4 ms·

I wish localities would issue the same kind of citations for invasive species as they do for an uncut, weedy lawn --- that might start to be a fix, but would re

I wish localities would issue the same kind of citations for invasive species as they do for an uncut, weedy lawn --- that might start to be a fix, but would require education, something we seem to be short on right now.

bell-cot 2y ago
Admitting that I know a fair number of older women who take care of their yards... If you called 'em "Dandelion Laws", limited them to invasives that easily spread to neighbors' yards and were a PITA for those neighbors to keep under control, and cultivated a group of older ladies who were willing to show up and complain loudly at the occasional City Council meeting - then it might be surprisingly easy to do. At least in upscale and wanna-be-upscale areas.
- goda90 2y ago
  I would note that dandelions are not considered invasive in most of the United States. They're non-invasive exotics instead. Considered beneficial actually. I see native bumblebees feeding on a lot of what busybodies would label as weeds and try to regulate away. This approach would just be asking for heavy use of pesticides to maintain monoculture grass.
  - conductr 2y ago
    As an owner of and neighbor to many of the standard protagonist monoculture lawns being discussed here, I would also caution against this concept due to how it will be managed; copious amounts of pesticides more than is already being used is what will happen. I try to handle weeds by mowing frequently enough they never get to maturity and so my neighbors are sending dandelions into my yard, I don’t fight it, I just make sure they never get tall enough to bloom or cast seeds from my area. They’re so hard to keep away, I would have to put down full coverage pesticide if I was trying to fight their very existence on my property. My neighbors aren’t even that neglectful. Yet you see it ever. If I had to guess the largest producer of dandelion diaspora are schools and parks and some of the medians in my city along with random patches of “low maintenance”/ vacant land. It’s also windy where I live so it just travels far.
    - WillAdams 2y ago
      I've managed to remove dandelions from of my yard by mechanically digging them up by the roots (also did the same to buckhorn --- next on the schedule is broadleaf plantain) after one year where I just tore off each plant at the surface and then put a piece of rock salt on the opening of the root. My daughter was quite put out when there was a contest in her biology class for bringing in the longest dandelion stem.
      - __s 2y ago
        I prefer to turn dandelions into salad & wine
        WillAdams 2y ago
        When I was much younger and times were quite difficult for me, I just about lived on dandelion salad for the better part of a year (and only escaped getting poisoned by an herbicide because I had a habit of blanching the plants I was planning on eating by putting a rock on top of them the day before).
        UtopiaPunk 2y ago
        My family likes to pick a big bowl full of yellow dandelions and then make a dandelion-rhubarb pie. We make it a point to do it at least once a year as a kind of seasonal tradition.
    - UtopiaPunk 2y ago
      What's wrong with dandelions? I like them and so do the pollinators.
      - conductr 2y ago
        Might be something regional. But where I live it’s just a prevalent weed that most homeowners want to kill off. I’ve never eaten it like some of the other comments. Never heard of anyone else around here eating it either.
lordswork 2y ago
The lack of laws around this right now are so damaging. A negligent homeowner can unknowingly be growing a nursery of invasive plants that are putting out tens of thousands of seeds to the surrounding area every year, not to mention direct spreading by tubers and creeping vines into neighboring properties. As a result, all neighbors of that property have to pay an endless recurring maintenance cost to prevent invasives taking hold in their yards. Without some kind of enforcement, there's little hope of getting invasive species populations under control, because it only takes one incompetent and/or negligent property owner to make the issue way harder for everyone else.

bell-cot 2y ago

Admitting that I know a fair number of older women who take care of their yards... If you called 'em "Dandelion Laws", limited them to invasives that easily spread to neighbors' yards and were a PITA for those neighbors to keep under control, and cultivated a group of older ladies who were willing to show up and complain loudly at the occasional City Council meeting - then it might be surprisingly easy to do. At least in upscale and wanna-be-upscale areas.

goda90 2y ago
I would note that dandelions are not considered invasive in most of the United States. They're non-invasive exotics instead. Considered beneficial actually. I see native bumblebees feeding on a lot of what busybodies would label as weeds and try to regulate away. This approach would just be asking for heavy use of pesticides to maintain monoculture grass.
- conductr 2y ago
  As an owner of and neighbor to many of the standard protagonist monoculture lawns being discussed here, I would also caution against this concept due to how it will be managed; copious amounts of pesticides more than is already being used is what will happen. I try to handle weeds by mowing frequently enough they never get to maturity and so my neighbors are sending dandelions into my yard, I don’t fight it, I just make sure they never get tall enough to bloom or cast seeds from my area. They’re so hard to keep away, I would have to put down full coverage pesticide if I was trying to fight their very existence on my property. My neighbors aren’t even that neglectful. Yet you see it ever. If I had to guess the largest producer of dandelion diaspora are schools and parks and some of the medians in my city along with random patches of “low maintenance”/ vacant land. It’s also windy where I live so it just travels far.
  - WillAdams 2y ago
    I've managed to remove dandelions from of my yard by mechanically digging them up by the roots (also did the same to buckhorn --- next on the schedule is broadleaf plantain) after one year where I just tore off each plant at the surface and then put a piece of rock salt on the opening of the root. My daughter was quite put out when there was a contest in her biology class for bringing in the longest dandelion stem.
    - __s 2y ago
      I prefer to turn dandelions into salad & wine
      - WillAdams 2y ago
        When I was much younger and times were quite difficult for me, I just about lived on dandelion salad for the better part of a year (and only escaped getting poisoned by an herbicide because I had a habit of blanching the plants I was planning on eating by putting a rock on top of them the day before).
      - UtopiaPunk 2y ago
        My family likes to pick a big bowl full of yellow dandelions and then make a dandelion-rhubarb pie. We make it a point to do it at least once a year as a kind of seasonal tradition.
  - UtopiaPunk 2y ago
    What's wrong with dandelions? I like them and so do the pollinators.
    - conductr 2y ago
      Might be something regional. But where I live it’s just a prevalent weed that most homeowners want to kill off. I’ve never eaten it like some of the other comments. Never heard of anyone else around here eating it either.

lordswork 2y ago

The lack of laws around this right now are so damaging. A negligent homeowner can unknowingly be growing a nursery of invasive plants that are putting out tens of thousands of seeds to the surrounding area every year, not to mention direct spreading by tubers and creeping vines into neighboring properties. As a result, all neighbors of that property have to pay an endless recurring maintenance cost to prevent invasives taking hold in their yards. Without some kind of enforcement, there's little hope of getting invasive species populations under control, because it only takes one incompetent and/or negligent property owner to make the issue way harder for everyone else.