need to get rid of weeds, have dogs

[echo]

is there any thing i can use to get rid of the weeds and still be safe for my dogs to go outside. if i use the scotts brand after i bring them in for the night will it be ok for them to go out first thing in the morning? i bought the scotts plus 2. thank you echo ps sorry about useing the bold type and caps last question i sent in, it's just easyer for me to see when i use them. have a good one echo

[Edelweiss]

Hi Echo,

I try never to use chemicals in my yard. My dog's not around anymore but I sure have lots of little critters who are awful close to the ground. The smell and feel the effects of the chemicals even more than we do. For myself, some of the weeds are easily taken care of by hand. About 7 or 8 years ago, my dandelions were getting pretty bad, so I spent an afternoon or two using a simple $1.99 weed tool I got from a hardware store. If you poke the thing in the ground next to the root and you dig down deep enough, you can loosen the root and the whole plant pulls right up. It's been years now and I'm still only on 'maintenance.' Also, I find that this time of year - early Spring - sometimes, all you need to do is rake the crabgrass and weeds away and plant new grass seeds. If the lawn is strong enough, weeds are less likely to find their way there. If you have money, you can also go through the National wildlife federation http://www.nwf.org and order some fertilizer/weeder from www.gardensalive.com. You can usually get a discount or coupon for about $20 off the price, so it's worth a try. Happy Spring to you!

Edelweiss

[Newt]

Like Edelweiss, I don't use herbicides unless they are organic as I have 2 dogs, 2 cats and lots of critters. You could use corn gluten as a preemergent to control any weed seeds that have not yet sprouted and vinegar to kill the weeds that are already there.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2002/020515.htm
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/w...037022899.html
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/w...117013092.html
http://www.greensense.net/vinegar.html

If you can't find these locally, I can give you some links.

For lawn renovation:

http://www.freeplants.com/lawnrenov.htm
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/know...482229,00.html
http://www.members.tripod.com/~Garde.../index-11.html

Newt