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Asked at The Merc, 901 Iowa on May 12, 2009

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“I do broadleaf fertilizer before the year starts and then I dig them out as the year goes on.”

— Andrew Lebar, unemployed, Lawrence

“I let my husband deal with it.”

— Meredith Beightel, registered CSA, Lawrence

“We don’t have a yard, so we don’t have dandelions.”

— Teresa Heustis, pastry chef, Glendale, Calif.

“I dug them up with a dandelion digger.”

— Leo Bracciano, retired, Lawrence

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Pilgrim2 4 years, 11 months ago

That's weed killer, not week killer. My job takes care of that.

Pilgrim2 4 years, 11 months ago

Pywacket (Anonymous) says…

I love to have anal neighbors like Pilgrim, just to make them crazy with my 2.65 acres of mixed forage (fescue, sedge, dandelions, violets, daisies, and numerous other wildflowers/weeds). I blow the dandelion parasol-seeds in your general direction!

And I kill 'em with chemicals as soon as they sprout.

I daresay my property valuation is likely a good deal higher than Pilgrim's, too—dandelions notwithstanding… Ha.

"Ha" is right. All things being equal, a home with a nice lawn sells for more than one with your weed mix.

sgtwolverine (Anonymous) says…

Pilgrim … your paranoia about dandelions seems overwrought.

Not paranoid. I just carry a spray bottle of week killer with me as a mow, and I zap those ugly bastards whenever I see one.

Seriously: they just aren't that big of a problem. I think you could worry less about them and more about something more consequential.

I don't worry about them. I kill 'em.

tonymontana 4 years, 11 months ago

i pour nuclear waste on the yard to kill dandelions

sgtwolverine 4 years, 11 months ago

Pilgrim ... your paranoia about dandelions seems overwrought. I have not experienced dandelions so powerful and insidious as the ones you seem to be describing. Despite our relaxed policy towards dandelions, they haven't even come close to taking over. Also, since I live in a rural area where my neighbors' lawns can contact my lawn only by phone or email, I'm pretty sure their lawn-care habits don't make that big of a difference.

Seriously: they just aren't that big of a problem. I think you could worry less about them and more about something more consequential.

Pywacket 4 years, 11 months ago

Andrew! Dude! If you use broadleaf fertilizer, no wonder you spend the rest of the season digging them out! ;-)

I know you meant "herbicide"--just had to give you a hard time.

I daresay my property valuation is likely a good deal higher than Pilgrim's, too--dandelions notwithstanding... Ha.

I do draw the line at poison ivy and spray it with deadly chemicals..

GardenMomma 4 years, 11 months ago

Wait until they go to seed and pick one, make a wish and blow all the seeds off in one breath.

Marion Lynn 4 years, 11 months ago

Well, I cut the yard about every ten days or so, maintaining a 5" height; good for the grass, you see.

The dandelions bloom marvellously and are then swept away by the whirling blades and strewn asunder to naturally fertilise the lawn as the chopped up plants deacy and to seed for nest year's growth.

I woul remind you that the Sunflower, although the State Flower, is considered to be a "noxious weed" by many municipalities in Kansas.

How anyone can justify spraying chemicals on a lawn to eliminate dandelions is beyond me, especially if those same people consider themselves to be "Green".

Leslie Swearingen 4 years, 11 months ago

You'll pry that dandelion out of my cold, dead hand!!

Pilgrim2 4 years, 11 months ago

sgtwolverine (Anonymous) says…

There's a big difference between “lawns full of weeds” and “typical dandelion population.” I don't treat my lawn, and yet the evil dandelions haven't overtaken it, nor have they damaged property values.

Good thing your neighbors apparently don't subscribe to your methods, or you would be over-run. Dandelions are like roaches. Left uncontrolled, and it isn't long before you have more than just a few. One thing standing between you and a yard full of ugly dandelions is your neighbors' weed killer.

Chris Ogle 4 years, 11 months ago

Hey Sarge... wish I had your wisdom.

sgtwolverine 4 years, 11 months ago

There's a big difference between "lawns full of weeds" and "typical dandelion population." I don't treat my lawn, and yet the evil dandelions haven't overtaken it, nor have they damaged property values.

In conclusion, there's a big space between two extremes.

Pilgrim2 4 years, 11 months ago

sgtwolverine (Anonymous) says…

Absolutely nothing. What's so bad about dandelions? And seriously: what's so important about a perfect green lawn?

Property value. Homes with good lawns are worth more than lawns full of weeds.

Pilgrim2 4 years, 11 months ago

meggers (Anonymous) says…

By the way, does anyone have a surefire method for getting rid of THAT? It seems like just when I get one area under control and reseeded, it pops up somewhere else, killing all of the grass in that spot. The spray only seems to work marginally well.

Add some "spreader sticker" to the mix. It's a surfactant. Breaks down the surface tension of the water and makes it easier for the product to penetrate the plant.

Pilgrim2 4 years, 11 months ago

Kill 'em! Kill 'em all!

gsxr600 4 years, 11 months ago

Not the Merc again.... maybe LJW could try broadening it's scope. Oh wait, that will never happen.

autie 4 years, 11 months ago

Or not. There is so many, charlie would spin in a circle and fall over trying to think of one.

Multidisciplinary 4 years, 11 months ago

H beeday charliejay! This entitles you to share autie's most embarrassing moment with us without repercussion. Or didn't you know that? ;)

justice4all 4 years, 11 months ago

weed and feed. It works awesome.

prospector 4 years, 11 months ago

I practice my golf swing.

BABBOY 4 years, 11 months ago

Not something I think about that much. There is only a few weeks in the year when they even bloom in great numbers.

meggers 4 years, 11 months ago

My only problem with them is that because they grow so much faster than the grass, I need to mow more often when they're shooting up. I had a lot more this year (guess it was the wet September), so I finally broke down and sprayed just to try to keep them from spreading further. I needed to spray a couple of patches of chickweed, anyway. By the way, does anyone have a surefire method for getting rid of THAT? It seems like just when I get one area under control and reseeded, it pops up somewhere else, killing all of the grass in that spot. The spray only seems to work marginally well.

sgtwolverine 4 years, 11 months ago

Absolutely nothing. What's so bad about dandelions? And seriously: what's so important about a perfect green lawn?

jonas_opines 4 years, 11 months ago

"Holy cow. The LJW has presented three opportunities today to reenact the absolute stupidest long winded argument ever on the esteemed LJW article threads."

That awards been given out already? Which thread was that? Got a link?

Paul R Getto 4 years, 11 months ago

Eat some of them in salad. They are wonderful when they are young.

demonfury 4 years, 11 months ago

I like to compare mine to the ones in the median on Kasold Drive just north of Clinton Parkway all the way to Peterson Road. Then I like to remember fondly about the letter to the editor on how horrible they are to be seen as you drive by. Shame on Lawrence for not making dandelion control on Kasold Dr. a top priority.