2 questions from new poster

[joco31]

This is a wonderful forum for learning, and I hope someone can offer suggestions for 2 issues we face in our yard. The first is that we have an underground well and need to fertilize the lawn over it. Can anyone recommend a safe method? The second and most perplexing is our yard has an overabundance of poison ivy. My husband and I are so allergic, we've needed medical attention after attempting to remove it. Is there any way to get rid of the stuff without actually touching it? I realize how stupid this sounds, but we've tried everything we could find in garden sections and every year it seems like there's more than before. Thank you.

[Phisherman]

Fertilize in the fall. I found that applications of lawn fertilizer at half rate and using a mulching mower provides a lot of nitrogen. Take soil tests to know what and how much fertilizer you need. Use a lawn spreader. Lawns do not care what brand of fertilizer you buy.

Here, you can use RoundUp. The younger than plant, the easier the kill. I get new poison ivy plants every year because the birds drop seeds with a packet of fertilizer for the little devils.

[hrhofmann]

But beware, the Roundup will kill EVERYTHING, including lawn grass, that the spray drifts of gets on to, so spray on a windless day. Even better is to soak a rag with the Roundup, wrap the rag around a stick, and just rub the stick on the ivy pant. That way you do not get any spray on the grass and only the ivy dies.

[Frank]

My well is over 100 feet deep and pump is at about 100 feet. Does not bother me to put any fertilizer or weed killer on it as it should not contaminate water. Recovery rate is high and I guess you call it an artesian well even though I need to pump it. A cistern or shallow type well would be another matter and I would not fertilize too close to it.

I use broadleaf weed killer on poison ivy and Roundup if not worried about surrounding vegetation.