Where does rubber come from anyway?
Unlike money, rubber actually does grow on trees. That is, naturally occurring latex does. Natural rubber or latex begins its lifecycle when the Para rubber tree is tapped for sap, not unlike how our Quebequois friends bring us maple syrup.

Yet, the majority of rubber products you and I are familiar with are made not from natural latex, but from synthetic rubber. Synthetic rubber is derived from petroleum and other minerals, and is made into tires, gaskets, seals, moldings, carpet backing, bouncing balls, hoses, and wet suits for starters. (IISRP)

But, according to the Minnesota Building Materials Database, synthetic rubber has a high embodied energy. Embodied energy is a measure of the total energy required for sourcing or extracting raw material, material processing, manufacture and even transportation to the end material’s point of use. In a nutshell, look for materials with a lower embodied energy when possible.

What About Recycled Rubber?
Logically, when you cut out the raw material extraction phase of a product’s lifecycle, the energy savings are fantastic: recycling rubber rather than producing it from scratch can yield a 70% energy savings (Mumma, 1995)! While it’s true that collecting, processing, and remanufacturing recyclable materials takes a massive amount of energy, it’s safe to say that the benefits and savings are worthwhile.

Still, no matter how hard you try you can’t deny the fact that a recycled product retains many of the characteristics from its raw ‘material of origin’. In other words, this recycled content apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Read the rest of this entry »

When summer comes around, you can bet that your fellow sun-deprived Canadian neighbours will as good as live outside. Come June and July, the home extends out the front and back doors for meals, mowing, and if you’re lucky, for meditating in that macrame hammock you bought in Mexico four Januarys ago.

In my part of the country, we’ve already had three generations of thistles and dandelions bloom and seed, and the hip-high quack grass has already grown back to calf-height since it’s last battle with the weed whacker.

If you’ve been tempted to reach for a chemical solution you are not alone. So many of us are prone to that deep-seated yearning for the perfect lawn and yard. But, when you take a step back and look at that thing they call ‘perspective’, a few (hundred) yellow flowers and some broadleaf grass ain’t gonna kill ya. But weed killer might.

As you’re contemplating life’s greater issues in that hammock, why not ponder the Grist’s Three-step Greener Yard Guide. You might even come up with a few kid-friendly activities around weeds and the outdoors.

And wouldn’t you know it, weeds can do you and the planet a few favours. They can prevent soil erosion, offer food and habitat for beneficial insects and wildlife, enrich the nutrients in your soil (depending on species), and in my case, camouflage my strawberry patch so that the birds don’t devour all the berries! After all, a weed is nothing more than a plant that grows where you’d rather not have it.

Resources

How to Green Your Yard

Dandelion Coffee Recipe

Other Dandelion Recipes *Important Notes: Do NOT consume your weeds if you have use pesticides in your yard.

Red Clover Recipes

Dandelion Crafts and Activities

(NC)-Each year, an estimated 6,000 Canadians die prematurely as a result of air pollution. Even more are hospitalized for respiratory or cardiovascular illnesses or suffer minor effects, such as coughing or eye irritation.

In order to minimize their exposure to noxious pollutants, and take steps to reduce emissions from their own activities, Canadians need to know when the quality of the air they breathe poses a risk to their health.

(Image Source: Metrocreativegraphics.com)

The new Air Quality Health Index, found at www.airhealth.ca, is the first index of its kind to take into account how the level of exposure to multiple pollutants can affect your health.

Hourly readings of current conditions and maximum forecasted values for today, tonight, and tomorrow are represented using a colour-coded numerical scale: 1 to 3 is low, 4 to 6 is moderate, 7 to 10 is high, and 10+ is very high.

The index also provides advice to the general population and those who are sensitive to air pollution-such as children, the elderly, and people with existing cardio-respiratory problems-about how to adjust their outdoor activities when pollutant levels are high.

