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kill grass and weeds permanently


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Hi.

 

My building plot is around 1/4 acre and I have cleared half of it, where I am going to be building. However grass and weeds have completely grown through again over the whole area. The mound that has been created from it is going to be used on the other area to level off where the garden will be. This also, is completely covered by weeds and grass.

I'd like to get some advice on the best way of permanently stop this from continuing to grow. 

 

Thanks.

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Not the best time of year for weedkilling as they are dying down anyway about now. If you use glyphosate it's best to hold off until late spring/early summer when there is maximum leaf coverage as the chemical is absorbed through the leaves.

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4 minutes ago, deuce22 said:

So spraying it all with a chemical is the most efficient way of stopping this? I'll have a look for sodium chlorate, but if I can't find it what's the next best thing?

 

Probably salt (sodium chloride, another chemical).  Needs to be a high concentration, though, so bags of rock salt might be the cheapest way to buy it.  Sprinkle that liberally over the area and it will suppress most weed growth until such time as it gets too diluted by rain.

 

Covering a mound of soil with black plastic will work well.  Look at getting a silage sheet from an agricultural merchant, as that's often the cheapest way to buy large sheets of black polythene.

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13 minutes ago, jack said:

 

It's banned, for good reason. 

 

Well, not really for the reason quoted.  The reason it was originally banned was primarily to do with the fact that it was being used to make improvised explosive devices on a large scale (so called "weedkiller and sugar" bombs).  The environmental damage reasons were put into legislation mainly to placate farmers, who were used to using the stuff for permanent weed killing.  The daft thing is that the ban on sodium chlorate just caused the bombers to switch to using ammonium nitrate fertiliser instead.  The next step in this ongoing war was to ban the sale of powdered ammonium nitrate, and insist it only be sold in coarse, granular form.  The bombers got around that by just grinding the granules down to powder, at which point the government specified that a retardant should be added to the stuff.  Needless to say it's not hard to remove the retardant, by making a solution and crystallising out the pure salt.

 

Yes, sodium chlorate is a fairly environmentally toxic compound, but so is road salt, and many other compounds that are routinely used in large quantities.  The very fact that road salt works pretty well as a long duration herbicide is a good indicator as it's toxicity.

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10 minutes ago, deuce22 said:

I'll need some type of sprayer as the area is quite big. Is it better to spray the plant or clear the site and then spray the earth?

Glyphosate is absorbed into the plant via the leaves, so spray a living plant. Don't strimmer it first and don't dig it up.

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Just now, deuce22 said:

I was planning to clear the site in 3 weeks. How long after I've sprayed it (with either glyphosate or salt) would I need to leave it before digging it up?

 

 

Two to three weeks after spraying, or when you see the signs of the leaves yellowing.  For best effect, spray twice, about two or three days apart, as at this time of year growth is slow and uptake of glyphosate will be much reduced.  The idea is to leave it long enough for the glyphosate to be translocated to the root system.  One issue is rain.  If it rains within 12 to 24 hours of spraying, then you'll need to spray again, as the stuff may well have been washed off the leaves.

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This is fortuitous as I have just come to the end of my current batch of weedkiller and need to buy more. I assume that this is the same as Gallup 360? It has been quite effective but I could do with a final spray before winter as there are still new weeds appearing. 

 

£30 for 5 litres seems to be about the going rate from a quick google

 

 

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6 minutes ago, newhome said:

This is fortuitous as I have just come to the end of my current batch of weedkiller and need to buy more. I assume that this is the same as Gallup 360? It has been quite effective but I could do with a final spray before winter as there are still new weeds appearing. 

 

£30 for 5 litres seems to be about the going rate from a quick google

 

 

 

Yes, any glyphosate with "360" in the description is generally the strongest concentrate that's easily available. I've been using Gallup 360 for years, as it's generally the cheapest way to buy concentrated glyphosate.  £30 sounds about right to me, I'm pretty sure that's about what I paid for the last lot I bought.  It does contain a surfactant, but it can be slightly improved when used on waxy-leaved weeds by adding a squirt of detergent, to help it wet the surfaces of the leaves a bit better.

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1 hour ago, JSHarris said:

Covering a mound of soil with black plastic will work well

Not sure if that kills the seeds.

Still think salt is cheap way.

I got some roundup from Tesco, was pretty cheap I seem to remember. Kills all the weeds in the carpark.

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41 minutes ago, deuce22 said:

I need to spray around 500m2. Would 5l be enough?

 

Massively so.  5l of 360 is good for treating well-established weeds over about 10,000m2

 

I'd be inclined to dilute to a fairly strong mix, of around 30ml/litre at this time of year (20ml/litre is usually fine in peak growing season).  You'll find that 5l of concentrate will last a pretty long time.

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I've been using Longbow with a back pack on an area which measures about 600sqm - and found it to be very effective against the weeds Approx cost - £85 for 5ltrs. Back pack around £50 - worth investing in a decent one.

 

I suspect my 5ltrs will last a very long time so no worries on that front.

Edited by Redoctober
additional info.
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Please remember that Glyphosate 360 is actually a commercial product, and should be used with caution !! This is the warning from most of the products :

 

Safe Use of Pesticides

The purchaser and/or end users are responsible for ensuring that these products are used in line with industry Approved Codes of Practice. All operators must be trained and certificated in using and applying any Ministry Approved professional product.

You must ensure the end user of these products complies with the DEFRA/HSE Code for the Safe use of Pesticides:

"By law, everyone who uses pesticides professionally must have received adequate training in using pesticides safely and be skilled in the job they are carrying out."

 

Do not think that mixing it double or triple strength will make it work quicker - it won't !!

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