The War of the Dandelions

Take three. Or four. Or something. I've lost count.

In all my clicking around, I came across an article on seven homemade weed killers or some such nonsense. I've been 'burned' by a couple of these 'home remedy' type weed killers in the past, and quite frankly, I was skeptical.

However, as it is always my quest to learn something new each day, I skimmed through the article before closing. I was a little surprised (and embarrassed) to read the first one. Boiling water. Why didn't I think of that? Cooking the root is supposed to kill it.

So I tried it on the grass that's been creeping closer and closer to the garden wall. It worked. It killed the grass. Did it kill the root? I don't know yet. Usually the Bermuda will push new growth up through the dead stuff within a week if the root is still alive, so I'll have to keep an eye on that.

Thursday Night, I tried it on the dandelions. Well, some of the dandelions. They are growing so prolifically, that I've just been treating them like lawn and mowing them once a week. Seriously.

Anyway, here's a visual tutorial of what I did:

Warning: Blurry photos ahead! I really need a better lens for low light situations. Ugh.


Choose a dandelion. Or fifty.


Slowly pour boiling water on the center of the plant.


Keep pouring. Be careful not to splash the water on your foot and leg. It's hot.


Here's what it looked like about five minutes after 'cooking' it. If this works, I'll need a bigger kettle!