WEED KILLER

[PeterCD]

Does anyone know of a weed killer that can be used very soon now to clear weeds from a veggie plot - but not render the soil useless for this years crops?

PeterCD

[Meg]

A fork, a spade and some hard graft???!! Then cover with black plastic until you're ready to plant.

[:)]

[M]

Anything which is glyphosate-based, such as Roundup It is systemic - does not contaminate the soil - and you can re-plant as soon as you have cleared away the dead weeds - within2-3 weeks, usually.

M

[Bugsy]

I always rotovate them in and then just remove the stragglers (spelling). Works for me and we don't get to eat chemicals.

[Pancake]

 Roundup is good as it breaks down on contact with the soil and does not contaminate it.It works pretty slow in cold weather as the plant takes longer to absorb it.You may not see a difference for about two weeks.

[chris pp]

"Roundup is good as it breaks down on contact with the soil and does not contaminate it.It works pretty slow in cold weather as the plant takes longer to absorb it.You may not see a difference for about two weeks".

Sorry, this is simply not true.

Chris

[Bugsy]

We have a very old french neighbour who has the most beautiful vegetable garden. He produces amazing vegetables and uses NO chemicals whatsoever. Every winter he covers his plot with manure (from our donkeys, they do produce quite a lot[:)]), rotovates as soon as the frosts are finished and hand picks weeds. His view is to plant enough for his family plus a little bit for the insects and other creatures. I have followed his example and it works.

Leave the poisons in the shop..........................................[I] 

[BJSLIV]

Sorry, this is simply not true

Which bit isn't true?

Cold weather slower effect  or Breaking down in the soil?

[Russethouse]

>>Roundup is good as it breaks down on contact with the soil and does not contaminate it<<

This bit I should think!

As far as rotavating, I have had very poor experience of this and would never do it again, all it did for us was muliply the weeds and make it much harder work. I should think a large part of the neighbours success is down to the manure and exclusion of light. Still - if it works for you..............[:)]

[Cassis]

I would only rotavate if the ground has not been worked for some years and needs to be broken up.  Rotavating does spread some weeds by snapping the roots to make loads of plantlets (like couch grass, ground elder, and others of the type).

I did some research on weedkillers in another life. Glysophate does persist in soil - it has a half-life of about 50 days.  It is eventually broken down by microorganisms.  On the plus side it does not leach significantly and has low toxicity to most mammals, fish and insects. Slightly toxic to birds.  I wouldn't recommend it as a pick-me-up, though.

[chris pp]

As you say, Phil, it can have a half life in the soil of around 50 days,  half life persistence can however be as high as 175 days, but this isn't the whole story. All herbicides are "soups", they are not pure products, they contain many other agents, chemicals to make them stick to the leaves and so on, these can often make up the bulk of the product and this is certainly the case with Glyphosate products.

There is no such thing as a safe herbicide or pesticide, only some that are less harmful than others.

Chris

 

 

[Bugsy]

[quote user="Cassis"]   On the plus side it does not leach significantly and has low toxicity to most mammals, fish and insects. Slightly toxic to birds. 
[/quote]

Thats a plus side ?

[Cassis]

Do you want me to put a whistling or winking smilie in to clarify my tone? [:)]

[Bugsy]

[:)][:)][:)] no.....................................................[:D]

[Patf]

An effective way of preventing weeds - sorry not really answering the question - is to mulch with a thick layer of straw before the weeds develop. This time of the year is probably good for a patch that has already been cleared. Last year I tried various methods and the patch I mulched - it was a strawberry bed -  stayed clear right through the summer. We've moved now so don't know how it's doing. It's important to mulch or cover with plastic etc while the earth is still clear of weeds. Another patch I tried to smother emerging weeds with plastic just ended up a mess. Straw is better than plastic anyway as it's more mouldable and doesn't get blown out of place by the wind. Looks nicer too. Pat.

[Jeanneclaire]

Hi Peter,

If you can get hold of some cardboard, cover this with compost and manure then black polythene, you can plant potatoes, courgettes and pumkins etc through the  polythene, it seems a bit fiddly but,  it does work, and kills the weeds at the same time.  We used up loads of cardboard boxes and bought a whole heap of thick black polythene from RAGT.  Good luck.

jeanneclaire