The program will be available in more than a dozen communities across British Columbia as well as communities in the Greater Toronto area. It is also slated for expansion to other major cities in Canada in the near future.

“Canadians are entitled to clean air, to know the quality of the air they breathe and what they can do to reduce harmful impacts of air pollution,” says Environment Minister John Baird. “Our Government is committed to reducing greenhouse gases and other harmful pollutants through a variety of initiatives detailed in our Turning the Corner plan. Tools like the Air Quality Health Index enable Canadians to protect their health as we move toward our goals.”

Credit: www.newscanada.com

Remember, indoor air quality is often far worse than outdoor air quality. To protect your family’s respiratory health:

• ensure your home has adequate ventilation,

• change your furnace filter on a monthly basis,

• minimize your exposure to dust, mold, and harsh chemicals, and

• choose houseplants that are especially good at cleaning the air. English ivy, and spiderplants are great choices.

As of Spring 2009, Ontarians scanning store shelves for pesticides will find them bare, thanks to recently passed Bill-64 Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act. The ban has been greeted with praise on the one hand, as well as criticism.

For those municipalities with no local pesticide ban in place, the new legislation will protect Ontario families, children, pets and wildlife from exposure to a set of chemical pesticides, many of which are cause a higher risk and incidence of various cancers. Says Lisa Gue, environmental health policy analyst with the David Suzuki Foundation, “We all know that pulling these products from store shelves is the best way to ensure that they won’t be used.”

Yet, for cities with strict regulatory bans on pesticides already in place, the new Act could actually weaken prior efforts to protect their citizens from risks posed by pesticides. Essentially, the Act prevents enforcement of local restrictions on pesticides when they exceed the Act’s scope (David Suzuki Foundation).

The Act also lacks potency in that several amendments to strengthen it were defeated (Standing Committee on Social Policy Transcript). Yet, in the big picture, Ontario now has a provincial ban on cosmetic pesticides, which is more than they had before they started. And, if the chems aren’t available in stores, chances are

Ontarians won’t be buying and handling them.

Resources

Ontario College of Family Physicians Report on Pesticides

Pesticide Free Ontario

What’s your take on the new Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act?

According to Clean Calgary, an award-winning eco non-profit group, using a commercial car wash is greener than spraying the jalopy down in the driveway. Home style carwashes, they say, cause soap, sediment, oil and other chemicals to enter the water system untreated where they have a real impact on aquatic ecosystems.

By contrast, commercial car washes send their wastewater to be properly treated. Believe it or not, commercial car washes are more water efficient than home car washes. See the original article on Clean Calgary’s web site.

But, if your car is spotless save for a few bird bombs, a simple spot clean will do.

Have you ever cleaned out your eavestroughs? I haven’t, but it’s on my mind with each and every spring shower we get. I live in a mature neighbourhood where elm-lined boulevards offer plenty of shade, comfort and neighbourhood allure. Chances are, my gutters are caked with elm leaves and debris from, gulp, the past five years.

From a green point of view, proper home maintenance and care is key. When we protect our homes from wear and damage, we make them last longer and delay repair and replacement, both of which require money, energy and new materials to be used. Home maintenance is all about durability, prevention, and quite often, safety. And, it’s always cheaper to maintain something than it is to fix or replace it.

Keeping the Clutter out of Your Gutters
In the vein of prevention, there are ways to keep your eaves troughs from piling up with muck. It’s about working smarter, not harder. Gutter screens or guards are typically made of plastic or metal screening, and install without much hassle. Look for them at your local hardware store, or find a company from the yellow pages. If you lack the time, tools, or the will to do the job yourself, there’s many a local company that will welcome your business.

Greener Gutters in Toronto & Calgary

Our fortunate neighbours in these two cities can now fit their gutters with U.S.-made RainTube, which is simply a corrugated perforated plastic tube that accepts the rain and turfs the rest. Although it does not carry an independent green certification, it is Greenspec listed, made from 100% recycled material, tested to last 100 years and recyclable, say RainTube manufacturers.

