Weed killers

[fellini123]

We have a rather large rock driveway, two yards that have rock in them, and two fenced in areas that go up the hillside, they have 1/2 cement and 1/2 dirt. The problem is/are WEEDS, grasses, small thorny things!!! You get the picture.

We have spent 1/2 a fortune this year on round up, even the extended Roundup stuff, I think they have changed the formula and it is really plant food!! Any ideas of what can get rid of this stuff for a year. That is what DH would like, I would be satisfied if it got rid of it for a couple of months.

I know you all are experts and will have an answer...DH is sceptical.

Alice in Virginia

[mellowguy]

We use a propane torch with relatively good success. The weeds eventually come back, but they also do that with RoundUp. I find that a 20lb cylinder (it costs about $15 to fill here) will easily burn as many weeds as about $100 of RoundUp at retail price. As with RoundUp, they'll eventually return

I also use the torch for weeding in the garden before seeding and where there is enough empty space. The garden is young and constantly expanding. It's in a very sandy area and I keep adding badly composted (not hot enough) horse manure, which tend to grow weeds very badly. After 2-3 spring burns and a couple of late spring hand-weedings, the garden is pretty much weed free for the rest of season.

This is the one I have:

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page...t=2,2300,44822

I see a cheaper version at Ace:

http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com...30.html?ref=42

[How Do I]

Originally Posted by mellowguy

This is the one I have:

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page...t=2,2300,44822

I see a cheaper version at Ace:

http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com...30.html?ref=42

Now, if they just made a cheap cart to go along with it...

[7thswan]

Triox (sp) keeps weeds down for 1 year.

[agmantoo]

Roundup, glyphosate, should be bought from a farm supply. I buy 41% active ingredient roundup for $4.55 per quart(13.76 ounces active ingredient) and enough to do an acre. The $4.55 quart and crop oil(surfactant) makes enhanced roundup (sells for as much as $40 plus /quart if you buy Enhanced Roundup instead of making it). Lowes sells premixed roundup in a one gallon sprayer for $18 that contains 2% active ingredient or 2.56 ounces of active ingredient (85 cents worth of roundup @ $4.55/qt). Other places sell Roundup in a quart that is 18% active ingredient for as much as $22. Check your container and you will now see why your roundup is not working. Everyone needs to be an informed consumer!

[edzz]

You can buy glycos phosphate (SP) 43% which is generic Roundup. for about half the price of the brand, I buy it at Tractor Supply, they do sell it at Lowes but it is a little more expensive. Works great on most everything that I have used it for. The only draw back is you have to use what you mix as it starts to gel after about 10 days and is difficult to spray at that time.

[Cabin Fever]

Keep in mind that glyphosate (Roundup) kills only actively growing vegetation that it touches. There is no soil activity. Consequently, new weed seeds are free to germinate and adjacent invasive weeds/grass that were not killed are ready and waiting to take the place of the weeds that you had just killed with the Round Up treatment. IMHO, you need something with residual soil activity like the Triox that 7thswan suggested.

What we do is simply drag an iron mesh (ie, drag harrow) over the driveway on occassion with our ATV. This digs into the driveway and unroots or smoothers the weeds. It also keeps the driveway nice and level. You can find a 4'x6' drag harrow at most farm and fleet stores for around $100.


Photo courtesy of Cabelas.com

[Stephen in SOKY]

Pramitol. It has very little action on existing foliage, but effectively kills the ground for quite some time. Are you mixing AMS (Ammonium Sulfate) with your RU? The rate I use is 2 lbs/acre.

[DW]

Due to new dog...nose to round at all times...we have only been using vinegar and it's working. We buy it a Sams in a 2 pack...pretty cheap.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

or you could mow the drive way ,

i like cabin fevers drag ,blade on the back of a tractor might work well also

if you want to spray, the farm co-op with the true agricultural round up or off brand compeditor is the way to go a 2.5 gallon jug make somthing like 300 gallons don't quote me on that ben years since i baught or used it.

or if you find a deal on algicide for swimming pools that works - i belive it breaks down the cell walls of the plant

[fellini123]

We have used the drag thing and I swear it spreads the seeds around!!! LOL Or aireates them!!
We will go to TSC and see about the generic things. I thought we used Triox a few years ago and DH says we did but it didnt work. We must have "Iron Weeds!!"
We will also try adding the Ammonium Sulfate we have never done that before.
Where do you get pramitol?? Sounds like we need to do a two step program.

