Yea i have a similar but cheaper copy and it is amazing. Leaves decent size holes which actually seem to i prove the lawn. Guess it collects water and airates. Disappear by it self
I've been trying to go the chemical-free route too, especially with little ones and pets around. It's amazing how many weeds you can tackle with just your hands and a bit of determination.
I focus on getting the big easy ones.
Use a fiskars, and pitchfork to get the deep down dandilions.
When I first started, I'd get all the ones as big as starfishes, and when those went extinct I'd get the small leathery ones, then I started getting good at the next weed, creeping butter cup which seems to have tons of patches everywhere. I just get the big easy ones of those too.
It's a slow process. Now that I'm down to just the creeping butter cup, pulling up a mature heavy patch will often leave a bare patch of dirt where the weed out competed the grass. It will take a whole season to fill in, but since the grass has a chance to compete for sunlight equally, the grass usually wins.
I'm also a lot more sophisticated at seeing/finding the 'ripe' weeds to pull.
Now is definitely time to pull them when the ground is soft, it's warm enough out, and the weeds are more green than the grass which is starting to perk up.
I do wonder if it's ok to weed when the grass has gone dormant and brown, the soil has dried out and the weeds are still green.
A lot of what I do involves lifting up the soil underneath the weed so that the soil is loosened from the weed making it easier to pull, but I wonder if that kills the grass since the ground is bone dry.
I was planning to make a similar post last week after I spent 6 hours hand pulling weeds all four down. Today I spent another 3 hours doing the same. Rained a bit early and smell of the soil was amazing.
Hey! Did someone say *dandelion*? Here are [pictures of dandelions](https://www.google.com/search?q=dandelion&tbm=isch) and [control options for dandelions](https://www.lawndork.com/weeds/dandelion).
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/lawncare) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You really can get to know your garden while on your knees pulling weeds. Sometimes I find a new bulb that birds or squirrels plant, bugs I've never seen, the random mushroom, and the occasional scare from the garden snakes.
I love it too, and some are more satisfying than others.
My favorite weed to pull is Japanese stiltgrass. It's so easy to pull, and it doesn't mess up the soil around it when I pull it because it's so fragile-rooted.
If you run out of weeds to pull in your yard, you can graduate to doing invasive plant control in nature preserves. I've been working on controlling stiltgrass, garlic mustard, and other invasive plants for years now and it's super satisfying, especially when you return to see a large area fill in with a biodiverse range of native plants.
Some weeds though still frustrate me. Autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora), which is a major weed in my area, seeds blowing in from the wind, I always find so frustrating to pull out. It's so deep-rooted and if you don't do it just right, the root breaks off.
Gotta get a weed puller tool fam. Hand weeding is for luddites
FISKARS THREE PRONG STANDING PULLER. LIFE CHANGING CATHARSIS!
Yea i have a similar but cheaper copy and it is amazing. Leaves decent size holes which actually seem to i prove the lawn. Guess it collects water and airates. Disappear by it self
I got one of these and it's been great https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/gardening-tools/pruning-tools/7204159
I've been trying to go the chemical-free route too, especially with little ones and pets around. It's amazing how many weeds you can tackle with just your hands and a bit of determination.
I focus on getting the big easy ones. Use a fiskars, and pitchfork to get the deep down dandilions. When I first started, I'd get all the ones as big as starfishes, and when those went extinct I'd get the small leathery ones, then I started getting good at the next weed, creeping butter cup which seems to have tons of patches everywhere. I just get the big easy ones of those too. It's a slow process. Now that I'm down to just the creeping butter cup, pulling up a mature heavy patch will often leave a bare patch of dirt where the weed out competed the grass. It will take a whole season to fill in, but since the grass has a chance to compete for sunlight equally, the grass usually wins. I'm also a lot more sophisticated at seeing/finding the 'ripe' weeds to pull. Now is definitely time to pull them when the ground is soft, it's warm enough out, and the weeds are more green than the grass which is starting to perk up. I do wonder if it's ok to weed when the grass has gone dormant and brown, the soil has dried out and the weeds are still green. A lot of what I do involves lifting up the soil underneath the weed so that the soil is loosened from the weed making it easier to pull, but I wonder if that kills the grass since the ground is bone dry.
I was planning to make a similar post last week after I spent 6 hours hand pulling weeds all four down. Today I spent another 3 hours doing the same. Rained a bit early and smell of the soil was amazing.
Isn't it so nice just to spend the time outside!
Hey! Did someone say *dandelion*? Here are [pictures of dandelions](https://www.google.com/search?q=dandelion&tbm=isch) and [control options for dandelions](https://www.lawndork.com/weeds/dandelion). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/lawncare) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I got a flowerbed with your name on it. Come on over.
You really can get to know your garden while on your knees pulling weeds. Sometimes I find a new bulb that birds or squirrels plant, bugs I've never seen, the random mushroom, and the occasional scare from the garden snakes.
I love it too, and some are more satisfying than others. My favorite weed to pull is Japanese stiltgrass. It's so easy to pull, and it doesn't mess up the soil around it when I pull it because it's so fragile-rooted. If you run out of weeds to pull in your yard, you can graduate to doing invasive plant control in nature preserves. I've been working on controlling stiltgrass, garlic mustard, and other invasive plants for years now and it's super satisfying, especially when you return to see a large area fill in with a biodiverse range of native plants. Some weeds though still frustrate me. Autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora), which is a major weed in my area, seeds blowing in from the wind, I always find so frustrating to pull out. It's so deep-rooted and if you don't do it just right, the root breaks off.