Until the product is offered elsewhere in Canada, the rest of us will be left scooping out the sludge or installing typical screens. Business opportunity, anyone?

(Image Source: RainTube)

Resources

How to Clean Your Gutters

RainTube

CMHC Seasonal Maintenance Schedule

Expand your living space with a straw bale garage

Start Small With Straw
If straw bale building peaks your interest, you’re certainly not alone. From beginnings in Nebraska in the 1800’s, it has gained considerable ground across North America in the 80s and 90s with an estimated 100+ straw bale buildings rising just in Ontario since the mid 1990s! Now, Canadians are choosing the straw bale path because it offers great insulative benefits and its fundamental elements are locally available natural building blocks.

Still others are getting their feet wet with straw bale for smaller structures like sheds and garages.Building a standard garage typically costs about $45 per square foot including materials and labour. A straw bale garage should compare at $50-$70 per square foot, and will take about twice the amount of time to build as a standard garage or more. Of course, it is misleading to compare the two just on price, because to achieve the level of insulation offered by a straw bale garage (twice that of a typical house), a conventional wood garage would need thicker walls and more insulation, sending the price skyward. So, why bother?

Now more than ever Canadians are placing a higher priority on their environmental values, and it shows through in the choices they make at home. Building a straw bale house or garage isn’t just better for the environment; it’s a great way to meet other people curious about straw bale building during workshops and building-bees. Straw bale walls also possess their own beauty and uniquely sculpted aesthetic, creating a calming and tranquil ambience between rounded window wells and coved corners. For the especially inspired, they can even be custom crafted with built-in light sconces, braided-clay trim, or shelving cubbies.

On the more practical side, adding a new garage or a replacing one that has seen better days typically increases the value of your home approximately dollar for dollar. In other words, by adding a garage to your property, you can sell your home at a higher price- and you may even get some of your investment back. Still, a straw bale building is a labour of love and will likely remain a treasure on your property many years after it is built.

Why is it green?
• Local materials
Buying locally keeps wealth circulating in your neighbourhood and prevents transportation-related emissions from being released into the atmosphere. Since straw is an agricultural by-product that can be grown virtually anywhere, bales are a logical and accessible choice.

• Saves Energy
When installed properly, straw bales are exceptionally insulative, and can offer R-values of R32 to R40 - or R-2.4- to R3.0 per inch! This reduces a home’s heating requirements and saves money on utility bills. For conventional wood-frame houses to compete on that level becomes costly. With ever-rising heating costs and growing public concern about energy issues and climate change, straw bale building has never looked better.

• Saves Wood
According to a study by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a load-bearing straw-bale building can be built with about 48% less wood than a conventional stick-frame building of comparable size. Even with a post and beam or stick-framed straw bale building there are still savings on wood requirements because interior and exterior walls tend to be finished with clay plasters or other alternatives, rather than wood OSB panels (oriented strand board) or plywood and siding. This makes for more trees left standing, which is always an environmental plus. However, more wood is required for larger roofs to protect natural clay plaster.

• Natural and non-toxic Materials
Ever heard of sick building syndrome? When we build and renovate our homes with highly manufactured and unnatural materials, we may be exposing our families to potentially harmful chemicals and substances, and contributing to this illness. As a result indoor air quality and our health can suffer. Non-natural materials can also be difficult to reuse, recycle, remanufacture, or break down in nature. When installed and maintained properly, natural home building materials can protect you from the outdoor elements and from indoor air and moisture problems. Whereas concrete and stucco prevent moisture from escaping the walls, clay plaster draws that same moisture out.

Case Study

Nestled in Edmonton’s mature Westmount neighbourhood Chris Voninnerebner and Christine Miller are proud owners of a newly built straw bale studio. The couple’s aging garage needed replacing, and Chris saw the opportunity to work from home in a new studio space right on the property. As an artist and designer of unique concrete-based furniture and garden accessories, Chris needed a bright space to create, cure, and store his pieces. Working from home would offer added benefits of saving him money on studio rental and gas, not to mention time for daily commuting.

