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How to kill off grass and persistent weeds between slabs? (Merged Thread)
Comments
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Your solution is ok if you want to mix up concentrates, but i see that this one from roundup is fast acting and the B&Q stuff isnt! Any for me 5L is plenty and I dont to mess about with sprayers and mixing, I just want to spray the weeds once and know that they will be dead soon.
Thanks for the tip anyway.
I can't find anything on 'fast acting' Roundup that tells me what the 'fast acting' bit is, The normal stuff takes about 10 - 14 days to work, regardless of who the manufacturer is. The best guess I can make is that now the patent has expired, Monsanto has to find ways to make people buy the brand rather than the generic.
I was just expressing sympathy, because you go out and buy what is essentially a good product, and people like me bang on about the ethics of it!
There are a few concerns about Roundup, notably in the danger it can pose to frogs, and especially Roundup, because Monsanto add other chemicals to their product, which aren't in the generic one. However, against that, we have my anecdotal experience of having vast numbers of frogs despite using some glyphosate.
When I read glyphosate is safe, I feel reassured, but then I think about how the dangers of lead in petrol were denied for years and wonder if vested interests are covering something up!0 -
Sorry if it's been mentioned, but SALT is a great weed killer.
Pull your weeds out then salt the cracks and it'll stay weed free for months.
I used to salt twice a year.
I also used to make a garlic water spray to spray my plants with to get rid of bugs.
Both inexpensive and ecologically sound ideas.£200 saved for baby things :T0 -
I can't find anything on 'fast acting' Roundup that tells me what the 'fast acting' bit is, The normal stuff takes about 10 - 14 days to work, regardless of who the manufacturer is. The best guess I can make is that now the patent has expired, Monsanto has to find ways to make people buy the brand rather than the generic.
I was just expressing sympathy, because you go out and buy what is essentially a good product, and people like me bang on about the ethics of it!
There are a few concerns about Roundup, notably in the danger it can pose to frogs, and especially Roundup, because Monsanto add other chemicals to their product, which aren't in the generic one. However, against that, we have my anecdotal experience of having vast numbers of frogs despite using some glyphosate.
When I read glyphosate is safe, I feel reassured, but then I think about how the dangers of lead in petrol were denied for years and wonder if vested interests are covering something up!
I asked the shop whats in this Fast Acting roundup and they told me is a plant extract from pelargonium plants [I think], sounds ok to me and it was really quite fast.
Thanks for the sympathy, but its a bit patronising really, even though well intended [no offence meant].
I have tried many ways to kill weeds and apart from digging them up including the roots!!, they keep coming back. So I try to buy the best and most environmental sound one available, not like the old stuff we used to have paraquat and diqat etc....
I have a cat and my garden is full of birds, and I keep my cat in when I use weedkiller and once its dry I let him out again .... I dont see the problem.0 -
I asked the shop whats in this Fast Acting roundup and they told me is a plant extract from pelargonium plants [I think], sounds ok to me and it was really quite fast.
Thanks for the sympathy, but its a bit patronising really, even though well intended [no offence meant].
I have tried many ways to kill weeds and apart from digging them up including the roots!!, they keep coming back. So I try to buy the best and most environmental sound one available, not like the old stuff we used to have paraquat and diqat etc....
I have a cat and my garden is full of birds, and I keep my cat in when I use weedkiller and once its dry I let him out again .... I dont see the problem.
Thanks for the info.
I think you misunderstood my use of the word 'sympathy' and I'm not surprised. The sentence was in the wrong tense anyway because I was dog tired, so it didn't make much sense! I just meant that people come on this forum to talk about weedkiller & then somebody like me starts talking about the ethics of giant chemical companies. I was wrong to do that.0 -
An ordinary pressure sprayer with a lance (£15 - 20)........
The weed wand has its followers, but I'm not among them. If you are going to live at the property long term, it might be worth investing in a Sheen Flame Gun:
http://www.mower-magic.co.uk/acatalog/HandHeld_Flame_Guns.html
I decided to give the Parasene weedwand a trial and it seems pretty good so far.We're heating the weeds rather than burning them, the idea being it messes up the cell structure and the roots exhaust themselves, and die.
The Weedwand is quick to set up, so it's useful if you need to pace activity. I'm doing 10mins of weed flaming several times a day.
The Sheen flame gun looked too heavy duty for me, I'd be petrified to fire it up:eek:.
so far, best place I've found to buy butane refills is Wilkos @ £2.79 for the large 650ml cannister.0 -
I decided to give the Parasene weedwand a trial and it seems pretty good so far.We're heating the weeds rather than burning them, the idea being it messes up the cell structure and the roots exhaust themselves, and die.
The Weedwand is quick to set up, so it's useful if you need to pace activity. I'm doing 10mins of weed flaming several times a day.
The Sheen flame gun looked too heavy duty for me, I'd be petrified to fire it up:eek:.
so far, best place I've found to buy butane refills is Wilkos @ £2.79 for the large 650ml cannister.
I think it depends on the size of your yard etc. All the remedies need to be 'targeted' whether chemical or pyrotechnic - I don't believe in just throwing chemicals around wholesale.
I gave my Weed Wand another outing on the block paving last week. It was OK, but I found it painfully slow. I always end up raking out the cracks anyway. (I'd never have another block paved area!)
However, I found another use for the Wand; lighting the barbecue! It was so good at that, I bought another gas canister, unfortunately at B&Q, where, despite a choice of brands, there was no choice on price: £3.48 for the larger one. Our town is too posh for a Wilkos (also read Lidl, Aldi, Poundland, Seconds Ahead etc etc.)0 -
Hi Dave,
agree it's slow work with the weedwand.
good tip re: using it ot light the barBQ.
Wilkos sell online now - very handy if you're getting a lot of stuff at once. to make the P+P cost worthwhile. I've got wilkos locally but it's worth the cost to get huge planters and masses of compost delivered.0 -
unfortunately wilkosplus (online) have suddenly stopped selling the parasene butane refill for the weedwnad.
any recommendations where to buy them please?
I'm hoping to get the larger 650ml size.
thanks
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