Plantains, Dandilions, And Crabgrass

[bluedog]

I was going to add this to my other post about lawns but I've noticed if I ask too many questions in one post, certain ones get glossed over . And then, of course, there is the problem of someone introducing a distantly tangential thread to one's topic and getting off the topic entirely. They should call this the A.D.D gardening forum. ;)

Okay, now that I"m done insulting y'all, I need your help :)

Is there something I can do now about weeds in the lawn? I tried to "embrace them" this year at Rowan's prompting but they totally took advantage of me. Give'm and inch and they take a mile.

[bluedog]

How pathetic, I'm the only one answering my own post :( I guess that's what I get for being obnoxious ^_^

I was thinking that since there are areas that are sooo full of weeds, that perhaps it would be better to just start anew in those areas? What does getting rid of an existing lawn and growing a new one entail? When do I do it; now or spring?

[DandyLioness]

Ooooops, sorry, I have an attention disorder... hmmm.. what's it called again? ^_^

Anyhow, I use coarse salt to sprinkle on the base of my name-sake. It will kill it and leave a bit of a hole, but the grass will come back in no time! ;) It's environmentally friendly too. :P

[MaryG]

There's probably an environmentally friendly type of good old Weed and Feed available. You just spread it on with one of those spreader-thingys that you push around, it feeds the lawn grass and kills the weeds.

Now about this "changing the topic" thing - my neighbour's cat just had kittens, one is black and one is tiger-striped. When they grow a bit they'll probably walk on the LAWN and the lawn has WEEDS. So I don't know what you're talking about. All our discussions are related within 6-degrees of each other.

[terese]

you know what i do with a weedy lawn? I dig it up and plant flowers.

Awww...kittens!! Too cute!! tiger-striped kitten, i want to see pictures!!! :wub: You know...i tend to find lots of loose birdy feathers when the neighbors cat has walked across my lawn. :o It always puts me off my gardening for the rest of the day.

[SilenceOfTheClams]

I'm with BLUE on this one..... I had a fairly NICE thick lawn..... the drought hit... I have a fairly NICE thick bunch o' weeds and hardly ANY lawn. I'm thinking organic attack, rest... then replant like 2 times over with perennial mixed with rye to anchor. Anybody?

No kittens.. just weeds here.... :P
QUOTE:
Now about this "changing the topic" thing - my neighbour's cat just had kittens, one is black and one is tiger-striped. When they grow a bit they'll probably walk on the LAWN and the lawn has WEEDS. So I don't know what you're talking about. All our discussions are related within 6-degrees of each other.
Are these kittens related to Kevin Bacon?

[DandyLioness]

I'm with all of you on this one. I have weeds and kittens (that are grown up now - called "cats") Anyhow, the reason I came back here was to say that I watched a movie called "Million Dollar Baby" last nite. Anyone seen this? What are your thoughts? <_<

[MaryG]

Yes Clams - the kittens are related to Kevin Bacon. I once saw Kevin Bacon on the TV show Will and Grace. Will is gay. Gay men like kittens. Kittens walk on lawns, lawns have weeds. There.

I've heard that if you kill off most of your weedy lawn you should put down either some screened dirt or some sand before you replant any grass seed. Good luck.

No Dandy - I haven't seen Million Dollar Baby but I've heard about it. The title has the word "baby" in it. Baby cats are called kittens, kittens walk on lawns, lawns have weeds. There Bluedog, you see, everything is related.

[decompost]

gosh no, dandy, i haven't seen that movie . . . wuz it good? . . .

. . . ohhhhh, kitties, really?? they are awfully cute, aren't they? and ya know what else is cute?
puppies ~ lots of sweet, huggable puppies . . .
scampering across the lawn . . . even if it is a weedy lawn . . . :P

[DandyLioness]

Million Dollar Baby - like Mary says.. is TOTALLY in relation to this thread. AND... I may add, it won lots of awards. ("Awards" rhymes with gourds, so we are garden correct.) Personally I never heard of it until I saw it... and I was impressed and saddened.

YES! Saddened! That would signify the end of summer. Saddened that weeds invade our grass! YES! Right back at the beginning.