Chris and Christine chose straw bale over conventional wood construction because the high R-value of straw bales will keep Chris’s work space comfy and warm in the winter, and cool during hot summer days. They also liked the idea of building with natural materials like straw and clay. Having a seasoned straw bale builder for a close friend and some experience working on other builds helped them make their choice.

The 23 by 25 foot studio offers just over 500 square feet of interior space with two columns of glass blocks, and a large salvaged window that overlooks the creatively landscaped yard of this character home. It was built with a single garage door on a well-insulated polished concrete pad soon to be warmed with electrical in-floor heating. On the outside it looks like a normal garage with earth-coloured stucco finish and stylish glass-block columns. Inside, the beauty of rounded straw bale curves and the meticulous effort taken in texturing the walls make it eye-catchingly beautiful. It’s an inspiring backdrop of natural materials and soft lines for Chris’s creative work process.

In terms of environmental performance, the studio boasts a high R-value in the walls estimated at between R-32 and R-40, with R-40 insulation above the ceiling to match. This will ease the heating load for the electrical in-floor heating system. In an early test of the building’s efficiency, Christine recalls how warm the studio was in mid-February with just a space heater: “we couldn’t believe it - it was warmer in there than in the house!” They also made sure that a salvaged door and window were accommodated early in the design process, and used reclaimed wood to build concrete forms. Local bales were used instead of manufactured insulation, with recycled cellulose insulation in the ceiling. Given that siding and sheathing for the exterior walls were not needed, there were also substantial wood savings.

While Chris and Christine are already using the studio, they are looking forward to the plum-tinted exterior finishing coat and electrical hook-up. Getting a permit for the building was simple because they chose a standard wood-frame construction style with straw as insulation, rather than a structural element. When asked about their experience, they speak glowingly about their straw bale builder, the pleasant feel of the space, and how even though building with straw bales takes extra time and work, it’s worth it. For those undertaking a similar project, they offer the following words of wisdom:
• Find an excellent builder who you know or who comes highly recommended. Ask for references and make sure there’s a good fit before signing on.
• Be prepared to invest a lot of work and time.
• If you have other renovation projects you’re working on, complete them before starting your straw bale garage to maintain a manageable workload.
• Get informed and connected at the outset. You will need the support and guidance of those who have done it before. Contacting skilled friends or trades people in advance will also save time.

Finding the Right Straw Bale Builder
The success of your project has almost everything to do with the builder you work with. Mario Houle offers the following tips to consider when interviewing potential builders:
• Ask for references and speak with clients about their experience and satisfaction levels.
• Ask for photos and examples of previous projects. Knowing how many homes or buildings the builder has built will also help you gauge experience levels.
• Assess how excited the builder is about your project. If there is a lack of enthusiasm, keep looking.
• Ensure the prospective builder is well aware of these important dos and don’ts:
• Do not use rebar. It creates condensation, and will rot your bales. New books and publications still advocate the use of rebar, so beware.
• Ensure that the roof is designed with a long overhang to protect exterior walls finished with natural clay plaster.
• Use waterproof materials like durock, stone, slate, brick, flashing or parching one metre from the ground up to protect against snow moisture.
• Avoid flax bales as they are flammable and draw oil into clay plaster.
• Always consider how to protect against moisture at every step of building process.
• Remember that small is beautiful, and offers savings in heating and materials.

Getting Started
Straw bale builder Mario Houle recommends that home-owners learn as much as possible about straw bale building when getting started. Luckily, there are plenty of resources available online, at your public library, and the local bookstore. But don’t stop there. Speak to people living in straw bale homes and to experienced straw bale builders. You are guaranteed to benefit from their experience. By far the most empowering way to learn is through experience. Look for workshops and work-bees held by individuals or organizations in your province. In addition to gaining skills and know-how, you’ll also cultivate your community and social network!

