weed killer

i have been doing building work on my house for the last 18 months and the front lawn is more of a mud bath stoke weed bed. what is the best weed killer to kill everything off then start all over again with the lawn ?

 

Just wait for the usual friendly discussion between the pro and anti weedkiller lobby on this one, Neil!!! Does it have to be weedkiller? There is the quick organic option of the flame thrower, which I use (or get a friend to use for me :D ), the slower one of digging them out. How big an area is it? That would make a difference to what you do. And what sort of weeds is it? If there are lots of dandelions and other things with long tap-roots, then the options above are best, but if it's all stuff like willowherb, then you could rotavate.
I personally don't like to use weedkillers, because I don't want the soil contaminated for anything I want to grow afterwards, even if it's only grass, not to mention the insect life, etc in the soil.
Good luck, whatever you do

 

Round-up will kill all plants without harming the soil too much. You need to do it pretty soon before the plants stop growing and producing chlorophyll as it is through this that the weedkiller works. It does not kill off woody things with no leaves, those you would need to dig out. Neither does it kill off any seeds left in the soil, they may need to be allowed to germinate next spring and then treated again, before sowing any grass seed. It is getting a bit late now for sowing grass seed and there is not really that much time left for laying turf either.

 

the area is around 100ft x 50ft with my drive running down the middle. i think we have every weed going out there it would be alot of digging.

 

Enters debate with much trepidation :D

Weedkiller will see off the weeds which are not a problem as they are normally killed off by mowing anyway. Mowing will also kill off gound elder and bindweed. The problem ones are daisy (if you don't like them) couch, buttercup and dandilion etc.

If the weed population is extensive and persistent you will need more than one application which on that size of area is expensive.

Personally I like the idea of a flame thrower - they're fun to use but watch you don't burn your toes. :D Always work moving backward away from the ground you have burnt. Also avoid ANY concrete - it will explode!

They don't kill the deep roots but do deprive the plant of photosynthasis which is it's energy source and weakens them. Again you will probably have to use it more than once before grassing.

Break up the ground to help drainage and get the weed seed to germinate, burn off, overwinter, burn off again in spring, prepare the area to be grassed by raking etc. Add some gritty sand as a top dressing, lightly rake and let the ground settle while yet another crop of weeds germinate. Burn off again, re-level any uneven bumps and hollows then sow your lawn seed. You will still get annual weeds come up but they will be be a minor problem and easily dealt with by the mower later.

For burning off you can substitute a weed killer but the choice is yours.

 

were do you get these flame throwers from ?

 

Not gonna say anything 'cos Frogesque has said it all. Anything is better than weedkillers. They are all foul, poisonous, persistent Satan's spit and will not work in the way that you want anyway. Get flaming - it's fun :D

 

Well, Maybe I'm a bit more ambivalent than Hornbeam but he's right. :D

Persistent weeds have become very resistant to weedkillers so I only use on small areas of weed that are not possible to treat conventionally. The golden rule is if you deprive a plant of leaf it will die eventually. It's why hoeing has been an effective weed control tool for hundreds of years.

I think one of the problems is that we have come to expect gardening to fit in with our 'instant' and effortless lifestyles (not helped by gardening makeover programs on the box)

As to where you obtain a flamethower, I really like the old style parrafin ones but they are hard to come by and may need a lot of work to repair them. Well maintained they do a great job and are much hotter and cheaper to use than the wimpy little butane gas ones from DIY shops. Weed Wand springs to mind but I could be wrong.

To be really effective I think you need something like the propane burners they use for stripping white lines off of roads at a roadworks.

[ 28. September 2006, 02:31 PM: Message edited by: frogesque ]

 

Hornbeam- don't hold back say exactly what you mean! :D :D Love your way with words!! :D

 

Yep - sure thing, Windy

"CHEMICALS KILL GARDENS"

Plain enough?

 

i have a blowtorch that you use for laying the roof felt, would that do the job ?

 

I've been trying to find a site that sells the decent-sized flame-throwers, so you can see what they look like, Neil - but I haven't found any!! I've just texted my friend who uses one, to ask which site he got it from - no reply as yet.

They're big beasts, use paraffin, and make a good satisfying roaring sound..... :D Are you getting the impression everyone here is a pyromaniac?

 

found one.....
http://www.gonegardening.com/xq/ASP/dept_id.130/pf_id.1101393/referer.GDRSDMKE65EM9GG777D6RTPDEBUJ9DC7/qx/gg_shop/product.htm

 

Oh no, I've used a beast. Home made thing from a hire shop (yup it WAS a long time ago!) with three burners, on wheels, with a huge 50kg propane tank. Now that was pyromania, even upset some Japanese knotweed for a short while. Still think the best thing is to rotavate then spray off the emergents if you are in a hurry, or definitely to go non-intrusive like Hornbeam if you can spare the time. Hey we're all correct here (he says ducking)

 

I find rotavating problematic if there's stuff like dock - chop up the roots with a rotavator and you've got loads more docks...... rather a lot of emergents!! :rolleyes: I suppose you could do the rotavating, then use the flame gun on them! Double the fun!!! :D Advantage of the rotavator over flame gun is that you can probablhy hire one - doubt if you could get a flame gun that way these days!