Glyphosate alternative
madpenguin
Posts: 2,498
I have always used Glyphosate as a weedkiller,mainly because it works!
I only have a spray bottle (which lasts ages) and only use it when I can't dig the weed out.On my lawn I use Clopyralid,again only in a spray and only when I need it.
Now I am trying to find alternatives as Glyphosate (and Clopyralid) as both have a very bad press.
Digging weeds out is of course best but not always practical.
Salt (and vinegar) could be used on paths etc but could the run off hurt other plants?
What do you use?
Last edited: 20 May 2016 16:39:16
“Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
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Autumn and spring weed and feeds when OH remembers. Otherwise just keep the grass cut not too short so it can grow more strongly and combat weed invasion and I don't care as long as it looks green.
If a dandelion or some other nasty gets too persistent I dig it out with a special, long, narrow blade from Wolf attached to one of my short handles - http://www.wolfgarten-tools.co.uk/multi-change-tools-main/multi-change-tools-inner/multi-change-weeding-knife
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Rosate 36 ‘cos it works.
Buy it soon before our Belgium friends ban it because it works.
If you read the Safety Data Sheet it pretty much says you can drink it……………….but obviously don’t try this at home.
I use glyphosate based products on paths and will be spraying some ona bed I have cleared of treasures so I can deal with bindweed - if the wind ever drops enough!
Not a perfectionist about pure grass lawns tho. No point whilst bringing up a child and entertaining her friends and then acquiring two playful dogs. Just needs to be green to set off the rest of the garden.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Some shops here have stopped selling glyphosate (it's received a bad name because some farmers have use it in overdoses!). I have bought two 1 lt. bottles which should last me for the next 10 years. I only use it sparingly with a small hand spray.
Last edited: 20 May 2016 17:51:58
Indeed so Swiss Sue.
The irony is , any future ban will only apply to domestic use. Farmers, local authorities etc will still be able to use it.
I will continue to use it , sparingly , in accordance with instructions and will have a totally guilt free conscience to boot.
If folk want to spend their lives chasing roots of bindweed and ground elder, let them.
And I wonder who would be more likely to over use it?
and how many domestic users would ever use it on a food crop?
I spoke with my brother on this very subject the other day - he is a farmer - he insists that profit margins in agriculture are so low that over-treating with glyphosate is a big No-No. He says that on his acreage it would be enough to make a crop unprofitable and he is very strict with his workers that instructions and guidelines must be adhered to - the amounts to be used are calculated by computer programme and if the amount used/coverage/acreage don't tally there's 'Hell to Pay'.
Of course, not everyone may be as rigorous as my brother. As he says, he feeds his family on the crops he produces - he doesn't want to use any more chemicals than absolutely necessary.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.