While some people like to consume the leaves of a Dandelion plant (Taraxacum officinale) and others enjoy making tea from the flowers, the majority of home owners struggle with these weeds year after year. The problem with hand removal is fairly straight forward, the plant has a very long root and its extremely fragile. Trying to pull it by hand normally results in missing a piece, and any missed pieces can easily regrow into a full plant. I once tried to hand pull a single Dandelion and ended up with 2 new sprouts a couple weeks later.

While there are a number of chemical’s available at your local garden supply store that claim to get rid of Dandelions what they do not mention is how poisonous they are to your other plants, some types of grass have adverse effects from them as well. So if hand pulling is out, and chemicals can potentially cause more harm than good what is a gardener to do?

Easy, buy some Vinegar. I know it sounds crazy but let me explain. The Dandelion plant pulls nutrients from its leaves down into the root. So its weakest point is right there at lawn level ready to be exploited. Vinegar is a fairly acidic liquid and will cause all kinds of problems for plants. However, the normal vinegar you buy at the grocery store has a 5% acidity level. Enough for cooking purposes but not quite enough to do much harm to healthy plants.

So, to get the Vinegar ready to be used, boil it. Doing so will increase the acidity and as a side effect also increase its potency as a Dandelion killer. This is going to be a rather smelly deal, so if possible I recommend using a gas/charcoal grill outside to avoid having your entire house smelling of vinegar. As a bonus, if you have anything with hard water stains this is a great time to clean them as well. Just let them soak in the vinegar as it boils.

Application

There are some things to consider when applying your boiled vinegar. Any green leaf that comes in contact with the vinegar is going to die. So be sparing when applying it, and try to apply it directly to the dandelion plant. A small misting bottle works wonders and keeps you from getting vinegar everywhere.

The vinegar will need time to soak into the plant, which means no mowing. I like to apply the vinegar roughly 3 days before I intend to mow. I think reapply after the mowing, and of course avoid watering the lawn during the entire process.

When mowed your lawn, and the dandelions will go through a little growth spurt as they continue to take in the same amount of nutrients but have less greenery to use it up. What happens is you apply the vinegar and let it soak for a few days, mow reapply and use the plants defense to being trimmed against it.

The best times to use this method are the very beginning of your growing season and in the fall. I try to time the fall one with the last mowing. These are the two best times, during the fall the plant starts moving a large quantity of energy from the leaves to the root so it can survive the winter. And during the early spring they are going through a very large growth spurt and will soak up much more nutrients from the leaves than normal.

For other lawn care tips and tricks stop by My Back Yard Adventures blog over on blogger.

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An awning is great for use in large outdoor areas to provide weather and sun protection, in addition to giving you more livable space in your backyard. But its purpose does not limit itself to residential properties. In fact, you can use it as extensions to restaurants, facilities, and open markets as well.

Because the covering for this type of awning is a bit tilted, you can get more shade- perfect for coffee shops and sidewalk restaurants. With this feature, you no longer have to worry about where the sun is at a given time- you get all the shade you need regardless of what time of day it is. And you can also easily retract it in as quickly as 30 seconds, and put it in a convenient area just like other types of awnings if you wish to. Basically, when the weather is cool and there is no rain, you can simply retract it to allow customers to have a great view of the sky above.

This type of awning is built with an aluminum frame and durable fabric that makes it very sturdy and hard-wearing. As compared to regular ones, the free standing type is more of a hybrid version that offers ease of use and better coverage. Also known as unattached awnings, free standing ones do not need to be situated in a particular area all the time. You can move it any time and in any area you want.

Difference between Canopies and Free Standing Awnings

If you are wondering whether canopies and free standing awnings are the same, the answer is no. They are similar in function, which is to provide shade, but they have certain differences in terms of structure and usage, as indicated below:

1. A canopy has four legs while a free standing awning only has two.
2. A canopy is used to put tables and furniture under its shade while a free standing awning works as an extended shade hung over an area.
3. Although they can be heavier and a bit complicated to set up, these recreational tools provide plenty of benefits to residential and commercial owners alike.

Should You Buy One?

If you are thinking about getting a free standing awning, you need to ask yourself first for what purpose and where you intend to use it. It is a practical choice for decks, yards, and outdoor extensions. It is movable, which means you can transfer it from one place to another. Plus, it is quite durable considering the materials it is made of.

Before you start browsing the Internet for websites selling these, you need to consider first what type of base you would need for your free standing awning. There are two types: ground insert base and a deck mount base. The ground insert type would need cement to put it firmly and steadily in the ground, while the deck mount type requires bolts, preferably stainless steel, to lock it in place.

If you liked this article about Free Standing Awning, you should read my articles about Free Standing Awning and Garden Awning.

1. Determine if your lawn needs to be dethatched. Power lawn dethatchers are stressful to your grass and should only be used as needed. Take a sample of grass and soil and measure the spongy layer of thatch in-between that is made up of organic materials such as grass clippings, pine needles, leaves and roots. You may want to test several different areas since the build-up can vary. If it is a half an inch deep, think about dethatching soon. It is definitely needed if it is an inch or more.

2. Decide whether to rent or borrow a power dethatcher or hire a professional to do it for you. Lawn dethatchers look kind of like power lawn mowers but are typically much heavier and have several vertical tines that cut into the thatch layer without ruining the grass. Because you want to have the blade height and spacing just right, it can be a bit tricky to use if you are not used to them. You should be able to do a typical lawn in a half-day rental period, which will cost about $60-80 dollars or around $100-$125 for 8-hours if you have a larger lawn.

3. Plan to dethatch at the right time. You do not want the soil to be too dry or too wet. Since it is hard on your grass, there needs to be recovering time, at least two or three weeks of active growing season before the weather gets too hot and dry or too cold. Typically early spring or late fall are best.

4. Prep your lawn and gather other lawn care materials. You want to mow your grass about half its normal height. If you want to overseed (a really good idea), fertilize (a good idea) and/or topdress (not necessary but a benefit to many lawns and many help even it out) have those materials readily available.

5. Set-up the thatcher. When you go to pick up the lawn thatcher, have the rental center help you set blade height or spacing. For warm weather grasses, the height is set to cut into the turf about ½ inch with the blades 1-2 inches apart. Since cool weather grasses are thinner, blade spacing can be increased to 3 inches and the height can be set around ¼ inch. As you are dethatching, you can make small adjustments if they are needed.

6. Go over each area more than once. For the best coverage and results, make several crosswise patterns in each area. Consider using a manual dethatching rake to get to the corners and get up additional moss.

Visit our site to learn more about lawn dethatchers and how a dethatcher works.

Learn more about power rakes, lawn dethatchers, aerator and lawn repair strategies that will help you save time and money.