2,4-D Temp Limitations

[Mini Horses]

Don't use those chemicals, Sorry -- no help.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

No idea here either.... sorry!

 

[Britesea]

You don't need to feel defensive. I think we all understand that nobody can do it all. Some people use chems, some don't. Some use tractors and other machinery, others don't. etc.

 

[farmerjan]

Yeah, I don't think anyone was being critical.... it was more of a "don't use it, so have no idea what to tell you". We also use it on the thistles, but I don't do the spraying, so I can't help you either. We have so many rented/leased pastures, so we hand spray rather than spend a ton of money to get the co-op to spray... plus it would kill the clover and we have a TON of clover this year. Got a couple of guys who like to ride the 4-wheeler, so the tank is on the back, and they ride and spray.... plus they get paid to do it..... and money motivates some people....

 

[farmerjan]

Call your local extension agent... or the co-op where they do spraying with the big trucks/boom sprayers. They would know more about the temp stuff.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Nope -- didn't mean anything critical. Just no help - well, maybe. I have goats. They will eat the weeds BEFORE the grasses Saves me the aggravation and sometimes I have to limit them on fields so their favorites regrow. Nice situation. My horses love their help, too.

There's a local business here that will rent out their goats for dealing with invasives, often buckthorn

We don't have the ability to keep goats or horses right now

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Looking at a couple of different sites, I wonder if it is volatile at high temps. If it evaportaes too fast, the plants won't have the contact time to take it in and it there for won't work.
Can you spray in the evenings when it is a little cooler?

Sometimes. My question was a little time sensitive since the forecast for the following few days was all mid to high 90s and only dropping into the mid 80s at night. So I was curious around the "why"

I read a few reviews of folks saying that when they tried it over the suggested Temps they found it would also kill off their desired grasses as well as the undesired ones, so perhaps high temps makes it less selective.

I think the original answer to OP was construed as a command or criticism, b/c the initial "I" pronoun was left out of opening sentence! Agreed, there are times, and locations where one must choose the least destructive of the chemical controls offered. I have a small yard, and am not raising food commercially. I can pick and choose where I grow my food in my yard, so... in my situation, herbicides are not necessary. There are many times when I would welcome the option of spraying the many poison ivy patches in my yard. My life would be much easier if I sprayed my e-net fence line to keep the weeds/grass down. But... I resist. As for 2-4-D, I've heard that it is actually safer than round up. I wonder if changing up the mowing times would help eradicate the thistle? IMO, burning just might encourage it. Though selective flame burning repeatedly to kill off all new growth might weaken it enough to eradicate it over a 2 year time period. IIRC, thistle will send out peripheral shoots when the main crown is stressed.

I apologize. I have a part time volunteer gig as a crew leader for environmental volunteers as well as function as a Minnesota Master Naturalist, which gives me varying opportunities to do education and interpretation for citizens on topics of land care, ecosystems as well as native and invasive species, and in that role I try to stress by example and word to use chemicals as little as possible and instead focus on manual labor. However, sometimes it's necessary and I hate that . Anyways, I've gotten the "don't use chems" response a lot of times in my personal life, so my response was more of the same gut reaction I have to my own friends and family.

I didn't mean to come off as mean but online it's hard to catch nuances of comments. In my head it was my normal shrugging response of "well, this is my only option if I want any quality time with my kids". That being said, I don't plan on using them anywhere near any garden or fruit tree areas

I could probably use a torch in the spring when wind is low and I have a hose or buckets of water with. I like that idea, so thanks.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

@Lazy Gardener This year, for the first time ever, I used permethrin. I hated it. I felt absolutely terrible. I knew I was killing a ton of insects I didn't want to, but the mosquitoes were so bad that I pulled the trigger and called a local guy to come spray. World of difference.

However, I think next year I'll buy my own sprayer so I can do it myself. Should pay off in two summers or less. I've seen them range from 300s - 700s