn. Best if you have a mulching mower, but I've got a manual reel mower and that works well, too. Best if the lawn is dry when you do it, and best if you're not cutting off more than 1/4 to 1/3 of the length of the blades each time. This is so healthy because grass is mostly water and nitrogen, and guess what people most often put on their lawns--yeah, water and nitrogen!

(3) Set your mower as high as possible so the grass is longer--shades out the weeds and keeps the moisture in much better. (Some grasses apparently do better shorter but I don't know which; again, necessary to find out from a knowledgeable turf expert, but from what I've seen, even a lot of thm think it has to be shorter than it really does.)

(4) Compost your yard waste (especially if you don't grasscycle for some odd reason, compost your grass clippings with other yard waste), sift it, and put it back onto the lawn. I'm glad to answer composting questions if people have them.

I've not had to fertilize my lawn in years.

Thanks, I really appreciate the good information! ...

2009-05-19T11:53:00.000-04:00

Thanks, I really appreciate the good information! Keep it up.

My dog is allergic to corn so corn gluten based pr...

2009-05-18T22:03:00.000-04:00

My dog is allergic to corn so corn gluten based products aren't an option for us. But Terracycle might. thanks for the info!

They banned more than 250 chemical pesticide produ...

2009-05-13T23:18:00.000-04:00

They banned more than 250 chemical pesticide products in Ontario. Researchers have found that pesticides can be associated with serious illnesses, including cancer, damage to the immune system, and neurological problems. Funny how they just found this now and these products were being sold for decades. Now, many of the weed killers are not available anymore unless you buy them outside of Ontario.

It's barkaboutit, thanks for the reply. I already ...

2009-05-13T17:56:00.000-04:00

It's barkaboutit, thanks for the reply. I already fertilized, but not with the worm poo. Sounds gross but effective.

I might try pulling, maybe I'll make a dent. The yard is full of crab grass and clover too. It's an ugly mess let me tell you.

Thanks Kim! We also had a Q from one of our frien...

2009-05-13T17:00:00.000-04:00

Thanks Kim!

We also had a Q from one of our friends on Twitter - barkaboutit. They asked "Can you recommend a weed killer? We have hundreds of dandelions so pulling them isn't possible"

We know your situation well my friend :)

There is no green, eco-friendly and safe solution to killing weeds. There are earth friendly vinegar based products that will kill weeds, but they also kill grass. So that's not an option.

You can utilize a granular corn gluten based fertilizer that will help prevent weeds. But once you have them, there isn't anything green to kill just the weeds. We suggest mowing often before they have a chance to go to seed. It will keep your lawn looking better.

Garden's Alive - one of the links on the post (click on Weed Control) carries some of these corn gluten weed control products, just be sure to read all the ingredients before purchase to make sure there isn't something that your pup may be allergic to.

The very best thing you can do to prevent dandies for next year is fertilize with a green fertilizer this summer, fall, and next spring with worm poo or fish emulsion or use the corn gluten based product - this will make your lawn very nice and thick, choke out the weeds, and you will have many fewer weeds next year.

We have a couple of areas of our lawn that are full of dandies. So we are concentrating on fertilizing and overseeding those areas this year, so next year there will be less!

Thanks for your Q - here's to your pup and earth friendly lawn!

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

The

Hey, love your blog! Thanks much for the eye-openi...

2009-05-13T00:05:00.000-04:00

Hey, love your blog! Thanks much for the eye-opening warnings about dangerous products....

Check out my new blog: Top Dog Blog!

It's still pretty new, but I'll be adding new content and pictures daily.

Visit http://topdogblog1.blogspot.com

See you there!
Kim