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da ([personal profile] da) wrote2007-05-12 07:34 pm
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The Victorious Hunters Gatherers Return from the Field...

We're smiling, because we will eat hearty tonight!

trophy dandelion 1

trophy dandelion 2

trophy dandelion 3

Actually they all ended up in a yard-waste bag, because none of us felt like dandelion greens.

Even though they were well-washed.


I had help testing out the Lee Valley high-pressure weed puller! It's quite a bit more fun than digging or levering out the dandelions, and I can safely say that the yard's watered now. In fact, I hope it isn't a muddy soup. It is creepy the number of feet underground that a stubby little one-flower dandelion will reach.
And unfortunately, there are still a LOT of dandelions in our yard. I think I did... 3/4ths of the back yard? Four hours work?
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[identity profile] bats22.livejournal.com 2007-05-13 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
Holy cats, those are some serious taproots. What was the rate of dandelion destruction over time with this new implement of destruction, compared to the hand method last week? And any idea if the hand method leaves way more of the taproot?

[identity profile] da-lj.livejournal.com 2007-05-13 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
No doubt, the trowel method only get the very top of the root. 6 inches for the trowel versus... 12-20 inches, depending on the root. (Yeah- two floors above-ground, six floors below. All set for armageddon...)

There are claw/lever removers that probably get the same amount of root as the trowel, but faster.

It's hard to say for speed, but I think the squirt-gun is overall slightly slower than the trowel method, becaue I've got the means (and the interest) for being certain they won't grow right back from the root. So I'll dig around with the gun to be sure it'll all come up when I pull.

I'm curious how much/little root I need to remove to guarantee it won't grow... Maybe the bottom half is inert. Maybe not.

[identity profile] jeanne-d-arc.livejournal.com 2007-05-13 01:14 am (UTC)(link)
Cute picture!
My dogs have created so many grass-free mud spots in my yard that I'm actually happy when they fill with dandelions.

[identity profile] catbear.livejournal.com 2007-05-13 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
Trophy time!

But, seriously. I'm very tempted.

[identity profile] melted-snowball.livejournal.com 2007-05-13 06:43 am (UTC)(link)
I'm sure [livejournal.com profile] roverthedog will make sure not to pee on the dandelions you make into jelly.

[identity profile] dawn-guy.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 12:09 pm (UTC)(link)
The smiling gatherers didn't have the prospect of hours of taproot squirting ahead of them. Boy later conjectured the gun wouldn't work well for hobbit-style homes, since it could punch through the roof.

[identity profile] da-lj.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 03:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"Boy later conjectured the gun wouldn't work well for hobbit-style homes, since it could punch through the roof."

Wow. That is an excellent point.

I forgot to show you the worms. They come out in droves, with enough water. If you had to harvest worms, you'd be set with this system too.

(I don't think there's a collective noun for worms. "A drove of worms" doesn't sound right at all.)
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