Question
two weeks ago i applied scots weed and feed fertilizer to my lawn.  the lawn was not wet and my wife had just cut it also.  we are first time homeowners.  being hasty i did not read the directions.  now it seems that maybe i did not use enough.  in some places dandelions are curling and dyeing.  other places they are just not yellow. some spots are yellow.  how often can i apply the weed&feed fertilizer.

Answer
The problem with a 'Weed and Feed' type chemical is that it does not kill all the Weeds you want it to, but you expect it to, and then when they come back, you figure you did not use enough etc.

You are not applying SHAKE AND BAKE here, my new homeowner friend.

This is not TEA AND SUGAR.  It isn't ORANGE JUICE AND SUNSHINE.  It's the poisonous, dreadful wolf-in-sheep's-clothing that a Madison Avenue salesman has cunningly named Weed and Feed.

Let's begin with the 'Weed' part of this name.

You are opening a box of stuff and all over your entire lawn area you are sprinkling a massive dose of a major Herbicide.

If you had broadleaf Weeds everywhere, even a landscaper would be careful about the careless application of something like this unless you really needed it.  And some people like me maintain there is NEVER NEVER NEVER a reason to put down any herbicide on your Lawn.  There are BETTER ways to get rid of unwanted plants.  But no one sells those like Scotts sells its shake-and-bake weed-and-feed.

Ever read that box of Weed and Feed?  There are LEGALLY mandated Warning signs.  But people treat this stuff like it was fertilizer. It's NOT.  It's a dangerous herbicide.

I refer you to Ronald C. Smith, one of my favorite Horticulturists, who posts this for the North Dakota State University Extension Service and I quote: 'Environmentally, weed and feed applications are a disaster on a small scale.  Broadcast applications of herbicides are not needed in most Lawn situations, just spot applications where Weeds tend to be.'

Note please that Mr. Smith is a traditional, old-school plantsman.  NOT an Organic grower.  He clings to old methods.  And even THEY are tsk tsk-ing your plan to Weed-and-Feed the world while people, plants and pets get sick and die from the effects of toxins you so casually applied to your own Grass.

If you need more proof, consider that most of our local Golf Clubs are
doing whatever they can to go Organic.  The entire industry is desperately funding Organic research to dream up cost effective ways of creating the perfect Lawn without killing the people who play golf on them or live nearby.

And THEY are coming up with very cool ways to do that.  There's a lot of science in their new methods.  They must, of course, because if they don't, they will have no alternatives as medical science finds the clear and present links between your Weed'n'Feed and all kinds of weird diseases: Breast and Testicular Cancer. Lymphoma. Birth Defects. Pancreatic Carcinomas.

If that's not enough, try finding someone who puts this stuff on
people's lawns for a living.  Someone who is regularly dosed for years, splashing it on themselves, breathing it, getting it on their clothes, tracking it into their own houses, their cars, the families.  See what shape they're in. I absolutely, positively guarantee it will not be a pretty site.  And they're probably taking more precautions than you did two weeks ago.

Any cancer on your block?

Check.  Get back to me.  Cancer is environmental.  The biggest cause of death in the US right now.

See the Audobon-based Bluebird trail on this subject:

www.bestofbbml.audubon-omaha.org/herbicides.htm

Make sure you scroll down to the Agent Orange postings.

Alternatives to Pesticides and Herbicides are all over the place,
starting with the kitchen.

Corn Meal Gluten is a scientifically proven anti-fungal pre-emergent that is so safe you can eat it.  I am not kidding.  It is safer than dog food.

But it doesn't go down now.  Too late.  Wait until Autumn.  Then re-apply in the Spring.  You can pick it up at the garden center.  Or on the internet.

Please don't Weed and Feed anything ever again.  You want to see your children grow up, get married, have grandchildren.  You want to play that game of golf.  You want a good long life.  You deserve it.  We all do.  Love they neighbor, all those wonderful ways to live, they are completely opposite from what you will ever do with a product that weeds, feeds and hurts God's green and blue earth.

Dandelions are perennial.  If you dig them up one by one, you will be rid of them fast.  Don't let any seed, and your job will go that much quicker.

There are BETTER ways to wipe out Weeds, starting with the height you mow your Lawn.  That, more than anything, is the key to eliminating Weeds -- a strong Lawn won't put up with them.  And we know that because university after university has tested it, with different Grasses and Weeds:

www.helium.com/items/981092-lawnmower-weapons-whacking-weedsmow

Note please the chart on mowing height for different Grasses.  THIS is the way to get rid of Weeds in your Lawn.

No chemicals necessary.

Tell me what kind of Grass you have, and I'll tell you exactly what you need to do to make it beautiful.  And make sure you have a Lawnmower in the garage... and a sprinkler.

So, How often can you apply Weed and Feed?

Never.

Thank you so much for writing.

Any questions?

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER