/diy/ - Do It Yourself

If this is the wrong board, could someone please redirect me?

Make yourself a nice cup of tea or leafy salad.

>>448370

Not really, but this is a very slow board.
Mowing just creates short, flat dandelions. Pulling works, but it's tedious and it won't take too long until you have dandelions again.
No idea about poisons.

Spray with Glyphosphate weedkiller. Makesure there is at least 2-3 hours to the next rain shower (assuming u r a uk fag)

4-5 days, all dead

Mow them and take a weed sprayer and mix a heavy amount of salt with water. Then spray on the weeds, this should kill a majority of them.

Dont mow them anon. This will just make it look neat, but in a few weeks you will have the same yellow and green shit farm you have going for you now. Honestly, pull it all up. Grass and all. Take a long look at it and work out what you want to do with that space. Veggie garden? Outdoor sitting/smoking/tea area. Bomb shelter. Whatever you want. That is a good amount of space to do anything you want to do so the only limitation here is how much work out really want to do. Would make a great after-work project to fix up and give yourself some more outdoor space. Where abouts are you located?

Dandelions are not weeds. Eat them. Every part is edible. Salad with greens, tea or even wine with flowers (fruits), and get all the roots.

Chop up roots real fine and fill a jar full. Then fill jar with 100 proof vodka or grain alcohol. Let this sit for a week in a cool dark place. Strain into small bottle with dropper (unused!).

Dandelion root tincture is god tier liver cleanser.

>>448369
if you just want nice grass, then get some RoundUp. It kills (broadleaf) weeds but not grass.
It is expensive, but works great.
Warning: it does not harm trees--but it kills just about every plant there is, except grass. You cannot spray it around ornamental plants at all.

If you only want to kill off what's there now, get some real actual vegetation killer. It will kill what is there but won't prevent anything else from growing there later.

If you salt the ground, it will permanently spoil the ground so nothing else grows on it at all.

>>448369
TIME FOR DANDELION WINE! Honestly, those dandelions are great vegetables too.

Also, no need to poison anything. Just mow it. Don't be brainwashed by idiots that think you need to get rid of everything except the grass in order to have a lawn.

Don't be a complete faggot and use salt on anything. Use vinegar instead if you really need to kill something. It will kill it completely dead, but won't ruin the soil for years like salt does. Vinegar is what I use for my garden fence lines and killing off multi-flora rose bushes.

Only faggots use Monsanto weed killers.

>Only faggots use Monsanto weed killers.
True. I think you should first pull them out then mow your garden.

>>448369

Honestly, get some work gloves and a steak knife and root every last one of those bastards.

You have to dig deep with the knife around the edge of the plant to kill off the other roots and to get the root ball out.

Then mow and then use some form of weed killer on the few that remain.

>>448369
>those weeds
GODAMN

renting?
i'd just use planters if it's not cost prohibitive

>OP wants to make a garden
>everyone recommends weed killer

Holy shit you people are completely fucking stupid.

OP, just till the weeds right into the ground or use raised beds/containers. That's all you need to do. Using herbicides on land you'll be trying to grow a garden is balls out 10/10 trolling.

google a thing called grampas weeder.

stupidly simple tool that is eleganty fantastic for dandelions. it is their angel of death.

>>448369
If they really bug you. Wait till October, when perennial scum are storing their nutrients, then hit with round up. Thats the only way to do it without going full Amish.

I would just accept it, and combat it with white dutch clover. Dandelions look cool to me. If you're into tea or cooking you can use them for both.

>>448542
roundup only kills plants it is sprayed on, the farm I work at sprays it before planting all the time. It may not be too healthy though.

>>448369
>dandelions
For the most part, you can ignore them. They only last a week or so and then the grass takes over. Enjoy the yellow, but mow them before they go to seed.

If you do want to get rid of them, you'll need chemicals. Or pull them up, you have to get the entire rhizome out. This is laborious.

>>448861
There are some problems with some weedkillers, using clopyralid and aminopyralid that don't degrade very quickly at all (it's an issue with horse manure too, so is often an issue with raised beds too. The chemicals stay intact in the horse's gut and remain in the manure for years). Roundup should be fine, except I wouldn't think it'd be as effective as just digging out the weeds and turf and putting some topsoil down. It's likely to be rather poor soil if OP wants to grow something other than grass anyway. And OP might accidentally the neighbours' gardens spraying roundup too.

>>448417
Round up does kill grass. It does so fairly efficiently.
2,4-D, aminopyralid, and methsulfuron methyl all work quite well on dandelions.

wow. I wish I had taken a photo for you guys.

my backyard used to resemble a cornfield with how high the weeds were. my kids used to play hide and seek in them.

in fucking weeds

>>448895
>aminopyralid

The wiki article is funny. Apparently it's so persistent and effective that even the shit of cows who have eaten aminopyralid-treated feed is dangerous to plants.

