Historic HomeWorks Forum

[nicholkaye]

What is the best way to get rid of weeds in the lawn without killing the grass?

Weed and Feed?

[johnleeke]

Nichol:

Welcome to the Forum!

The downside of "weed & feed" is that the stuff is poisonous.
http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehcsg/weed_feed.html
What about when the kids roll around in the grass? Even if you think poison is OK in your yard, what about when rain washes the poison over into your neighbor's yard, or down into the ground water supply? What about the health effects on the workers and families who live next to the chemical plant where the poison is made?

When I was a kid growing up in the 1950s we had those old wooden bushel baskets. My mom would hand me an old paring knife from the kitchen (pretty exciting in itself since I wasn't yet allowed to have a pocket knife of my own), then she'd say "grab a bushel basket from the garage and go pull weeds." Kind of a chore, but there was a sweet reward. On Sunday evening my dad would count up the bushel baskets full of weeds lined up back of the garage, and then take all us kids to the Dairy Queen and get us a nickle ice cream cone for each basket full of weeds. If there was one basket all four of us kids would have to split a nickle cone--that's about three licks each. If there were four baskets we'd each get our own cone. Usually there were four baskets.

You know what? For dealing with weeds I'm pretty sure the bushel basket and paring knife method still works.

(although these days I think it would take a quarter-sized cone to get me out there all afternoon in the hot sun)

[dtotzz]

Thanks John, my lawn has been neglected for quite some time and there are more weeds than grass. I've been going out with a flat blade screwdriver and a 5 gallon bucket to pull weeds and am starting to feel a little crazy for doing it.

No ice cream reward at the end of the day for me, so maybe I am still crazy.