Help! I'm looking for a fertilizer and weed killer safe for dogs.

[MelissaB]

We moved to a new neighborhood last fall and all of the neighbors have beautiful lawns, but they use TruGreen lawn service. I'm not one for keeping up with the Jonses', but our yard now looks horrible. It could be called a dandelion garden.

Is there something that's natural and safe we can use?

[Doreen]

1. I used to use this stuff called Seven Dust.

It also helps with fleas hiding outside in the grass.

[MFM008]

2. I've used

Used coffee grounds if you drink it. Save it up. Mix with dirt...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Leave the dandelions. Bees like them.

There are no truly safe herbicides, but you can minimize the harm to the environment by carefully reading the instructions on the label and not using any more than you need. The best way to get a good-looking lawn without using chemicals is to improve the soil so it's between 6.5 and 7.0, which is slightly acidic; choose a locally-adapted grass; don't mow it too short (that allows weeds to pop through); and water deeply but not too often. Tolerate some dandelions and white clover (a legume that adds nitrogen to the soil). Fertilizers just make the lawn grow faster so you have to water it more often. You might consider planting a low-mow lawn: http://www.prairienursery.com/store/no-mow-lawn/no-mow-lawn-seed-mix#.WPeQk1PyuRs

[WePurrsevere]

4. I agree. If one needs to fertilize a safe one is easy, we call it manure or compost but...

for a decent size lawn I can't think of any weekday killers that aren't toxic. For small gardens or small areas boiling hot water poured right at the root works well and/or prevent them by blocking.

Thankfully we live on a small hobby farm out in the country so can embrace our love of dandelions and not worry about neighbors complaining... well... at least not to our face.

The plant is actually an incredibly useful one for humans as well as the bees you mentioned. Two of our favorite things involve putting our young grandchildren to work picking some of them one day when they're in full bloom and covering our yard. Out of our small 'harvests' over the years we've made Dandelion Jelly, Dandelion Wine and Summer Mead (inspired by the old song, Summer Wine).

[MelissaB]

11. We could certainly produce something from the dandelion farm in our yard.

LOL! My husband said his grandfather used to eat them. Maybe we should make jelly or wine.

[WePurrsevere]

14. Go for it and tell your neighbors you harvest and use them...

Just stay away from any area where their 'stuff' might blow over onto your property.

The wine, mead and jelly are fairly easy to make except for the preparation of the flowers since you need to separate the yellow from the green. We'll be making more jelly this year I think. It tastes like I think sunshine would if it had a flavor.

It doesn't surprise me that your DH's grandfather ate them. It's free essentially free food so why not eh? If you run a search you'll find all sorts of recipes other then the ones I mentioned like salad, sauteed, pickled, coffee substitute, etc. Technically every bit of a dandelion is edible although most recipes I've run across don't use the stem or flower pod at all because they're quite bitter.

[MelissaB]

7. By "improving the soil" how do you test that?

Can you test the acidity yourself?

Thanks for all of the pointers.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Many states have an agricultural/gardening service

through the university's extension division, and they will do a soil test for you at a low cost. I'm in Minnesota, and as an example this is what the U offers: http://soiltest.cfans.umn.edu/testing-services/lawn-garden Your state probably has a similar service.

[Mr.Bill]

5. For a spot weed killer that is pet safe

I use vinegar with salt mixed in. It's not as long lasting as other weed killers, but if you spray it at the point where the weed comes out of the ground, it kills it within a day or two.

[MelissaB]

6. I should have added a bit more info. Our lot is an acre.

It's large, and I've never seen so many dandelions in my life. I'm used to having some in my yard, but this is something else. I'm sure the neighbors are going to hate us because they all treat their yard, but I'm not going to use something that will harm my dogs.

Also, I'm in Kentucky. We haven't had to water our lawn since we moved to this state 4 years ago. None of our neighbors (in this house or the previous) water their grass. It just seems to rain and keep the grass green.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. With respect to your question about soil testing, go here:

http://soils.rs.uky.edu/

[MelissaB]

10. Thanks!

[Jane Austin]

12. Vinegar

The stronger the better.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. Grocery store vinegar doesn't work very well - it isn't strong enough.

It's only about 5% acetic acid; the rest is water. You'll need at least 20% vinegar, called cleaning vinegar. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/20-acetic-vinegar-kill-weeds-46792.html