FREE Dandelion control!!! Do the Dandelion Stomp!

Lee’s Notes: Hope George Rotramel doesn’t mind, but i am shamelessly stealing the Dandelion Stomp from him! I am unsure if this really works, but am willing to put it to the test this year!! Thanks George! Now if you could just come up with an easier way to deal with doggie doo doo!! My dogs keep looking at me and I can tell they are thinking “If I knew he was going to pick it up anyway, I would have just done it inside near the trash!”

Dandelions are one of the worst weeds of turf, but they have one critical weakness. They can’t handle trampling. The complete stem of a dandelion plant is crammed into a cylinder a few millimeters long right where the flower stalks emerge from the center of the leaf whorl. Trampling this stem crushes it and exposes the plant to infection by plant pathogens. The result is a dead dandelion with no time-consuming digging, no pulling, and no herbicide application.

Here’s how I trample dandelions. You may prefer to develop your own technique.

There’s no need to make a big dent in the turf or soil. Just place the back half of your shoe or boot heel on the center of the plant, put your weight down as if you were about to step off with your other foot, and then twist your heel back and forth 2 or three times. With practice, you’ll be able to complete the whole maneuver in about 1 second.

Dandelions can be controlled by trampling at any time of the year, but they seem to be most vulnerable when the first flower buds appear in the early spring. Or you can wait and use the first open flowers to spot your targets. Trampling breaks the flower stems and prevents seed set. Larger, older plants are more resistant to trampling and may need to be trampled 2 or 3 times at weekly intervals before they succumb. Smaller plants are easier to kill but they are harder to spot. You may not see them until they begin to bloom.

For proof that trampling works, wait till dandelion season arrives in your locale and check out the pattern of blooms and/or puff balls on dandelion infested soccer fields, parks or other play areas. You’ll probably notice the “dandelion free zone” in the front of the goal cage and down the center of the soccer field— and plenty of dandelions in the far corners of the goal cage and outside the lines of the playing area.