Home made weed killer

[Pond frog]

Ignore Greta, and use glyphosate.
Life's too short to indulge silly tricks played by maniacs.

Life might be short for you but what about Greta’s generation who will live with the consequences

 

[Pond frog]

We have loads of invasive Himalayan Balsam around here. Almost impossible to spray, too much and it is interwoven with native species. It pulls easily, but is often growing through brambles on steep hillsides and streams. It's an annual, so if you pull it before it seeds, it will go away, eventually.

Goats grazing it would be perfect, its non- toxic to animals, just a problem of goat containment. Those fancy GPS collars on Clarkson's farm look good for containment, but spendy.

Goats for weed control in summer goat curry in winter

 

[Blobber]

Ive never understood folks that like to drench the land with chemicals, we try and be chemical free and have had good results with the salty solutions but if you can mow/strim its surprising how you can keep the stuff under control, we did have goats but they can be selective on what they want to eat, if you've got flowers/veg patch/nice areas you need good fences as they will decimate them pretty quickly!
Im not sure all the seeds that pass through them are destroyed and im pretty sure they did help spread some of the weeds on our patch, particularly the docks

 

[Popcorn]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BDLOGW2/ref=pe_27063361_485629781_pd_te_o_rp_im?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01BDLOGW2&pd_rd_r=H2CC7EVFZVWSTC2ZWH04&pd_rd_w=nr1Ht&pd_rd_wg=Ya4Mt&pf_rd_p=8f0358f2-205d-4515-812b-ade33f69c1d6

Makes more than 5 litres as well, not only good for weeds also rust removal

 

[Seadog]

I thought the EU had banned Ammonium Sulphamate ?

The use of any chemical is detrimental to something and there will be side effects.

Best get a goat.

It's banned as a weedkiller but can still be used as a compost accelerator or for stump removal.

 

[Greeves246]

It's banned as a weedkiller but can still be used as a compost accelerator or for stump removal.

Sold a stump and root killer. The leaflet says it is banned as a weed killer but gives the strengths required for various weeds.

 

[bricol]

I have cats, so dislike throwing chemicals around too much.

So boiling water on the stuff in my paths and tarmac.

 

[Islander71]

Farmers were/are using glyphosate as a desiccant on standing grain crops to reduce drying costs after harvesting. Thats how so much got into the food chain, totally nuts. Probably perfectly OK if just used as a weedkiller on non-cropped land.

 

[knighty]

Ammonium Sulphamate, a dash of soap. Its systemic so kills the roots as per Glyphosate but without the questionable safety issues surrounding it.

That's the only thing thats got rid of our brambles so they don't come back

Need to keep ontop of it so new ones/any you missed don't take their place

 

[Guineafowl]

Farmers were/are using glyphosate as a desiccant on standing grain crops to reduce drying costs after harvesting. Thats how so much got into the food chain, totally nuts. Probably perfectly OK if just used as a weedkiller on non-cropped land.

Arable farming’s ‘dirty little secret’. Glyphosate probably used to clear the weeds before cultivation, too, or they come up under the crop and choke the combine. And that cereal monoculture needs to be re-established every year with a lot of tractor work, and insecticides, fungicides, growth regulators, etc, if you don’t want flea beetle, toxic ergot, or a crop that falls over.

Compare with a 7-year grass ley, which you can manage quite well with no sprays at all, and just a harrow, roll and occasional topping. Grass crop is almost immune to the weather. (Traditional) livestock farming for the win.

 

[brewdexta]

I don't think ammonium sulphamate is banned as a weed killer, just not licensed as it hasn't gone through EU testing. The same can be said about custard, flared trousers and earwax, they're not licensed as weed killers but not banned.

 

[Guineafowl]

I don't think ammonium sulphamate is banned as a weed killer, just not licensed as it hasn't gone through EU testing. The same can be said about custard, flared trousers and earwax, they're not licensed as weed killers but not banned.

I’ve just laid waste to the weeds in the gravel yard with pelargonic acid (Weedol), with some blue dye added to show where I’ve been. It’s a ‘natural’ weedkiller, derived from pelargoniums, and is a fatty acid which pops the cell walls and burns/dessicates the plant. Non-systemic.

Some will come back, and I must admit I’ll be spot-spraying with glyphosate, because it’s cheap and it works first time, and there’s a big difference between me walking round with a few litres, and a big boom sprayer going over a field.

 

[Guzrik]

Ammonium Sulphamate, a dash of soap. Its systemic so kills the roots as per Glyphosate but without the questionable safety issues surrounding it.

Would this also kill brambles?
Edit; answered by @knighty so yes, how did you apply it?

 

[Seadog]

Would this also kill brambles?
Edit; answered by @knighty so yes, how did you apply it?

It will, with the right application, kill everything.
I've eradicated ivy, mare's tail and convolvulus.
For the above use a surfactant, a few drops of washing up liquid is ideal, to ensure wetting of the waxy leaves. It's drawn in over three or four hours and then taken to the root. From there it starves the plant.

 

[Guzrik]

I spray white vinegar and found that to be ok if done on a regular basis.
Not always easy to time so once or twice a year with a strimmer.
Will try adding soap and salt but have to be a bit carefull for this one

 

[brewdexta]

Spray it on the leaves on a dry day, ideally a couple of dry days.

From memory its about 200g per litre dilution rate, but varies depending on the target.

 

[Seadog]

AS generally, is a one shot fix.

 

[Guineafowl]

Slightly related - does anyone know of a treatment for powdery mildew? They seem to have discontinued the triticonazole in favour of ‘natural’ products which, if you read the label carefully, don’t treat it, merely prevent.

 

[brightspark]

I spray white vinegar and found that to be ok if done on a regular basis.
Not always easy to time so once or twice a year with a strimmer.
Will try adding soap and salt but have to be a bit carefull for this one
View attachment 500435

salt and fairy liquid wont harm pets

 

[Guineafowl]

salt and fairy liquid wont harm pets

I can’t imagine any dog or cat licking that more than once.