Design Considerations
The design approach you choose will depend on the functions you’d like your space to have, your budget, and your preferred aesthetic style. Your options include designing the building from scratch, purchasing existing plans, or modifying a conventional garage kit plan. At this stage you should carefully reflect and decide on the type of space you need versus any time, space, or cost limitations.

Custom-designing your garage will bring costs upward, but can allow you to creatively incorporate special features like greenhouses or second-floor workshops, studios, home offices, or in-law suites. A custom-designed building can also help you maximize your site’s passive solar heating potential. Purchasing existing plans and kits can greatly simplify your design process, and will save you time and money. The trade-off is a structure less capable of adapting to your unique needs. Remember, insulating to a really high R-value only really makes sense if you will be spending a lot of time in that space. Consult with builders and architects to help you weigh your options. Finally, ask your local planning and development office about zoning restrictions that may affect your plans for additional features such as suites.

What professionals need to be involved?
Depending on your skill level in construction, you may choose to complete many or all of the building stages yourself. This will save you a lot of money, but as with anything else be prepared to invest a significant amount of time. If you are fortunate enough to have friends or family members skilled in building trades who are willing to help you, you are sure to have a more affordable and manageable project on your hands. For beginner builders or those with no construction know-how, finding knowledgeable and reliable professionals to work with is crucial.
Consider Professional Help:

Design
Excavation and foundation work
Framing
Electrical
Door and window installation
Roof assembly and roofing
Interior and exterior finishing

Locating Materials
Where possible, source out eco-friendly materials and components for your garage. Check with farm and feed supply stores, farmer’s market vendors, garden centers or animal shelters when ordering your bales. You will need to make contact with your source as early on so that enough bales are produced tight and dry enough for building purposes.

For your foundation and driveway, find out if any local concrete contractors offer flyash concrete, which is a concrete mix that replaces up to 35% of the Portland cement with ash from coal-fired electricity plants. This diverts flyash from the waste stream, and saves the energy that would have been required to produce more virgin material. If you have a hard time finding material sources, try your local provincial or regional chapter of the Canada Green Building Council for leads.

Before you buy lumber for framing the garage, consider using FSC or Forest Stewardship Council certified wood. Lumber with this certification is verified to have come from sustainably managed forests. Finding FSC wood can be difficult, but distribution is growing in response to demand, so continue to ask for it. Certain locations of Home Depot will carry FSC certified 2×4 studs as well as other lumber products, but you will need to inquire in advance and speak to the store about your needs.

Alberta-based, Panel Source International ships a wide variety of FSC wood products for orders across the continent, with distribution in various Alberta retail outlets projected in late summer of 2007. These include dimensional lumber or studs of various sizes, structural panels like sheathing, plywood, siding, MDF (medium density fibreboard), spruce siding and more. Consumers can expect to pay 5-10% more than conventional lumber prices for FSC certified wood, but it’s a small price to pay to keep our forests standing and sustainable.

There are even greener options for roofing to consider. Standard asphalt shingles or tar and gravel roofs are known to off-gas under the beating sun and are messy and unpleasant at best to install. They also require the use of adhesives which can damage the lungs and central nervous system. Look for the following alternatives in your area:

Slate Roofing
Concrete Tile Roofing
Clay Roofing
Lead-free Metal Roofing
Fiber-cement Composite Roofing
Recycled Plastic or Rubber Roofing
Green Roof
Solar Shingles
Recycled Asphalt Shingles

Challenges
As with any building system, there are pros and cons. Each one is different, offering unique considerations, challenges and opportunities. When it comes to straw bale building, the disadvantages and considerations include:
• cost
• work and time-intensive
• thicker walls makes for a loss of interior square footage
• roofs need longer overhangs if clay plaster is used
• need to take extra preventive measures to take care of moisture
• there are some design limitations, however with siding almost any style can be used with straw bale
• naturally plastered walls can not be washed as readily. Those with a concern about washing walls should apply a lime plaster finish
• requires more maintenance than with drywall

In the End…
A straw bale garage could be a perfect starting place for you to dabble in the art of natural building. Or, it may well be the most fitting answer to a simple need for a backyard workshop, home office or car port. Whatever your situation may be, remember to enjoy your journey, the friends you make along the way, and the beautiful new space you’ve gained as a result. And, be sure to pay it forward by helping others with their own straw bale endeavours.

