The
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
This stuff is great

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet...roductId=100185665&R=100185665


Your yard may look great but this is really bad for the Bay.


Bs residential gardening and lawns have no impact its the agricultural and large farms

Okay Fox news, wrong again.

Maryland requires cities and farms to keep a close eye on nutrient runoff in the Chesapeake Bay, but a study released Monday says the state doesn’t pay enough attention to another major source of bay pollution: you and your thick, green lawn.

Grassy turf, not farmland, is the most dominant crop in the bay watershed. There were almost 1.3 million acres of planted turf in Maryland in 2009, compared with 1.5 million acres of all other crops, says the study by the Environment Maryland Research and Policy Center.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/lawns-are-adding-to-chesapeake-bay-pollution-study-says/2011/03/28/AFDCOdqB_story.html

I can't remember if I posted this or not already. If it's a repeat, sorry.

Our neighbor is VERY nice but also asked us to spray our yard. To clarify, she did NOT ask us to hand weed or mow more frequently, as we already do; she asked us specifically to SPRAY. We have porcelainberry and chokeweed problems in our neighborhood and she feels the only way to beat it back is to spray the shit out of it every month with herbicide.

Not only did we politely refuse, we looked up the rules for the neighborhood we live in, and it turns out that our neighbor is not allowed to spray pesticides in the way she is doing. We found this out because once, out in our back yard, we smelled something chemically, and noticed that her landscaper was back there spraying. Great plumes of chemicals were raising in the air and over our yard and the other neighbor's yard. Her landscaper was out there in a hazmat suit. We asked him what he was spraying and he said he did not know, "the bottle it came in is back at home." Most municipalities (not HOAs) have rules about when and how pesticides and herbicides may be applied. In our community, it can only be 4 times a year (not monthly) and it can only be applied by a licensed landscaper without the certifications needed for the particular spray he is using. She also is obligated to put out notice (flags on the yard) four days in advance of the spraying, and her landscaper must make an attempt to ensure that nobody is outside in the adjoining yards. CAre should also be taken that it is not applied on windy days, where the spray can waft excessively onto neighboring properties. When we told her all about this, she promised to give us more notice, and did use a licensed landscaper (which cost her more money).

I just wanted to say that had she been a dick about this, she could have been fined. This isn't a HOA thing, it's a city / township / municipality law. People don't comply because it's common to just use independent landscapers (aka guy with a truck.).

So, be careful when you are telling your neighbors that they must spray, etc. They might start looking at what you are doing!

For what it's worth, we have converted as much of our front yard to non-lawn landscaping as we can. Our backyard is fenced with a tall wooden privacy fence and we have a driveway in between the yards. I certainly don't want to upset my neighbors, but I expect consideration in return, as well.

Fortunately, we were all very kind about this to one anohter (though I was PISSED when they sprayed right when my 20 month old was outside -- I mean FURIOUS).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We knew someone who was allergic, got stung , sued and won

B.S.

The problem with suing about a bee sting is that it is really hard to serve a subpoena on the queen bee.

LOL!

Anonymous wrote:The fickleness of DCUM posters never ceases to amaze me. A few weeks ago there was a poster who complained about chain link fence in the neighborhood (making the neighborhood unattractive) and everyone went crazy calling him/her an elitist, stupid, and worse. Now the OP has a neighbor who is complaining about weeds in her yard and posters are telling her that she should not only do something about it, including using pesticides and a lawn service, but that she could actually get sued. Huh?

I was one of the main ones calling the chain link op a snob...... because she was one. Declaring something white trash IS a bit elitist, especially when you continue after it's pointed out that chain link is more cost effective to some people.

This one is more about OP's neighbor over stepping his bounds. And I do believe most of the litigation nonsense is just that: nonsense. Except for that one troll who swears his friends roommate sisters cousins nephews great uncles dogs vet won a big lawsuit for getting stung.

The fickleness of DCUM posters never ceases to amaze me. A few weeks ago there was a poster who complained about chain link fence in the neighborhood (making the neighborhood unattractive) and everyone went crazy calling him/her an elitist, stupid, and worse. Now the OP has a neighbor who is complaining about weeds in her yard and posters are telling her that she should not only do something about it, including using pesticides and a lawn service, but that she could actually get sued. Huh?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We knew someone who was allergic, got stung , sued and won

B.S.

The problem with suing about a bee sting is that it is really hard to serve a subpoena on the queen bee.

The

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This stuff is great

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100185665&R=100185665

Your yard may look great but this is really bad for the Bay.

Bs residential gardening and lawns have no impact its the agricultural and large farms

Anonymous wrote:No no you are wrong. If you plants clover and it attracts bees which then sting someone, you will owe lots of $$$.

B.S.

Anonymous wrote:We knew someone who was allergic, got stung , sued and won

B.S.

Anonymous wrote:I didn't read all the replies, but this may have been mentioned already...ideas to improve your lawn without hand-pulling weeds.

Use corn gluten in the early spring to prevent weed seeds (like crabgrass) from sprouting. It is non-toxic, and I think it's an ingredient in some pet foods. It also serves as a mild fertilizer for your lawn/garden. The main thing to be aware of is that you don't want to put it down in an area where you are trying to get seeds to sprout, i.e. to reseed an area of your lawn or grow veggies from seed. I think the anti-germination effect lasts for 6-8 weeks?? Another thing you can do is to reseed your lawn in the fall, although grass needs pretty frequent watering to get established, which will help choke out some of the weeds. You should fertilize your grass once a year in the fall to encourage the actual grass to grow better and choke out weeds. Some fertilizers aren't too horrible for kids/pets. Also google the type of soil conditions that crabgrass likes--I forget what it indicates about your yard, but you may be able to spread some kind of fertilizer or ph changer on your yard once or once a year to discourage crabgrass.

Good luck!

How about I try to get around to mowing every couple weeks between April and October? Once it's all 3 inches tall it all sorta looks like grass.

Anonymous wrote:This stuff is great

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100185665&R=100185665

Your yard may look great but this is really bad for the Bay.

I didn't read all the replies, but this may have been mentioned already...ideas to improve your lawn without hand-pulling weeds.

Use corn gluten in the early spring to prevent weed seeds (like crabgrass) from sprouting. It is non-toxic, and I think it's an ingredient in some pet foods. It also serves as a mild fertilizer for your lawn/garden. The main thing to be aware of is that you don't want to put it down in an area where you are trying to get seeds to sprout, i.e. to reseed an area of your lawn or grow veggies from seed. I think the anti-germination effect lasts for 6-8 weeks?? Another thing you can do is to reseed your lawn in the fall, although grass needs pretty frequent watering to get established, which will help choke out some of the weeds. You should fertilize your grass once a year in the fall to encourage the actual grass to grow better and choke out weeds. Some fertilizers aren't too horrible for kids/pets. Also google the type of soil conditions that crabgrass likes--I forget what it indicates about your yard, but you may be able to spread some kind of fertilizer or ph changer on your yard once or once a year to discourage crabgrass.

Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This does not happen where there is a HOA. HOA require the bees to fill out a fight plan.

Do you employ bee-eating birds to intercept bees that violate the air space around your (white) house?

Well, remember, if you go this route, the HOA has to approve the plummage of the birds, and they are limited to a certain number of chirps per minute during working hours.

Does the HOA need warrants for the arrest of the bees?

Okay, this thread has gone OT, but very funny!

Anonymous wrote:We knew someone who was allergic, got stung , sued and won

Where was this? Who did she sue - her neighbor?