Alice in Virginia

[Stephen in SOKY]

TSC has Pramitol, it's around $32/gallon.

[rambler]

Roundup kills anything green & growing. It will not afect seed in the ground, which will sprout the following day or week & start a new round of weeds.

What is your goal here? Most folk want to keep the grass, get rid of the weedy broadleaves.

You need to use a broadleaf killer, and only kill the bad weeds, keep the grass.

You mention you want to get rid of everything, grass too. Well, then you have bare dirt, washes away, or sprouts new weeds.

Don't see the point to that.

What you did with the Roundup is kill off the grass, so now broadleaf seed is sprouting and growing rapidly in the bare dirt. The weeds will rapidly regrow from decades of seed stored in the ground.

There are 'soil sterilizer' sprays that will prevent seed from sprouting, this would keep your soil bare. If that is what you want.

--->Paul

[fellini123]

As I said we have a rock driveway, along with 2 rock paddocks. I would like to have no green things, grass/weeds/green anywhere in these areas. I would like to just have rocks there. Right now the green things are growing up between the rocks.
The last load of rock we got was this spring so the rock is relatively new. No bare dirt, soil for Cabin Fever......
I guess I need to know what the "soil sterilizers" are??

Alice in Virginia

[Tricky Grama]

Originally Posted by DW

Due to new dog...nose to round at all times...we have only been using vinegar and it's working. We buy it a Sams in a 2 pack...pretty cheap.

This is our solution also. No carcinogens, like round-up. No breaking down into some toxin when it gets into the groundwater. 10% vinegar works best.

Patty

[rambler]

Acid - the vinigar - is a carcinogen too, but that's not the point of this thread. being careful with whatever is a good idea.

You are looking for the type of product that has a lot of persistance, which is the opposite of what the govt wants these days. Roundup is very short term. You are looking for something that stays active in the soil for a long time.

For example, the 3 listed in 'Vegitation Control' near the bottom here:

http://www.pestproducts.com/herbicid...icidetypes.htm

Click on them to see how they work.
There are many other brand names, that use the same active ingrediant. Just like you can buy 'Hersheys' chocolate syrup, or the store brand of chockolate syrup - often times we confuse the brand name and the active ingrediant of these herbicides.

If you are working with a few acres, look to a farm supply store, and not a yuppie one, to get a jug of real, concentrated, generic-named product. It will be 1/10 as expensive as what you buy on the yuppie store shelf - but be careful, you need to mix with water & work with it properly, often as little as 4 ounces per acre is what gets applied - need to mix with water & perhaps fert & a sticky agent to make it work best.

--->Paul

[fellini123]

Rambler that web page is amazing and EXACTLY what I was looking for!! Thanks bunches.

Alice in Virginia

[Chuck R.]

Originally Posted by rambler

If you are working with a few acres, look to a farm supply store, and not a yuppie one, to get a jug of real, concentrated, generic-named product. It will be 1/10 as expensive as what you buy on the yuppie store shelf
--->Paul

Agreed, we use a "roundup" equivalent that we get from our county noxious weed department. We provide our own container and it’s about half as expensive as what we could get in Tractor Supply. Far as I can tell it kills the weeds just as dead.

Chuck

[fellini123]

Well we went to TSC today and got Quick Pro and Pramitol. I found the Quick Pro quickly!! LOL But couldnt find anything else. I asked the guy about soil sterilizer and he took me to a back shelf where there wasnt much!
He showed me a couple things and I asked him about Pramitol or Sahara DG, He had no idea what either of them were. I then began to tell him the pros and cons of each.
I am now the resident expert in Amherst County for Soil Sterilization, (notice Cabin Fever I said "soil")!!!

we will try them out tomorrow, having thunderstorms right now. I cant wait, I have visions of clean weed free rocks!!!!!

Thanks everyone for your wonderful advice!!

Alice in weed free virginia

[Stephen in SOKY]

Actually, you'll need some rain, not torential downpours that would transfer the pramitol to unwanted areas, to move the Pramitol into the soil. Perhaps on the end of the storms you can catch the last rain to apply it.