re: honest question…why do so many of you soak your yard with chemicals?

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that was really my point. I had had a couple beers last nite when I started this thread if I was a dick to anyone I apologize

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We've all been there. I get it though. IMO, a weed is anything you don't want in your yard. I like the uniformity of my St. Aug in my yard even though I'd rather something softer. I think some of the weeds that produce a surface level flower look awesome, but don't make sense when it's a random patch in the middle of my backyard while the rest is green. I think the clover all over sections of my yard cover up the deficiencies in my lawn's health, even if they make it look super green.

I don't think most users in here blast their yard with tons of weed killer regularly. Most of these questions arise when it's growing season and approaching dormancy. It's helpful and easier to ask these questions when the time comes up instead of trying to go back and look at old threads that already answered the question, as odd as that sounds.

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I do feel strongly about the issue though, and it comes from a good place that I feel good about. Simply that the safest and least toxic solution is almost always the best, and easiest, and cheapest. It might take longer but that’s how it goes

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I hear ya. I got tired of buying bags of dimension and dragging it out of my car and doing the math. Too expensive and too heavy. Lol. And as it rained i felt a sensed of dread about it flowing into the lakes by house with black swans

The hodge podge “method”i mentioned in my previous post (squares of sod) takes the long, but in the long run i do think it’s cheaper and it’s definitely safe and pretty easy if you do it little by little. I just grab a few squares every time I’m at Home Depot

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none of that shite is good for you or the environment

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Debatable.

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all you are doing is fighting Mother Nature (a fight you cannot win)

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I am undefeated.

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What is it about monoculture that is so appealing?

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A lawn? You don't know what's appealing about a lawn?

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I just don’t get it

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And you probably never will as you are one weird mother fricker.

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Starting a new lawn isn't feasible for many. Decreasing the size of that lawn and the mowing required, though, is.

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We all have different yards and different uses for yards.

I have a large front yard and a large back yard. I have flower beds galore in both the front and back, and I have 2 20' rows of raised bed garden and another 10' raised bed garden, and i'll probably add some more this spring.

My front yard is where my kids play football and baseball with me, and they also play with the neighborhood kids as well. I chose the house we did b/c it had a big yard that i could play with my kids in. I'm goign to have a nice lawn, and i'm going to spray it for weeds i don't like. I like clovers. I don't spray them. I don't like crab grass, or any other weed that picks my feet, and i don't like wearing shoes. Hell i cut the grass and weed eat without shoes. I'm going to spray the crab grass, as well as that other ridiculously growing velcro weed. They are a nuisance, and the only solution to them is spraying them with chemicals.


What all of you are talking about rescaping a yard, that's for cookie cutter houses and New Orleans houses that are so close to each other you can hear the couple next door when they are doing it. Those houses have no yards to actually do anythign worthwhile in. If you want to turn your whole yard into a flower bed, so be it. I'd probably do the same thing.

But for those of us with large yards that actually spend time playing in them, there is no other solution to maintaining that yard without chemicals. I'm not handpicking crab grass to weed it, and there's nothing i can do to stop it from coming up each year b/c i don't control what my neighbors do with their yard.
I also don't go spraying the yard 10 times a year for every single weed. I don't care about every weed, just the ones that pick my feet.






What is your natural solution to my weed problem in my large yard that i use to play football and baseball in with my kids? And i don't mean that condescending. I'm not a tree hugging hippie moron, but i enjoy nature more than most and would always do what i can to respect it and keep it beautiful. Nothing pisses me off more than when i'm sitting on a beautiful beach or on a beautiful hike in the mountains and find trash.
But i still don't get what we are talking about here and what are my realistic solutions to not "soaking my yard with chemicals"?

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To ease your mind pre em in the lawn does not wash off with rain and go into the lakes with the swans.

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Every batch of PE input down I make sure I dump an equal amount into an adjacent body of water just to make up for this.

I got 3 downvotes because pre ems travel 1/2 inch into the soil an settle there. They do not wash off, they do not travel downstream, the thunderstorm that came 30 minutes after application did kill any fish.


Thread is off the rails.

I don’t fully disagree with OP. I’m honestly not a fan of the grass put down in every yard. My issue is with all the weeds and what not I don’t know what are beneficial or native to north La. I also find it hard to buy native Louisiana plants, I’ve seen places advertise they are native and then do research and find out they really aren’t

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My issue is with all the weeds and what not I don’t know what are beneficial or native to north La. I also find it hard to buy native Louisiana plants, I’ve seen places advertise they are native and then do research and find out they really aren’t

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Fortunately, just about every state has a native plant or native wildflower society now, including Louisiana.

Here is a link to the Louisiana Native Plant Society, or the LNPS

From their "Take Action" section:

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Everyone can do something. Small yard or large acreage. Urban, suburban or rural. Big budget or no budget. Everyone can do something, starting today.

A good start is to just add one or two natives to your existing landscape. Resist the temptation to completely replace all your non-native plants at once.  Slow transition is better for wildlife (and your back). Over time, add more natives and replace some of your fragile non-natives. Don't feel that your landscape should be 100% native. Even the most zealous habitat gardeners have some non-natives. Set a goal of 70%, which is what research tells us is needed to sustain bird populations. When you're ready for more, increase the sizes of your planted beds. The #1 step you can take is to reduce the area of your lawn to only that which your family uses. If you have a blank palette of a new home site or are planning a major change, engage the services of a native landscaping consultant who can design a plan that you can work on gradually as budget and time permit or have installed by professional landscapers.

While you're going native, check your gardening habits. Fertilize less or not at all.  Fertilizer also gives weeds an unfair advantage, and native plants rarely benefit from it. Very little of the fertilizer you apply ends up in the plant anyway; most ends up in runoff. For mulch, use your own oak leaves or pine straw, not bagged cypress mulch from questionable sources. Keep deadfall limbs and dried twigs on your property, as these are good for wildlife, especially over winter. Use chemicals sparingly and with specificity. Don't react if you see a lot of unfamiliar insects at once. Usually these are temporary and seasonal, not a call to arms. Swat or crush insects or use soap before getting out the insect spray. Pull weeds by hand to minimize soil disturbance. Ask your extension agent for advice how to manage invasive plants like tallow. Consider adding a rain garden, habitat pond or a backyard microbayou to slow runoff and reduce burden on coulees during storm events.

As you become a more ecological gardener, get involved. A great way to keep learning is to volunteer at public or school habitat gardens. Help others by sharing what you've learned and, by all means, share seeds and cuttings from your native plants.  Use your voice: ask your nursery to carry natives. Do not buy invasive exotics like Japanese honeysuckle, coral ardisia and nandina; nurseries will stop growing them if we stop buying them. Get involved with your neighborhood association to encourage sustainable landscaping practices. Get your property on the map as a model for others by applying to the Louisiana Certified Habitat program.

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They have a lot of really good resources there and they host events around the state throughout the year.

Speaking of native plants, my son is in college and into them. I had zinnias in the yard last year and the Gulf Fritillary butterflies loved them. He convinced me to plant a passion flower/fruit vine for them to lay eggs on and have the caterpillars partially consume. Supposedly it doesn’t kill the plant if it’s established. I’m looking forward to seeing how that plays out. We stopped having the bug guy spray the yard and now just have them spray the outside surface of the house.