Weeds

Davesnave

psso wrote: »

:embarasse Yes, well you know what I meant don`t you. No nasty chemicals.........I mean you wouldn`t put roundup (or other similar products) on your fish and chips would you ?

Well, no I wouldn't put weedkiller on my fish & chips. So there's one admission you've wrung from me. :rotfl:

OTOH, perhaps you haven't considered the instances of irrigation wreaking havoc through salinity build-up. It's all about quantities used and the ability of the environment to handle those.

Round up is also one of the few chemicals approved for use in waterways.

stumpycat

For dandelions I use a long screwdriver to get the roots out - same with Californian poppies. It takes some time, but can be quite therapeutic...

Creeping buttercup, willowherb etc get dug up (bribing a child works well) The real nasties like bindweed & ground elder get glyphosated (glyphosate & wallpaper paste mixture) & covered with plastic till they die! I've actually kept them at bay, but they're starting to creep in from neighbour's gardens, and they always sneak around other plants, so it's difficult to dig them up.

I only use salt between the cracks of the paving as a last resort, if I cant get at the roots with a knife - it will kill all plants and animals as it is very toxic and will draw nearly all the water out of any living thing.

The one weed I've just accepted that I need to live with is horsetail - I tried to dig it up once - it's like the London underground! :mad:

pkj666

its Roundup and been about week

Davesnave

pkj666 wrote: »

its Roundup and been about week

Not long enough, then.

Give it at least another week and you'll see a difference. The effect is quite sudden when it happens.

Glyphosate (Roundup is just the trade name) works by stopping the plant from making food. Starvation is a fairly slow death.

Any glyphosate which falls onto the ground breaks down and loses its weed killing ability very quickly. So, unlike the persistent poisons that used to be used, new weeds can start growing straight after applying glyphosate. That's its down side.

There are very few non-commercial weedkillers which persist in the soil and inhibit weed germination, and the ones sold commercially cost a lot.

Since sodium chlorate was withdrawn in 2010, many people have struggled to control weeds in places like gravel and paving. It's not that glyphosate doesn't work, but it needs regular re-application. A proper back-pack sprayer makes this quicker, easier and cheaper than buying ready-mixed.

Linda32

Is it just me that likes dandelions and leaves them alone. Lovely yellow spring flowers and nettles are fussy, they like good soil.

I'm sure you have heard of weeds being plants in the wrong place. I've known people pull up forget-me-nots and aqualegia, both of which can be bought in garden centres. :)

stumpycat

Linda - the worst weeds I have are crocosmia! I hate them. They came with the garden and I have given bagfulls away on Freecycle, but they still spring up every year. The bulbs manage to wedge themselves into clumps of other plants and replicate themselves... :eek:

Davesnave

I leave dandelions that are not in flower borders and tackle them later, as they are one of the important early flowers for insects.

However, it's a bit irrational all round, because I have about 4 acres of field crammed with them just now, right next to the flower garden! :rotfl:

As regards aquilegia, it's important to remove the muddy coloured ones if you want to retain particular favourites, show them off to best effect and grow more from seed.

[Deleted User]

My garden is full of huge dock leaves and weed killer is so damn expensive.