gonna get at some yard work. These weeds and dandylions gotta go. Is there a concearn I should have about weed killers regarding Duggan. He likes a bit of a munch in the mornings. Usually only the long grass that becomes farmers hay but still a bit concearned. Any pet friendly products that kill weeds ?
I always check the packaging for pet friendly products, but I'm not much of a gardener so can't telly you what is in the ones we buy. Even with the pet friendly ones we try and restrict it to just before we go off on holiday, or keep Lilly out the area for 24 hours.
Since most pesticides are banned here we pick and pluck by hand. A lot of new things got a hold on our dry, sandy soil last summer though, so there's a lot more to pull this summer. OH has a long stick with sort of a reverse arrow head on the end that helps get long tap roots out.
Why not plant a meadow garden? That way you can leave the weeds. I once spent a season pulling weeds. Now I seldom have to pull them. Nothing nicer than an organic garden that takes care of itself.
Thank you for this tip. I'm going to try it on weeds between paving stones. I don't use any weed killers as I think it's too much of a risk with Molly. I do a lot of hand weeding but some spots are very tricky so glad to try the vinegar.
We used a weedkiller a few years ago (before we had Ella) but I was worried about the cats in the area. I'm pretty sure our particular weedkiller said that it was ok once dry so we sprayed once it was dark so that all of the cats would be inside (we have a cat curfew in our area).
If you don't have too many to do boiling water works well on weeds in paving stones. If I ever need to use a herbicide I only use it on things I can't pull or dig out and like drjs I keep Obi away from it for 24 hrs.
I spray late at night and set the sprinkers on early in the morning to wash it out. Also I alternate areas so Sparky has somewhere to go for the longer setting herbicides. I will spray the front yard first, then the back yard the next day.
All very good tips thanks. We need to spray where they are growing up through crush rock and stones. Not concearned about the rest of the yard. I'd need a crop duster. Lol.
If it's through crush rock and stones, boiling water from the kettle is the way to go. If you feel like a longer job - for the long term - lift all the stones and pavers and lay down a bidim cloth and then put sand and pavers and stones on top - it stops the weeds pushing through. Definitely don't use Roundup. It kills everything and you end up with a very sterile garden, very bad for the bee population. Better to plant only native plants so that you don't have to use any herbicides or pesticides. It really is a joy to have an organic garden that takes care of itself. It took me a few years to restore ours - it was very sterile when we moved in, and everything I planted initially got killed by worms and mold. Now it is alive with insects and birds.
If you have a large area to do then get a big pump operated pressure sprayer like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/lkj/Powerplus-Garden-Pressure-Sprayer-Action-Knapsack-Backpack/B00CM9U4HG It'll be worth the expense and will make the job much easier. We have a big tree in our backyard that drops berry-like things onto the pebble surface below and every Spring a carpet of a thousand bajillion seedlings sprouts up exuberantly through the pebbles. We could spray them but I worry about killing the tree. So instead we choose a day, get a few beers lined up and pull the blasted things out by hand.