>>448943
>effective
That's the problem, it isn't. This isn't power ratings, the herbicide has a specific use and frankly it's pretty shit at that use, which is why it's gone on to contaminate manure rather than only killing the plants it's meant to and becoming inert.

>>448385
>salt
Wouldn't that ruin the earth there?
What if OP wants to grow flowers or something?

What do you want to do with the backyard?
You want to do a garden?
Or you want to have get togethers?
You want to grow garden?

>>449129
>Wouldn't that ruin the earth there?

Yes.

Its too far gone, Id just leave it like that. Dandelions are nice.

Otherwise, if it is just that small area, you could remove the whole turf and dandelion roots, and buy new rolled turf for insta-green. Or sow a new one if you can wait.

If you drown it in chemicals, which I strongly suggest you dont, you will still have to remove the dead weeds and fix all the holes in the lawn by resowing it.

OP here, thank you to (almost) all of you for your advice. I've cleaned up the crap from my garden (litter and toys), have an exam on Wednesday so will be fixing the rest after that.

>>449129
I think I just want a nice looking garden. From the advice/suggestions I've been given, my current plan is to rid the weeds (undecided on how), just have a grass lawn and get some raised flower beds and add some colour. I want to throw a BBQ or something over summer, and I wouldn't mind having a go at growing a little of my own veg.

>>449138
My house is rented, but it's only 6 years old. I remember them putting down turf before it was finished and I moved in, so couldn't I just rip it up, recycle it of course, and buy and put down some new turf? (not taking permission from landlord into consideration, I'd get that before I did something like that.)

>>449141
>my current plan is to rid the weeds (undecided on how)

Just till them into the ground in the areas you are gardening in. For every other place, just mow them over. It really is that simple. I do that every year for my own gardens in the spring. No chemicals needed for that.

>>449141
>so couldn't I just rip it up, recycle it of course, and buy and put down some new turf?

Thats what I was trying to say. Remove everything and get rid of it, buy rolled turf and lay it out.
You could leave some open space at the far end by the fence for planting something else if you want.

>>449150
interesting, I have some spare cash lying around so I'll price it up for my garden and look into it, thanks anon.

>>449151
Just make sure to remove the roots as well, and inform yourself a bit about rolled turf and how to prepare the soil.
If you do it yourself and buy them directly from the producer, it shouldnt be very expensive.

>>449150
>>449151
>>449154
Jesus, you people are so fucking stupid. lol

>>449159

>>449168

my sides will never be the same

If you want to do it the right way and fully organically, get a tarp and put it on top of the plants, leave it there for a couple weeks, bam everything is dead.

Then till, flatten, lay sod. Or build raised beds for veggies and shit.

source i am doing this now, only on a 4000 sq ft back yard

>>449206
forgot to mention also put down compost on the earth when tilling, and maybe amend with sand if you need to worry about making a drought-resistant garden with deep-rooted grass (doesn't look like you do, based on your pic!)

>>448369
needs an L shaped raised pond op

>>448423
This. Dandelion wine!

>>448853
Just looked this up. I want one so bad now!

>>449141
If you're looking into gardening, search the following terms:
>double digging
>square foot gardening
>french intensive gardening

Or, just turn over the top soil, plant some seedlings, and water them.

>>448369
call it a garden when you have something growing there that you intentionally planted and actively tend.

As far as your dandilions, send the tallest one's seeds to that guy somewhere around here, and lay a tarp or piece of plywood or something of the nature over the area for a few weeks.

>>448371
this is the only answer

>>448369

you need to make a cover for the manhole. dig a giant lair just under your lawn. use the secret manhole entrance. the flowers looks wonderful just they way they are.

>>448542
youre fucking stupid. Take your idiot enviro bullshit and fuck off. Op (assuming you want a lawn) basicly every bit of advice here is good apart from the "stop raping mother earth" bullshit. Weed killers have their place as long as you dont just rely on the stuff and dont over use. Weed killer will give you a quick easy starting point, use lightly on a dry but not scorching day. Dont cut the weeds first thats stupid, the plants need an actual vascular system to transport the stuff round. Cuting them first will not help that, the healthier and stronger growing the plant is the more effective the herbicide will be. For a deep rooted perennial herbaceous weed like this use a systemic herbicide not just a contact one. If you have the time and are opposed to herbicide then pull em out one by one, but every bit of root you leave will split and come back as two or three dandelions. Tilling dandelions into the ground is also a fucking retarded idea. That will basiclt cultivate the fucking things through root propagation.
Again though leaving some behind inst necessarily a bad thing. Once you have done the ground clearance dig the ground over a bit, put in a bit of loam or grit and sand if you want and level it off, tamp it down and level it again lightly. Sow the seed.
As far as mowing them yeah it works. you can mow weeds out by looking after the lawn. The grass will outcompete with very regular maintenance and short cutting and the lawn will improve over time. Keep your blades sharp.

another option. Just start treating it like its a lawn. mow it frequently and as the weeds thin out put a scattering of grass seed down. Over the next year or two use a few lawn weed and feed treatments. Lawn will return eventually

>>450331
Look at the state of OPs lawn.
If he just wants a good looking garden/lawn like he says, the easiest thing to do is just to remove everything and lay new turf.
It would take forever to try to cultivate a decent lawn out of that.

