Stay away from “Weed and Feed” Products

June 17, 2010

“Weed and feed” products are synthetic fertilizers mixed with herbicides. They are used by almost everyone and the general public does not know of the harm they are doing to their pets, children, water ways, and soil. “Weed and Feed” products kill the microrganisms living in the soil that break down organic matter, provide nutrients to plants, and hunt and destroy harmful insects like grubs. I just finished reading “Joy in your Garden A Seasonal Guide to Gardening” by Joy Bossi and Karen Bastow and she stated her feelings about “weed and feed” products.

“Stay away from the “weed and feed” type products. Getting the “weed” part to actually hit the leaves of the weeds and stay there is iffy at best. Much more effective is the attack-one-weed-at-a-time approach. At least, that way you are less likely to be exposing every blade of grass, every passing kitty, and every child’s foot to chemical poison.”

Joy Bossi is a Utah native and a gardening expert. She is well known in Utah for her radio program “Joy in the Garden”.

I completely agree with Joy. Typically about 98% of the herbicides in “weed and feed” do not hit their target pest, weeds. Herbicides are designed to kill and more and more research is shedding light on the dangers of herbicides. Stay away from these products and ask your “lawn care” company if they are mixing herbicides in with their fertilizers. If the answer is yes stay clear. Kids should be able to play in the lawn without being exposed to harmful chemicals. It is not worth the risk!