I recently moved to the country, bought a lot and built a home. Last spring I seeded the lawn and it came in quite well. This year there is a lot of weeds as well. My question: Is it safe to use a weed and feed yearly to destroy the weeds. My concern is that we have a well. The well was drilled down over 100 feet. I live north of Kingston where there is a lot of rock (limestone) and I am concerned about the chemicals getting into the drinking water over time.
Thank you in advance for your advice.
Answer:
Jim,
Because I have a background in organic agriculture, my advice will come from that slant.
There is a product on the market, although not approved for use as a herbicide or fertilizer, that is an excellent alternative to weed & feed. It's called corn gluten meal and it is probably more available in the country than the city since it's normally sold at feed stores.
Scientists have found that a 1" layer of corn gluten meal prevented weed seeds from germinating for over 1 month. After about 3 months, it decomposed entirely and fertilized the soil. The meal has no affect on already established plants so your lawn is safe. However, any perennial weeds or weeds that have already germinated will not be affected. For those, I use the boiling water technique - straight from the kettle!
Hope this helps. Nice to hear there are people concerned about contaminating their drinking water with pesticides and nitrates.
