For those who have a summer cottage, a serious question has always been how to get rid of weeds, in particular, dandelions on the garden plot. One flower is enough to spread it throughout the lawn. Dandelion seeds are easily carried by the wind for many kilometers around, due to which new plantings appear. In this article we will figure out how to effectively bring dandelions from the site.
Dandelion: description
Dandelion - This is a perennial herb. It belongs to the Asteraceae family, it can reach a height of up to 0.5 meters. The dandelion root is branched, vertical, 0.6 meters long, and up to 2 cm in diameter. The root is brown in color, and inside is white. Leaves are oblong, pinnately dissected, without pubescence. The leaves, which are collected in the rosette, whole. The flowering arrow of a dandelion has a cylindrical shape, the walls are succulent, and the core is hollow. At the ends of the peduncle there is a single round-shaped basket up to 50 mm. The flowers are collected in inflorescences, they are reed, bright yellow. Dandelion fruits are downy seeds, and at the slightest wind they fly on peculiar umbrellas. Dandelion contains a thick juice, it is in each of its parts.
Did you know? Dandelion blooms usually in April or May.
But dandelion fruiting is rather long - from summer to mid-autumn. That is why many have difficulty thinking about how to get rid of dandelions in the area. With the onset of cold weather, the upper part of the dandelion dies off, while the root continues to live, in the spring to throw out a new rosette of leaves with long flower stalks. Since dandelion seeds are easily carried by the wind, landing on wet soil, they take root and germinate. Dandelion is an unusually robust plant, tiny enough pruning of the spine in order to grow a rosette of leaves. When the stalk flower is drying, they have time to be inseminated. Even if dandelions are used in a compost heap, they can produce seeds if they are not sufficiently deep to fall asleep.
Than bright yellow heads are dangerous
Looking at the plots richly covered with bright yellow dandelion heads, you never think that they are dangerous for other plants. If the fight against dandelions at the dacha was not carried out on time and they continue to grow quietly, then the probability that the plant will take away all the nutrients and nutrient moisture is quite high. Dandelions are very tenacious and quickly grow. If you do not know how to remove dandelions and not pay attention to them, you can not wait for a good harvest, but in the end you can not even find your crops on the site.
Important! Abundantly covered with dandelions plot can cause serious health problems.
This sweet plant is quite allergenic and can cause a rather serious disease, such as bronchial asthma. Therefore, with this plant is to be quite careful.
How to get rid of dandelions in the garden
The question of how to get rid of dandelions in the country or in the garden is asked by almost all gardeners who want to get a rich harvest, since this plant is the most terrible weed. That root is a problem when getting rid of dandelions. Since it is rather fragile and long, it is almost impossible to pull it out completely and not tear it. And from the remaining root in the soil new weeds will quickly grow.
To date, there are three ways to bring dandelions in the garden:
- mechanical method;
- chemical method;
- folk methods.
Mechanical methods
There are several ways to mechanically control this weed. In order to get rid of dandelions at their summer cottage as quickly as possible, the easiest method that does not require financial expenditures is used - digging dandelions together with the root.
Important! The main thing in this method is to remove the dandelion root completely, otherwise in the future it will appear in its place again.
It is quite labor-intensive to do this manually, so for these purposes you can use a device for removing dandelions, the shape of which resembles the English letter V from the blades. It will only be necessary to place the tool in the ground where the dandelion grows, and press the handle, after which the whole plant will emerge from under the ground. With this tool, the fight against dandelions in the garden will be much easier. Another method of how to bring dandelions from the lawn, is his haircut, but this should be done when they have not yet matured. Thus, the distribution of dandelions will stop, but this method does not completely get rid of the weed. For the next method, dandelions need to be stripped of sunlight. For this you will need to cover them with pieces of cardboard or plastic bags, and in a couple of days they will die.
Use of herbicides
The fight against dandelions on the lawn with the use of herbicides is used when physical methods do not bring the desired result. Even opponents of chemical drugs use this kind of dandelion remedy on lawns, because the mechanical method often breaks the root of the plant, which, in turn, gives rise to new growth. As herbicides are used as drugs purchased in specialized stores, and food vinegar. The latter contains acid, which can act as a herbicide. However, for best results, use a higher concentration of acid.
Did you know? In order for the results of the struggle to be as good as possible, it is necessary to get rid of dandelions in the garden with the arrival of autumn.
It is during this period that the plant accumulates nutrients in the roots, and the leaves die with the onset of winter. If herbicides are applied to the leaves during this period, the agent will more actively move to the roots, killing them. Before processing, you need to stop cutting lawns, because it will be better if most leaves fall under the treatment.
Folk methods of dealing with dandelions
The popular methods of dealing with dandelions at the site include:
- Scalding weeds with boiling water. You need to water the plant a couple of times a day, and then it will die.
- You can sprinkle dandelions with gluten cornmeal before they germinate. Flour does not allow seeds to germinate. Sprinkle area should be before the appearance of dandelions, for five to six weeks. Since the tool is effective only in the period of flour sprinkling, it is necessary to repeat the procedure several times during the growing season.
- Another method to remove dandelions from the garden is to sprinkle with salt. This will require one tablespoon of salt, but be careful and do not sprinkle the plants that are nearby, otherwise they will also die.
- You can also use hydrochloric acid. You can buy it at the hardware store. A liter of hydrochloric acid is inexpensive, but enough for a long time. Wear latex gloves before the procedure. For the application of concentrated acid, use a kitchen glove. Try not to inhale acid fumes. After that, dandelions turn brown and die forever.
Methods for preventing the appearance of dandelions in the garden
Preventive methods need to be carried out systematically, since weeds will quickly fill the entire territory, and it will be much more difficult to fight dandelions on the lawn. The best way to prevent is to monitor the general condition of the plot and properly care for it, then it will resist weeds.
Follow the simple rules for prophylaxis:
- If you leave the cut grass on the plot, it will act as an obstacle to the weed germination.
- You need to make sure that there are no empty, “bald” areas on the lawn. This is the perfect place to grow dandelion seeds. If empty areas still appear, then in the fall they should be re-sown with grass.
- The height of the shorn grass should be 7-8 cm. Due to this, the grass will protect the soil, and the seeds of dandelions will be more difficult to take root, and their shoots will not receive the necessary amount of sunlight.
