glyphosate

DH confirmed our power company doesn't spray. They're a co-operative, members would be mad.

There really is no end to how disturbing it is, you're right Bay.
 
Personally, I agree with the general sentiment about RoundUp. I've never used it, and instead we've used other methods for weed control (none of which are perfect, but they're not toxic). And like some have said above, ours is not a region in which much herbicide or conventional pesticide is used by gardeners or farmers, though it was fairly common 40 years ago or so, I'm told.

But, having said that, I'll add something here... This happened more than a decade ago. We have some neighbors—good friends, in fact—who used RoundUp one season on an upper field they were planning to clear of weeds in prep for planting many varieties of potatoes (a commercial crop) the next year. Prior to this, they were basically organic gardeners with a largish family plot, greenhouses, and fruit trees.

So they did that and never used glyphosate again. They applied for "transitional status" toward commercial certified organic, and three years later they were able to obtain that status, since no more herbicide (or pesticide) was ever used in that field. So the certification, which required annual inspection and reporting, became continual.

I respect them. I might have tried rotovating the whole field every month or so, from mid spring to late fall. But I believe they had tried that. I'm not sure what I'd have done, and sometimes if you want to be organic, commercial, and cost-effective (all three) there seems to be no perfect solution.
 
Roundup -- at my old farm a worker was told to NEVER use the stuff. He did. He sprayed along a fence line where my pregnant mares were within 2 weeks of foaling. 2 days later, one of them aborted, next day another. They had eaten that grass, necropsy performed as these were expensive animals! NO Roundup here.

I sometimes use my propane torch for weeds. It's one of the Dragon types, made for such. Helps. Digging & cutting otherwise. Sometimes I throw some scratch feed along a building and the chickens help dig. :lol: That works well.
 
I just bought some garden strength vinegar (30% acidity instead of the usual 5-7%) to make some weed killer. I understand it only kills the top growth, but if you keep at it, even the most persistent weeds eventually give up (it can take years, though). It stills seems preferable to me.

by the way, the recipe is : 1 gallon vinegar, 2 cups epsom salts and 1/4 cup dish detergent (I prefer Palmolive Original because the ingredients are slightly less obnoxious)
 
Epsom salt is a fertilizer that enhances leaf growth and health. Just leave it out.

The dish soap removes the plants oils and helps the vinegar penetrate on hardier plants. I don't think you actually need that much, though. Normal amount for a sink of dishes will work just fine.

I use straight vinegar 5% on the pavers at my back door. Boiling water is also very effective.

If you use a garden flamethrower, wilt and singe, but don't burn the top growth. This forces the plant to repair the damage and uses up the energy stores.

Plants store energy in there roots same as we store it as fat. If you can cause the plant to completely deplete that energy it kills it. This works on noxious weeds as well. Let it send up shoots to a few inches then cut or kill them back. Repeat until nothing comes back.

For blackberries, that is cutting them back every other week at a minimum and about 6 months of time. Wild rose takes longer. It does work on scotchbroom, but we actually dug the few patches out to be done with it. Have to get all the roots.

Smothering or solarizing works well but takes time.

I don't use weedkillers here. Chickens free range and eat everything. So it's digging here a lot. But I'm lazy and have old large rubber mats that I decided were better reused than trashed. I lay them where I want stuff dead and come back in a week or two.
 
CrealCritter said:
FYI...
Dying California groundskeeper awarded $289 million after jury finds popular weed killer caused cancer

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/1...-finds-popular-weed-killer-caused-cancer.html
Click to expand...
Good for him! And confirms what I've been suspecting for years, it causes cancer. I lived near a small town in S.A. and we were surrounded by vineyards from the wineries and fruit (apricots mostly) from the other farmers. We got sprayed by weedkiller and other chemicals all the time and got sick frequently as a result. I also lost count of how many people I knew in and around town died of cancer, or had cancer during the few years I spent there. Way, way, way too many of them.
 
Many years of appeals. I highly doubt this payout will ever happen. But at least it opens the doors for more lawsuits.
 
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