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Vegetable Gardening

Using Preen to prevent weeds

10 years ago

I'm going to be away for two weeks and I am worried that when I get back I will have a massive weed problem. I have a backyard orchard and I am planting vegetables between the rows. My soil is clay and rocks and impossible to hoe. Has anyone used Preen and what are your opinions.

I have tried using straw mulch but it is cost prohibitive for the size of ground I am covering, besides the fact that it brought in weed seeds that I did not already have.

What are your thoughts?

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Comments (5)

barbe_wa
10 years ago
I've used it and had pretty good luck with it so far as preventing seeds from sprouting, but it does nothing for those perennial weeds that sprout from the roots. For those, it's still hoeing and the occasional Roundup for the stubborn stuff like bindweed.
digdirt2
10 years ago
Using it around the orchard trees or in among the vegetables? If in among the vegetables then I'd suggest some in-depth research first into its ingredients and the effects of vegetable crops. Specifically trifluralin.

There have been some previous discussions here about its use around vegetables but I don't know if they are still available or not.

Dave
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I've been using corn gluten for years, and it works pretty well as both a lawn weed inhibitor and a fertilizer (9-2-2 or 9-0-0). I was standing in my side yard recently and was amused to notice that my neighbor has a fine crop of dandelions this year that stops right at the property line. In fact I use it and and a 2-6-6 fertilizer to mix my own blends. Be careful though! Two years ago I used a balanced mix in my vegetable garden without thinking. All my transplants did great, but none of my direct-seed crops grew at all. Took me a while to realize what I had done! I order the corn gluten online because it is hard to find locally and is delivered right to my garage door. The price is generally $1/lb, but watch out for the shipping charges. It can vary dramatically from very little up to nearly the purchase price!
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I do 15lbs/1000sqft of corn gluten meal and 15lbs/1000sqft dry molasses. Corn gluten meal is much cheaper than and the same product as Preen. I do this every spring and one more time before fall.
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Comments (7)
Let's be accurate in this reporting: "EPA considers trifluralin to be a possible human carcinogen (11). This classification is used when there is limited or uncertain information indicating that a chemical may cause cancer in animals receiving high doses of the chemical over the course of their lifetimes. In a 2-year study of rats fed 325 mg/kg/day, the highest dose tested, malignant tumors developed in the kidneys, bladder and thyroid (7, 12). Because there is a possible increase in the risk of cancer to humans, EPA's Lifetime Health Advisory level for trifluralin drinking water includes an additional safety margin " Since humans generally don't eat Preen, and are even less likely to do so in high doses, the chances of this chemical actually causing cancer are rather low. And ALL kinds of substances - not just pesticides - can cause cancer or be overly toxic if ingested or exposed to in high enough doses.
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Comments (3)
But I did want to add that preen creates a barrier that deters germination. So, if you start hoeing around or otherwise disturbing the soil, you break the preen barrier which means you weaken or destroy Preens ability to do its job. Correct sequence s/b weed first, preen afterwards. Preen mfr recommends applying a 2nd very light sprinkling if you disturbed the soil after preening. Oldbuck, you did in correct order but I posted info for benefit of other readers.
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sweetquietplace
10 years ago
I like 20% vinegar with a little Dawn mixed in. Spray when the sun is at its zenith, and, of course, never on a windy day. You'll see results very quickly.
john9001
10 years ago
Preen makes two types of pre-emergent weed preventer, one has trifluralin the other is just corn gluten, the corn one is labeled "organic". after a while the corn gluten turns to fertilizer. Read the labels.
barbe_wa
10 years ago
It's the organic one that I use.

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