Thistles taking over lawn,how to get rid of,,,

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

Help!! I am having a battle with Thistles in my yard by house..taking over lawn,,can't walk bare-foot anymore in yard. Growing in my garden also.. I did dig them out individually down to root,,but getting to be too many.I don't know any natural way to get rid of them, some bio powder or something?? Has anyone had this experience,, have any suggestions? Appreciate any suggestions,,Thanks

-- Patsy, MT (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), September 04, 2001

Answers

Love them to death. Fertilise them. Over-fertilise them. Make sure the lawn's mowed, to force them back to short and preferably rosette- leaf-form, then give them a few days for the leaves to recover. Now go around dumping too much ammonium sulphate on them, then water very lightly. The thistle's will be burnt by the over-concentrated fertiliser. Later, when the weeds are obviously dead, water properly. The fertiliser will be diluted and be good for the lawn, and the increased growth will soon fill in the blank areas where the little piles of chemical were. It's not quite organic, but it works, and it's harmless. A lawn isn't natural anyway, and no-one in their right mind would put manure on a lawn, since a lawn is for putting people on; so lawns get inorganic fertiliser anyway.

And for heaven's sake control any sources of seed you can find, or you'll just have the battle to fight again every year.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), September 04, 2001.


Vinegar. There are a couple of older threads about this. I had a few more come on after spraying mine with it, but most of them died from the first treatment.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), September 04, 2001.

Patsy:

The older threads on killing thistles with vinegar should be in the Pasture category.

Ken S.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), September 04, 2001.


A long time ago I wrote an essay called "Organic Lawn Care for the Cheap and Lazy". I was living in montana at the time. It involved how to combat all sorts of lawn weeds.

A few years later I moved to a place that was infested with thistles. We got rid of them in one year.

Thistles are one of the toughest to get rid of, but not as tough as bindweed. Thistles propogate by seed and by rhizomes (kinda like roots making new plants). The thing to remember is that if you see 50 plants, they might really be all one plant.

First, focus on having a thick, healthy turf. Grass cannot out- compete thistles, but if the grass is in first class health, it can help you in your battle. Mow high. Water only when your grass needs it and then water deeply. Professionally test your soil pH.

Next, pull those thistles! Pick a spot to start at and clear that area. Each day, start in the same spot. You want to make sure that you define a "no thistle zone" where even the tiniest thistles are plucked. As you work more and more on this over the days and weeks, your "no thistle zone" will become larger.

Another aid that we came up with: When the kids needed punishment "you owe me two cans of thistles!"

You can read the complete essay at www.richsoil.com/lawn

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), September 04, 2001.


Hi Folks,,,

Thanks ever so much for the suggestions,,,I am grateful,,am going out to start some of these remedys today,,,,I want my yard back,,,,so can run bare-foot in it. My poor dogs even watch out for those mean thistles.

I know thistles have a purpose like everything else here on this good earth,,but their purpose is not to be in my yard,,so they have to go....Thanks again,,,,,Take care,,,

-- Patsy, MT (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), September 04, 2001.



Moderation questions? read the FAQ