© Raisingspaces.com 2007

Straw bale Resources

British Columbia
http://www.sustainableworks.ca/calendar.php Workshops in British Columbia
http://www.cotr.bc.ca/natural/ College of the Rockies Natural Building program

Prairies
http://www.greenplanethomes.ca/ Saskatchewan company offering seminars in various locations
http://ecobuildings.net/index.php Alberta straw bale builder and workshop facilitatorhttp://www.trimlinedesigncentre.com/page.php?102 Edmonton-based renewable energy training centre also offering straw bale courses.

Ontario
http://www.straw balebuilding.ca/ Ontario Straw bale Building Coalition
http://www.strawhomes.ca/ Camel back construction
http://www.everdale.org/index.php Environmental learning centre with workshops on straw bale building and other related topics

Quebec
Know of a great Canadian resource on straw bale building that’s not listed above? Submit it below!Maritimes
http://abridesign.com/abri.htm Sustainable Design and Consulting company in Nova Scotia

Nunavut and Territories
Know of a great Canadian resource on straw bale building that’s not listed above? Submit it below!

Learn More Online
http://www.thelaststraw.org/ The International Quarterly Journal of Straw Bale and Natural Building
http://www.balewatch.com/ Straw bale house plans
http://sbregistry.greenbuilder.com/ International Straw bale building directory

Did you know….

Under the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP), home owners and entrepreneurs may qualify for a fully forgivable loan of between $24000 and $36000 to create a secondary suite or garden suite for low-income adults, seniors, or people with disabilities. To find out more, contact your local CMHC office. http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/corp/cous/cous_014.cfm

Article reposted with permission from the City of Ottawa

Corn Gluten Meal is a natural byproduct of wet-milling corn during the production of corn syrup. Corn gluten meal is used in the production of taco shells, pet foods, corn chips and animal feed.CGM is a 60 per cent protein material containing 10 per cent nitrogen. It has the following amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potassium: 10-0-0.Corn Gluten Meal is both a pre-emergent herbicide and a natural source of Nitrogen fertilizer, making it an all natural weed and feed product. It inhibits the germination of seeds. There are no pesticide or synthetic fertilizers in it. There are products available on the market that have other additives making them good general lawn fertilizers with CGM.

When a product has a nitrogen level of less than 10 (10-0-0), it is less expensive and also less effective. The fillers used in CGM where the N-P-K level is less than 10-0-0 have little to no fertilizing effect. According to studies and research done at IOWA State University on CGM, synthetic additives or fillers can result in a diminished pre-emergent effect on weed seed germination.

Corn Gluten Meal can be a fine yellow powder or a golden pelletized product. Both are pre-emergent herbicides. Pelletized product provides ease of application and effectiveness for up to six weeks, unlike the powdered product. It has a faint cereal like smell.

The first patent for CGM as a natural pre-emergent herbicide was in 1991 in the U.S.A. In Canada, the Environmental Factor Inc. has a temporary registration for Turfmaize (trademark product name) weed seed germination inhibitor.

Weeds That CGM Controls

In Ottawa, CGM is used primarily to control crabgrass (Digitaria ischaemum) and dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), but will also reduce the germination rate for curly dock, knotweed, lambs quarters, pigweed, and plantain.

Where to use CGM

Lawns, flowerbeds, bulb beds and vegetable gardens

When to Apply CGM

Three times a year is best but the spring and fall applications are the most important. Fall application prevents weed root systems from establishing before winter, while the spring application will control the germination of weed seeds from the previous fall.

