Non-Toxic Herbicide Weed Killer

When you have kids playing in your yard, the last thing you want is to spray your lawn with chemicals. However, if your yard is like mine, and the soil is nutrient depleted, then the weeds will overtake the grass. I watched my brand new lush sod turn into a field of weeds in a few short years.

I thought the automatic sprinkler would be the answer to a beautiful lawn. I was wrong.

My plan is to add nutrients to the soil to help the grass grow strong. I am using a natural fertilizer from http://www.chemicalfreelawns.com/

Also, I am going to cut the grass very high. The roots are as deep as the blades are tall. So if you cut the grass short, the roots are not going to be very deep. I was having a neighborhood kid cut my lawn, but he always cut it short. I bought a new lawn mower that the height can be set to 4.25".

Hopefully this plan will turn my lawn around. It may take a couple of years to replenish the soil and for my lawn to grow deeper, stronger roots.

In the meantime, I've got a yard full of dandelions. There are two natural approaches to weeds that I've found. The first is to make your own weed killer. The recipe is simple: 1 Gallon White Vinegar, 1 Cup Table Salt, 1 Tablespoon Liquid Soap. Mix well and apply to any plant you want to kill. I have not tried this yet, but I plan to use this for the weeds that grow in the cracks of the sidewalk.

I did find a GREAT dandelion solution.

It is called the Weed Hound. It looks like one of those made for TV products. I saw it at Home Depot and I thought it looked great, but I was sure that when I got it home, the thing would fail miserably. Boy was I wrong! The Weed Hound works great! It allows you pull dandelions, root and all, simply by stepping on the device and pulling up with your hand. It is designed that you do not have to bend over. It takes about 5 seconds to complete the entire process. The only thing that takes a bit of time is making sure the Weed Hound is centered on the plant.