[bluedog]

Oh, you guys are sooooo funny :rolleyes:

Now, if I could teach my cats to selectively pee on my weeds, then we would have a thread. Then I could market out cats that pee on weeds and there wouldn't be a cat overpopulation problem at my house or in the world for that matter. Then I would have enough money to follow my dream of becoming a professional boxer and could punch out anyone who steals my thread. :ph34r:

That aside, has anyone used a "flamer" (no, we are not back on the topic of gay men)? In my "gardening for dummies" book (it would be incredibly predictable that you'd make fun of the fact that I consult this book), it mentions using a device by this name to kill young weeds. Evidently, it doesn't set them on fire, just sort of boils them so they internally combust.

Now, Im going to take a chance here and add a 3rd topic within this one post. I'm trusting you guys to stay with me.... In the same book, it says that if you just want to start over in a particular area such as those on my and Clam's lawn, you need to kill the lawn and weeds in that area first, then dethatch twice, then aerate, then discard the lot of grass/weed/dirt you've loosened. Last year I physically dug up each and every weed, put grass seed where the holes were and applied preen to the whole area the following spring. The whole area is crabgrass again. It makes me think that measures as extreme as kill/ dethatch/ aerate/ discard might be necessary. What do you all think.

So, to recap:

1) cats that pee on weeds
2) flaming weeds
3) war of the worlds on crabgrass

:blink: :blink: :blink:

[HarleyGal]

We have a theory at our house! ;) If it's green and mowable--it's lawn! :D I have heard the flamer thingies work but have not tried it myself because if we falmed all the weeds in our lawn, we would have nothing left! :P It does sound like fun to burn the little #@%~ though!! :lol:

I also want to be the first to order the pee selective kittens! ;) I've always wanted to get in on the ground floor of a product with such marketable potential!! :lol:

[grindle]

dogs do a great job of getting rid of weeds and the lawn too :lol: :lol: :unsure: maybe I should swap him for a weed selective kitten. Nah I'll stick with brown grass then I can dig it up and plant more flowers :D :D :D

[terese]

Well there is another way to keep the poplation of kittens/cats down its something called spay/neuter.

Dandy...so Million Dollar Baby has a sad ending? I was thinking of renting it this week, but i like happy endings. ^_^

[boo]

Oh I heard about the ending. There was a big controversy about the movie but I won't tell ya because that will give away the ending. <_<

This topic reminds me of catnip. Anyone need some seeds? :P

[TransplantShock]

Plantains are good for relieveing the sting of nettles, and other skin irritants, they are good to heal small cuts, and you can eat em, root and leaves. Dandylions are tasty as greens (you can eat the roots too) and you can dip the flowers in batter and fry em up! :) As for crab grass.....dig em up and plant more veggies to go with the otehr two!

[nonacook]

Ya'll think you have WEEDS!!!!!! Until you have a hurricane or 2 that blows in weed seeds you don't really know what weeds are! LOL I have weeds that I have never seen before. I think Katrina blew in a new cat too. There is a white kitten hiding under our storm damaged shed. I have been feeding it, but have only seen it twice.
Do you think it might be one of the new breed that you have been talking about?LLOOOOLL!!!!!

[TransplantShock]

Bless you:) Hug that kitty for me :)

[MaryG]

My DH uses a flamethrower on weeds that grow through the gravel on our driveway - it works like a charm. I don't know about using it on the lawn though, it might burn the good grass instead of the evil weeds.

And it would scare the kittens.

[buster]

If the weeds are flaming and the cats pee on them that would end the war of the worlds.Did I get it right, did I?Buster

[MaryG]

Let's see, let's see:

The weeds - are peed on - by kittens - that gay guys love - they also love to dance - and Kevin Bacon is a good dancer.

There you are - 6 degrees.

Hoo boy - it's time I got out there and got some fresh air. Guess what? My DH just told me the lawn needs mowing. LOL - it's fate!

[bluedog]

Sounds to me like Nonacook has herself a new kitten!

You need to get a humane trap. Around here, the SPCA will rent one out for a minimal charge. I own one that I bought for $60 called Havahart. The cat sized one can also be used for other cat-sized animals. A kitten, however, would require a squirrel-sized one.

This way you can get it before it's too ferral for rehabilitation and to late to stop it from procreation (I threw that one in there for you Therese).

