sodium chlorate question

steveo3002

ive seem sodium chlorate suggested on here as a cheapie weed killer

i plan to get some to clear the weeds along my fence...do i just damp the area with a rose on the watering car or will i need to drench the soil ?

KAAT_LADY

i wouldnt use it within 6 feet of any plants you want to keep

sillyvixen

my dad swears by it but also says dont get it near plants you want

steveo3002

can anyone answser ...mist or soak the weeds?

alanobrien

steveo3002 wrote: »

can anyone answser ...mist or soak the weeds?

Soak the weed, i have always used a watering can and rose.
The local council here used to use it in a similar way.

steveo3002

i have one of them pump up sprayers...would that soak em enough?

does it need to get to the roots

alanobrien

steveo3002 wrote: »

i have one of them pump up sprayers...would that soak em enough?

does it need to get to the roots

More than enough, if it hits the leaves the weed (or plant if your unlucky) is toast!

[Deleted User]

I use to use it to make homemade fireworks when i was a kid

edit - actually, where can you buy it from now? My entire front lawn needs de-weeding

Davesnave

ringo_24601 wrote: »

I use to use it to make homemade fireworks when i was a kid

edit - actually, where can you buy it from now? My entire front lawn needs de-weeding

Me too, but it has fire retardant in it now. Just as well, too. What a lot of kids didn't realise was that it could go off under compression, which is exactly the situation where it would then act like a bomb. I knew someone who lost a couple of fingers.

You can get it in B&Q; about a tenner for 3 kg I think.

Edit: I wouldn't use it for spot weeding a lawn though. For that, glyphosate (also in B&Q) mixed with a bit of wallpaper paste and a touch of food colour (so you know what you've done) is better, painted on with a small brush. Doesn't affect the soil, but it isn't instant, so expect it to take 3 weeks or so to see weed death.

[Deleted User]

My front 'lawn' isn't a lawn.. sorry! it's stones with a few plants in it, and a million weeds..

I want a 'salt the earth' approach. I tried burning the lot with a garden blowtorch but the !!!!!!s grew back while i went on holiday

I never knew it would explode under compression. Yeh.. it had fire retardants in it when i 'played' with it.. still managed to get a good flame from it though

Davesnave

ringo_24601 wrote: »

I never knew it would explode under compression. Yeh.. it had fire retardants in it when i 'played' with it.. still managed to get a good flame from it though

I don't think it did when I was 13. We blew up the school railings, thinking they'd just go 'whoosh' like a Roman candle. After that, we had a little more respect for the stuff!