Strimming My Weeds

Ric.ror | 06:32 Sat 11th Jun 2016 | Gardening

38 Answers

Should I string my weeds prior to applying weed killer - they are as high as an elephants eye
Also what weed killer is strongest - the soil will not be used after

TIA

Rhubarb

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ummmm

Best Answer

I'll find out the name of the weed killer my OH uses at work. I used it quite casually....3 days later everything was dead.

08:58 Mon 13th Jun 2016

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RATTER15

Do not strim and apply a Glyphosate based weedkiller, your weeds will be dead in about a week. I've just been using it onmy nettles and docks. Works a treat.

tonyav

Sodium Chlorate can still be got.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sodium-Chlorate-eq-solution-5-ltres-100-satisfaction-guaranteed-/131818559294?hash=item1eb0ff973e:g:cIkAAOSwHnFV3h8G

Togo

I must admit I gave the thread a swerve Ric. When I saw strimming my weeds I thought ooHH oooHH euphemism, you know like trimming my bush etc. etc. The advice is good, but it wont happen whilst you are watching, just do it man.

EDDIE51

^^ That is a solution of Sodium Chlorate , to make explosive you need the dry salt.
As Ratter says Glyphosate is effective and it stops working once it gets into the soil. Sodium Chlorate will make the soil useless for growing any plants for years after.

hammerman

As per Ratters answer.....spray weeds with Glyphosate based weedkiller, strim down when dead. OR, strim the weeds down now then spray the new growth when it appears.

alavahalf

Recently I took on an allotment .. at the time the 6 foot tall shed was barely visible because of the height of weeds ... the allotment had been tried out by a number of people who found they couldn't push a spade into it because of the blanket of finger thick bind weed , it covered the whole plot.
It took me all day to strim every weed to ground level. This scattered all the weed seeds onto the ground.
I then watered the plot to encourage the weeds to grow again. When they were a few inches tall, I sprayed them with Rosate 36 .. it is strong stuff as the mixing ratio is a teaspoon of weedkiller to 5 litres of water. Wiithin 3 weeks all the weeds had keeled over and lay on the ground. By this time a fresh layer of weeds had sprouted and the same process was followed. By the time I had completed the process 3 times, no more weeds appeared.
This only works on leaves, it wont work as well on seeds or bark.
Finaly I managed to pull the bindweed from the ground by hand .. all 30 sacks of it.
Just 2 teaspoons of Rosate were used to treat the allotment which is approx. 100 sq metres.

Ric.ror

Question Author

Ok - so chemistry is not my strong point
If I buy some glyphosate and drench the leaves without strimming is it worth adding anything such as salt or sugar(?) as has been suggested
Can't do it for a day or two due to unsettled weather forecast
I will also apply at dusk in order to resist evaporation

murraymints

nope..just do what it says on the packet...

ummmm

I'll find out the name of the weed killer my OH uses at work. I used it quite casually....3 days later everything was dead.

RATTER15

Like minty said, follow the instructions on the packet, no need for any other treatment.

Ummmm "I'll find out the name of the weed killer my OH uses at work. I used it quite casually....3 days later everything was dead."

The problem I found with some of these very fast acting weed killers, is it looks very dramatic to see the weeds keel over so quickly, however, I think they only seem to kill the leaves off and doesn't seem to kill the roots, as a a couple weeks later they are all back again.

Ric.ror

Question Author

What would you suggest then Ratter?

RATTER15

Ric, glyphosate every time. Glyphosate is the generic name but it is also sold under a branded names, so check the active component when buying.

melv16

You could try covering the whole area with carpet, after strimming the weeds and removing them. Make sure you don't leave any gaps and zap any that grow from the edges with glysophate. I used this method on my allotment as it was impossible to dig due to the amount of weed roots that were in the soil. BTW, you'll have to leave the carpet down for a year or so to kill the roots.

ummmm

Ratter...not this stuff. It's supplied by the council and the weeds don't grow back. Not within a year anyway...

RATTER15

ummmm. it is most like a glyphosate product then, it depends on the weeds being treated as to how long it takes to be effective, the bigger and more stubborn weeds like docks etc need a bit longer.

alavahalf

Really speaking you either want to kill the weeds or not. How you kill them is immaterial. If you use the one you see advertised on telly .. yes it will knock them over in a day or so, but they will grow back soon after.
If you want the weedkiller to kill the plant and roots, then you will need to accept that it takes about 10 before the weed fades an collapses and as you see the magic word is Glyphosate. The stronger the percentage of Glyphosate the better.

murraymints