My Mom wants to put weed killer on the lawn, what else can we do instead of chemicals to stop the weeds?

Question

Please give me any ideas!! I don't believe in puting any chemicals on the lawn but my mom does have about 40 %weeds in the yard and only 60% grass. I bought a weed puller tool but there are so many weeds it is taking forever, and every thime I turn around another weed has poped up. Are there any environmentally safer weed killers we can buy? The problem is with dandelions, and they are taking over the yard. We also have a problem with a lot of moss, I don't know if the moss is helping the dandelions to grow, she really wants to spray the yard with chemicals because all the neighbours have perfect lawns (from chemicals). We are in the middle, southern part of Canada, what can we do?

Answer 1

First off, redefine your terms. Lawns (nice areas of grass) are unnatural. Grass lawns are labor-intensive, use too much water,  and dont provide habitat or food for animals. Convert your lawn to  a scatter-garden or let it go wild. Weeds are mostly native, and provide food and are tolerant to local climate (unlike non-native grasses and shrubbery).

Answer 2

Try vinegar, and if you don't get any good answers on here just google it there are all kinds of natural ways to do things, we just need to start doing them. Thats cool that you want to find that natural way to do it.

Answer 3

I myself stray away from chem. i bought this book that has household recipes that are environmentally friendly. I have only used a couple so far and they are seeming to work. Problem is you have to constantly reapply and if it rains right after a treatment ur efforts r wasted. Here is what it says for moss

It thrives in acidic soil,while grass prefers neutral to slightly alkaline soil. mix together 1c. antiseptic mouthwash,1c chamomile tea, 1c murphy's oil soap-u will need some type of sprayer to put this in. Apply this to the lawn to the point of run off every 2wks. until moss is gone.Then u need to remove dead moss and test ur soil to determine its ph.Then add ground limestone according to test recommendations.then re-seed w/grass. It is a lot of work and time but no more im sure then pulling weeds/moss.I have never used this mix,so im not sure how well it works-good luck. Once i find the weed/dandelion recipes i will post them.

Answer 4

It looks like your lawn isn't healthy,60/40 ratio isn't good. First question you will have to answer is the lawn worth keeping or should it be taken out ?? If you keep the lawn, you will have to seed it over and that will cut down on the dandelions but it won't eliminate that problem entirely( they have been around thru countless global warming/cooling cycles and pulling one isn't going to change that) . If you won't use chemicals, then you will have to value your time at to it's worth vs the chemical costs. If your labor is free, then pull weeds, otherwise, you'll have to find cheep labor (illegal migrants) who will work for next to nothing, but impose a huge social burden on your local,state and federal governments. Oh, one last note, your lawn has seeds(weed and otherwise) that won't germinate for another 2--3 years ,at best, so stopping the weeds isn't possible, just talk to a strawberry farmer and his former use of methyl-bromide, which kills everything , but only lasts a season before the weeds pop back up. The moss likes shade and moisture-get rid of one and the moss will go away.If you decide to allow your lawn to grow wild, you will need to consider several important factors. Will your local zoning ordnance allow for "natural" but un-kept lawn, most dont and will this "natural " lawn affect the value of your home and the homes nearby??? I guess if you want to live in a field, get a tent and if you want to live in a neighborhood with neighbors, then mow your lawn.

Answer 5

There are non chemical weed killers now available. Go to your local garden shop and they will assist.

Answer 6

i am afraid the answer is just plain old hard work...you will never eradicate all weeds but can keep them under control by pulling up what you can - and burning them.

we use a lawn feeder which makes the grass stronger and thereby keeps the weeds down

if you still get dandelions, dont worry, they can look kinda pretty!

Answer 7

pull the weeds or get some sheep then there wont be a lawn

Answer 8

Kerosene

Answer 9

I think just pulling is a good idea.  There are too many dandelions on the earth to get them all and the seeds travel through the air, meaning they could come right from the states and plant themselves in your yard, so poisoning your lawn to kill an enemy that will just come right back is pointless.  As long as you pull the primary root they probably won't come back until more seeds plant themselves.  I don't know much else to tell you.

I do have a good Idea for you, to make pulling them better.  If you look online you can find recepies for foods made with dandelions.  I tried chicken with a dandelion cheese sauce that was awesome.

Answer 10

the only real way is to pull out the weeds

and the grass will take its place and then they will not come back any more ,

On the flower beds you mulch with dead leaves this also stops the weeds

Tell your mom that weed killer leeches in to subterranean water and gets into the drinking water ,this is responsible for a whole range of things,

To use it is highly irresponsible and anti social.

Here is some more detail

Agro chemicals ,and pharmacological`s that get into the drinking water are destroying us and making humanity infertile,and sick.

Chemicals in agriculture

Recent tests have shown that the tap water in agricultural areas such as in Missouri had cocktails of agro chemicals in them compared to cities like New york or Los Angeles ,there they find cocktails of pharmaceuticals.

The sperm count of farmers is far lower than that of city folks,.

But there is an overall drop in sperm counts across the nation compared to 50 years ago.

Only a billionth of a part is necessary ,to ensure s*x changes in frogs,going undetected by the normal antibodies.

Leopard frogs are becoming hermaphrodites ,they are the canaries of eco systems

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Pests and Plagues

Certain insects are drawn to certain plants,if the plants are all the same there will only be a few species of insects and far to many .and this will easily become a plague.

To again counter act with chemicals,further adds to the dangers mentioned above.And spraying for pests also kills the natural predators which we need

There are roughly 80.000 different Chemical compounds coming from modern society,that end up in the water ,the combinations are endless.and so are the effects

Man has researched individual chemical effects ,but the research for chemical cocktails has only just began.

Mono culture farming because of the Natural reactions and effects of Nature, entice Farmers to use many of these chemicals.Often encouraged by the government

Agriculture is in places that are very close to the sources of water,

Bio diverse planting and organic pest control ,avoids the necessity to use these chemicals,and will help to some extent

That still leaves all the Chemicals people put in the toilets in the cities.

Permaculture is an organic philosophy which has all bets covered ,this goes into land design ,Water harvesting ,organic pest control ,Diversity ,companion and Guild Planting,using the natural energy flows as well as enhancing them,using niches,and a whole lot more

What is Permaculture

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