>>448369
You can try make some wine from dandelion roots and dye from the flower.

I feel your pain OP

Get some burdock and make dandelion and burdock

you can deal with weeds by covering over them with a thick layer of mulch or something else that blocks out the light. Can use shredded newspapers that have been soaked for a while- this prevents the light getting in and removes some of the newspaper dye. you can do larger areas in sections but usually most effective for smaller sections i.e. raised garden beds.

Use a digging fork, some good gloves and a lot of elbow grease. Remove all the weeds and their roots. It's the only way to be sure.

>>450375
jesus

its not hard to get rid of those things. seriously, how would you let lawn look that shitty? do you even /diy/?

>disliking dandelions

>>450438
I don't. Not yet at least. I just bought this house from a ton of beaners. It's got issues. Pic related. My shed area.

>>450493

This and the other similar posts make me wonder if the US dandelions are somehow less invasive than the eurofag equivalents.

keep the dandelions
make dandelion wine

Just mow before they go to seed and pick up the junk.

You will see some new ones pop up, then you can mow them again. This fall/early next spring put down some grass seed that is the same as what you have/is compatible to give the grass a slight edge up if you are so bothered.

>>450520
They are the same. It is just there's no reason to hate on them. They are an awesome vegetable. If you have trouble with them, just mow. Only golf courses that need perfect greens should worry about them.

In fact, most people just hate them because of propaganda from weed killer companies like Monsanto. Just look at the commercials on TV for them. Angry people squirting the weed killer on like one dandelion, who then rejoice once it dies.

ITT: first world, white people problems.

>destroying perfectly good vegetables

SHIGGIDDY

buy a rabbit

>>449159
"buy soil"

/thread

>>450341
Well thats kind of obvious. But what the difference from what I said and what youre saying. Do ground clearance, reestablish the lawn. Seed is cheaper and if someone dosent know how to lay turf properly its a huge waste of money. If the dandys arentremoved properly they will just pop up through the turf anyway. Herbicide killer once then seed or turf it. But if the guy isnt wanting a fricking bowling green but just a decent enough green yard space just mow the fuckers out and top up with some seed now and again. Seriously you guys WTF? Its not that complicated stop making it complicated.

As for all th ehurr duur eat them make wine im an enviro nazi bullshit. Wise the fuck upo the OP asked how to get a lawn, if he dosent want to cultivate a mediocre wild vegetable then thats his choice. Maybe he dosent want his yard to look like some pikey camp site

>>451009
>being this ass pained

The OP here. I want a productive garden. GB2/b/ with your crap, please, and keep my thread clear of this bullshit.

>>450664
First world, white people problems are the only problems worth solving.

am I the only one curious about what the bloody manhole cover is for?

Anyway, OP, there is a genuinely good point, dandelion greens go for $3 a bunch in organic produce stores. Harvest and sell them.

After that, take a good mattock and scrape off the top layer of dirt and roots. let it dry, pound it until the good soil is separated from the roots from the plants. Toss the roots into a compost pile.

Now, if i were you I would then make some garden boxes. Get pressure treated 4x4's, cut four foot lengths, put them in the ground in perfect squares, and screw pressure treated 2x8's to the sides. (three layers). Costly, but useful. Otherwise skip to step b.

Take that good upper layer of soil and amend it 50/50 with good garden amendment from the nursery. (or a load of manure if you can get it), and spread it in your boxes and or on the ground.

Plant stuff.

>>451158
It'll be something like the sewer access for the street. I used to rent a place that had something similar.

>>451008
>Seed is cheaper and if someone dosent know how to lay turf properly its a huge waste of money.
Aside from monetary cost, this is the exact opposite advice I've had from professional gardeners. Seed has to be put down at a certain time, is an absolute pain in the buttocks to weed while it's growing, cannot have footfall unless you want a shitty finish, needs a lot more prep and a lot more time and a lot more care. The advice I've always been given is to go with turf unless you absolutely can't help it, the difference in cost for such a small garden probably won't be worth it.