The first application can be done in early spring, after the snow has melted, since the corn gluten pellet’s slow release life is about six weeks. This annual application occurs from mid-April (for crabgrass control) to mid-May (for dandelion control). Apply the first treatment of CGM before the tulips go dormant. If used annually it is 80-100 per cent effective at reducing crabgrass germination.

The summer application should be from the middle to the end of June, which will reduce the weed seeds that blow in, in late May.

In July to mid-August, the lawn will be dormant or semi dormant depending on the temperature and rainfall. Let the lawn go dormant by not giving it additional water. This reduces the survival of recently germinated weed seeds and the eggs of lawn insects such as the European Chafer Beetle, Japanese Beetle and June Beetles (lawn grubs).

In Ottawa overseed from mid August to mid of September if the lawn is not robust. Grass seed needs at least 6 weeks to establish before winter arrives. CGM can’t be applied until the grass seed is established.

The third CGM application is done in late August, if no grass seed has been put down, to stop the weed seeds that have blown in during the late summer from germinating. Otherwise the third application is done in mid-September to late October, after the grass seed is established, and late enough to be active in the very early spring. This is known as a dormant fertilization.

How to Apply CGM Read the rest of this entry »

Dear RS,

We are currently struggling with lawn maintenance and are desperately trying to find something that can remove dandelions and is safe for the environment.

We have done the picking dandelions by hand and then putting vinegar on the root. This has not been successful. We’ll do half the lawn and the next day new dandelions will pop up on that half.

I know that doing a herbicide without a fertilizer is a bit better for the environment but most herbicides still contain that 2-4-D thing which is horrid for the environment.

Any advice you can give would be great!!!!

Laura D.
Edmonton, AB

A -

Hi Laura,

It’s great to hear you’re looking for safe and healthy ways of dealing with your weed issues. I also am struggling with this. I regret to say that there are

Often when we pull out the dandelions, opportunistic seeds will find the hole and grow in there. If you used this method, it would certainly be slow. It would take the whole season to make substantial headway. But, if you continue this way, and aerate/reseed your lawn 1-2 times per season , mow to higher grass lengths, and water once a week if needed, you should encourage a healthier lawn that allows few dandelions to flourish.

My latest strategy is to buy one of those ‘fun’ standing up dandelion pulling gadgets so at least it’s not so much work on my hands and knees. I’ll be splitting it with my parents and we can share costs that way. You may have a neighbour who wants to do the same with you.

Lastly, there’s a product called ‘corn gluten’. You can find it at Earth’s General Store (call ahead to be sure it’s in stock), and sometimes Canadian Tire. It’s made out of just corn, which of course is non-toxic. When applied to the grass like a fertilizer, it inhibits the germination of dandelion seeds. I have heard that it also inhibits the growth of other seeds possibly including grass seed, so you would need to seed your grass, give it some time, and then apply your gluten once most of your seed is sprouted. I used it last year I think it was and it did seem to make a difference in the amount of new dandelions we got. Of course it’s hard to say if it was because of the gluten or some other factor. Unfortunately, it’s not going to get rid of your existing dandelions! We have also found that our dandelions fare worse in the backyard where our dogs are adding nitrogen to the lawn on a daily basis!

Dandelions are doing especially well this year in Edmonton because of elevated moisture levels. It’s a problem that most of us are dealing with, and it will drive you crazy if you let it. At home we just weed whacked our back yard and in a day the stems of the dandelions just shoot right back up and it is disheartening. But, we have other things that are beautiful in our landscape to focus on like the irises in bloom, lilac trees, and rose bushes just about to burst, and our native plant bed in front of the house.

In the end you’ll do what makes sense for you and your family. Those weeds are tough opponents no doubt. Good luck!

-RS

Have a comment about eco-friendly weed solutions? Post it in the green home discussion forum