We want updates. Let us know what you name her/him. :wub:
(nothing like a little peer pressure huh Nona? :ph34r: )

[mla2ofus]

Ahem---- To stay on subject. We are totally organic in our veggy garden but I refuse to try to hand eradicate the lawn weeds. We use a lawn spray to kill the lawn weeds. Pick a day that is NOT windy. If I did aquire a tranined cat/weed killer it would probably pee on my dog so I think I'll pass on the cat but I might try to train my dog. She is small enough to SPOT kill those weeds. ;) ;)

[SilenceOfTheClams]

I think I'll pass on the cat but I might try to train my dog. She is small enough to SPOT kill those weeds.? ;)? ;)
Puppies... ready to train... for weed erradication.... (actually, early yesterday morning this trio of lil sisters and their dad were taking the puppies out for a "carry"... I couldn't pass up the chance to grab these shots. Note the "adorable flipflops" that two of the girls are wearing.... :D) Okay... back to the topic... puppies pee... and if aimed correctly, maybe they'll kill weeds! :P okay okay... so it's NOT to relative BUT THOSE PUPPIES WERE TOO CUTE TO PASS UP! :ph34r:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SilenceOfTheClams/IMG_3842.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SilenceOfTheClams/IMG_3843.jpg

[mla2ofus]

Hey CLAMS. Where is the pic???
OPPS! Puters slow today. NOW I see them. Love those shoes!!

[SilenceOfTheClams]

There ya go Linda... lol... I had to edit!

[Rowan]

somehow I have missed this thread until now
so I'm a bit late to protest my supposed involvement in weeding-up bluedog's lawn

However I will say now that if you still have a problem with them you are not truely embracing the weeds -- I have no proper grass... I have clover (red and white), plantain, crabgrass, common mallow, dandylions, violets, star of bethlehem, knotweed, ground nettle, shepherd's purse, wild mustard, queen ann's lace, foxtails, and a few I don't know the names of but they are green also but mostly not grass. It takes a severe drought to brown that stuff, so it generally looks lush... oh and there's mint in it too... love to mow mint :wub:

I have no cats, or kittens
I have never flamed anything, and no one has ever called me flaming
Is Million Dollar Baby a sequal to that Robert Redford paying a mil to sleep with Woody's wife (Demi) movie?
Does this thread mean to imply that Kevin Bacon is a cat lover? Do we have proof?
How Ironic is it that this thread turns out to be about cats and was started by Blue DOG ?

[terese]

Awww...too cute!! My grandpa used to raise pointers too. :D LOVE the green fuzzy flip flops. :wub:

Dandy, I saw Million Dollar Baby last night. :( Sad sad....

I wonder if Hilary Swank has made a movie with a happy ending since The Next Karate Kid? :blink:

[grindle]

Clams those puppies are adorable :wub: :wub:

[nonacook]

The other 2 cats that I feed are actually strays
too. I think they just look for me! Peer pressure, or not
it will probably stay here. I know it's here because
the food disappears. LOL

[MaryG]

Rowan - Million Dollar Baby is about a female boxer. It has no relation to that other movie you were talking about. It is sad, I haven't seen it but know all about it and how it ends. It was quite controversial to certain groups as boo has pointed out.

I don't know if Kevin Bacon is a cat lover - I was just in a silly mood and was playing that game named after him - have you heard of it? It's called Six Degrees from Kevin Bacon.

[opalibra10]

Bluedog,

From the years I spent working in a garden dept. for a big box store that Roundup or Spectracide Weed & Grass killer are both good products to take out what you don't want without harming the soil. They both neutralize themselves when they come in contact with soil so not to spread through the ground and harm any roots of nearby plants and the soil is plantable (is that a word?) within a week or so of using is. Some weeds may need a 2nd application such as any with a long tap root, the products work systematically through the green of plants.

Word of warning like one others mentioned (sorry I don't remember who 1st said- it must be the ADD or early Alsheimer thingie) ^_^ Do not use on a windy day and if there are any plants near the area you want to keep, protect them from any overspray. You can also cover the area with either clear or black plastic for about a month to kill the weeds and sterlize the seed. This does work but takes time and doesn't stop weed seed from being blown into a cleared area and re-settling after you have removed plastic.

How's that for staying on topic?! :D

[bluedog]

how fast do those sprays work? I don't want them to play possum on me only to dig them up leaving little live roots behind. I want them d.e.a.d. before I dispose of them B)

I'm also hoping to take a poll as to whether everyone believes that this stuff is "neutralized" as soon as it hits the soil. That's like saying Fruit Loops are good for you as they are made with "whole grains." Yeah, whatever General Mills