OP it depends on if you want a garden or a lawn.
If you want a lawn, cut out the turf and dirt for about 6-12 inches. Then buy new seedfree topsoil and replant. I live in California and helped a friend do this almost 2 years ago and there were a bunch of suppliers that would deliver locally for not much.
The best option for a garden would be raised beds, as you can say f the weeds and just control the whole thing. Plus auto irrigation systems are hella easy to set up. I have two 4' by 8' beds myself and it would work for you as you could custom fit them to that smalish lot.
http://www.garden.org/howtovideos/index.php?page=video2
Heres a vid for the raised bed. They're surprisingly easy to put together and even set up an irrigation system with a simple timer, just remember a weed strip to avoid those dandelions.

>>451299
thats actually not true. All of that is pretty much the same for turf. For seed or turf the best time is early autumn. After that its spring. But either way if you do it anotjher time you just mneed to keep to watered. If you get too much footfall on turf you wont get it to knit. yes there are obvious advantages to turf, but there are different advantages to seed. Its not a case of one being better than another its a case of what suits best to what you want. But turf needs far MORE prep and is more labour intensive to lay. People who dont know how to do it fuck it up all the time and weed seeds blowing into the ares are gonna magically not take root in turf and any perennial herbaceous weed like ddandies are gonna come up through turf just the same as they would in a sow lawn. If you want it to look good quickly and yes if you want a higher quality lawn then turf, if you want to save time and money then seed. Most gardeners working for private home use turf because people dont appreciate the time scale of gardening and have got used to the idea that it should be instant. Working in large estates and public gardens you think about things in terms of years. The only place Ive used turf would be infront of formal borders in castle estates or bowling greens and the like of if you need it to look finished for an event or something. Outside of those types of areas after a season or two the finish and look of seed and turf is no different, its how its cared for more that matters. Its just that places where we would go to the expense of turf would be places where we are going to be cutting the lawn every two or three days with £3000 cylinder machines and have an intense system of scarifying, weeding and feeding. Even the shittiest lawn can be improved by improving the care program.

>>452298
It is cheaper for gardeners to lay turf instead of seed because they dont have to do all the nurturing it requires for seed to turn into a thick lawn.

That is mowing, watering, weed removal etc. For turf, they show up for one day, lay the turf and its finished. For seed they have to drive there several times for tending, which is expensive.

>>448369
Try this

>>451299
>Aside from monetary cost, this is the exact opposite advice I've had from professional gardeners.

They're not professional horticulturists. Just make a flood table, line it with your desired seed, and have a constantly-recirculating trickle of water in there. The seeds should germinate within a couple of days, in about 5 days you'll have root mat knit very tight, and you can just drop the turf on the ground from there.

Source: I grow all sorts of grasses.

>>452545
How to they handle the transition from table to ground outside? I'd imagine they'd need a sprinkler system to keep them both cool and wet until they grew more protected roots into the soil.

Buy a roll of this: http://www.realgrass.com/

Never have to worry about mowing the lawn ever again. No weeds. No bugs. No fading. No mud. Nothing ever ever again. Just lovely green "grass" for you and your kids to enjoy year round. :D

We did this on our condo. Neighbors are always complementing our yard.

>>452606
>big list of things to do to care for the fake grass

Nope.

Fucking suburbanites.

>>452545
OOOOH! fucking awesome

>>452606
God, I hate that shit.

It looks fake. Even in the promotional pictures on their site it looks fake. Honestly, I'd rather have pavement then fake grass. Ugly as sin and you're not fooling anyone.

>>452606
Those lawns look so fucking dull.

Relative of mine has a garden with shitty random brand grass seeds thrown onto it. Grows strong and fast. All kinds of flowers and weeds grow in between, looks fucking great in spring or anytime it isn't mown. Their bees love it as well. Is a bitch to mow, like in fucking annoying.
Also berry bushes and small apple/pear/plum trees all over the place.

Would never have anything different. Lawns like quoted remind me of suburbian hellholes, where everything looks the same and nothing has any character, and all the lawns are for is to show status.

>>450664
More like US suburbian problems.

>>450375
looks like a great lawn, would buy

>>452584

Toss fine wet soil on them after laying and water thoroughly once. They're already in a state of accelerated growth so the root system will sink right on top of the underlying soil if you have the underlying soil and fine soil wet enough.

>>452668
So, basically make mud and sink them in the mud?

>>452671

Well-oxygenated mud on top, coarse mud on bottom, essentially.

It's how we get golf courses set up rapidly.

>>448369
Make dandelion jelly, its fucking delicious.

>>452619
Can't tell if serious...

It's got a ton of shallow roots from some old oaks. Plus every time it rains it turns to a swamp

>>452545
That looks awesome.

>>452792
>Plus every time it rains it turns to a swamp
That's true of so many places. Anyone and everyone is out to steal topsoil and leave you with clay. I'm gradually digging in leaf mould, sand and some topsoil into my back garden, shit's pretty bad out there.

>>452817
ha true. Especially on new builds, they leave you with subsoil and then roll turf on top. looks great for like three months then it all turns to crap

>>452686
This!
Seriously, that stuff is the best.