Grasshoppers Quick Tip - Dandelions
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Dandelions can be pretty to look at, a nice addition to a summer salad, and can be used to make a sweet wine. Only in the twentieth century did humans decide that the dandelion was a weed. Before the invention of lawns, the golden blossoms and lion-toothed leaves were more likely to be praised as a bounty of food, medicine and magic. Gardeners used to weed out the grass to make room for the dandelions. But with the expansion of lawns as a major component of many landscapes, dandelions were considered weeds. Dandelions are thirsty, and are not good for the health of your lawn because they require a lot of water to grow and will not hesitate to steal it from your lawn.
“Dandelions can be pretty to look at, a nice addition to a summer salad, and can be used to make a sweet wine.”
“Dandelions are thirsty…they require a lot of water…and will not hesitate to steal it from your lawn".”
Here is a Grasshoppers Quick Tip to tackle those small dandelion trouble spots on your lawn. Nobody likes to spray harmful chemicals around their property, especially if there are any kids or dogs running around. So we recommend a homemade natural solution of white vinegar and biodegradable dish soap for those pesky dandelions. The acetic acid found in white vinegar is an effective natural herbicide. The dish soap helps the solution stick to the dandelion so the vinegar can work more effectively.
Ingredients:
1-Half gallon of White Vinegar
2-Tablespoons of Biodegradable Dish Soap
...and as with any good recipe, a dash of salt
“Mix the white vinegar, dish soap and a dash of salt together and put it in a spray bottle.”
Directions:
Mix the white vinegar, dish soap and a dash of salt together and put it in a spray bottle. Spray onto dandelion plant while being careful not to spray onto your lawn. The last step is to wait it out. You should see the dandelion plants begin to wilt within three to four days, and the plant should die within weeks (remember, timing is critical - you need to treat the dandelion problem before they develop a seed head).
“…timing is critical - you need to treat the dandelion problem before they develop a seed head.”
Mechanical extraction by hand weeding is also a solution to smaller patches of dandelion. They have a tap root, and can be difficult to pull in hard, dry soil, so it is best to water the area first to soften soil, and then get to work pulling the plants.
Obviously, both of these approaches will be difficult if there is a dense mat of dandelions - if they persist and become a nuisance that you want to get rid of, please give us a call.
Thank you for visiting our blog! We hope this natural dandelion solution helps take care of those small problem spots.