Glycosphate (sp?) the main chemical in Round Up supposedly goes inert after it's been washed into the soil. It's only when applied directly to the plants is it effective.

That being said, definitely wait until some of the other, old-hats, chime in on this one...

Doesn't it give information about this on the label? I think it used to. If not, you could call the company.

Karen

You're right...in my frustration, it never occurred to me that the product itself might actually have information on its proper use...go figure. DOH! Sometimes I fail to see the painfully obvious answer. HA! Thanks Karen!

Didn't read the directions, huh? Are you sure your not a guy hidden behind that Mary Mary moniker?

not last I checked ;) The sign on the door that I use still looks like this:

You can plant pretty quickly. I have often sprayed bind weed in the morning, let it dry and shoved it out of the way, leaving the weeds intact, and planted the same afternoon with no ill affects at all. If you are covering a large area with a mist, then I'd give it a couple of days.

OMG, David! Just for kicks, I just looked that up...I thought that was a white Morning Glory Vine!!!!!!!!!

If you're not absolutely wed to the Roundup idea, then I'd seriously recommend spraying on standard white vinegar from the grocery store - the bulk 1 gallon bottles. Just spray it on the leaves, give it a nice sunny day or two, and then when you go back you'll find nice crispy leaves and dead weeds. It's a lot safer than Roundup, but that's just my .02.

& vinegar's cheap.

Even pickling vinegar, which is 9% acidity instead of 5%, is only about $2.93 a gallon at HEB.

Some "urban" grocery stores won't have 9% vinegar, but you can buy it where canning & pickling supplies are sold.

It would really help to know what type of weeds you are dealing with. If it's some type of grass, then Roundup may be the best way to go. Vinegar would be good for annual weeds...not so much for grasses and perrenials that will keep coming back from the roots.

Ok, what about a bleach solution?

You don't want bleach in your garden;
it's way bad toxic.

It'll kill everything including the soil so that nothing will grow there.

same with gasoline/kerosine/motor oil:

very bad, & the effect is pretty much forever.

forgot to say, when I used the vinegar, I waited a few days & then loosened the soil & removed the grass roots.

It was *so* much easier than trying to get rid of healthy grass whose thriving roots are gripping the soil so firmly:

Once a plant, including grass, dies, the roots shrink, & it's much easier to pull them out.

I think I'll go that route, then. Simply because this is now on MY dime, because we haven't been given enough budget $$ to maintain this the way it should be done.
Thanks for the alternative, Sylvia.

If you're going with the vinegar (my choice too) it will help if the weeds are cut first. It helps them to absorb the vinegar through an open wound.

tj

My neighbors use vinegar and say that it works best on a day that is sunny an 90 degrees or hotter. Also, a friend of mine uses something called horticultural strength vinegar; it's 20% acidity! I can't wait to try some! She says to get it from a good nursery.

If you're only trying to kill a few weeds (not acres of them), boiling water is excellent. I spent four hours last week boiling water in my stockpot and trundling it out to the weeds. Gratifyingly, they turned brown within hours. Just don't let the boiling water touch the roots of plants that you like or they'll be toast, alas...

It's a 1600 square foot area cut into 8 sections for gardens. And it's far away from any source of water or electrical, so no options for boiling- but I thought about it for 1.5 seconds.
Thanks for the tip on the 20% vinegar, and weed-whacking it first; that's good info. I planned on going to Agway anyway to see what they had in the way of canning materials; will ask about that high-acid vinegar for certain.
I dunno about the 90-degree days; we had what I think was our last hurrah this past weekend- oppressive heat & humidity on Saturday (when I said "Nope, I'm not working up there today in THIS heat). Little did I know...sigh.
I'll try to get up there in the next day or two and get this task done and let it cook over labor-day weekend while I'm out camping.

Anyone happen to know when pines start shedding needles? (It's my only source of mulch, and I also really need to get THAT down to keep these weeds in check somewhat.) How foolish of me to think that putting down cardboard was going to stifle the weed-growth when the loam was chock-full of weed seeds!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I used to get 20% vinegar at organic nurseries;
haven't looked for it lately, but it was about $16 a gallon, & it *worked*;
one application on a hot sunny day, leave it overnight, rake out dead weeds, roots & all.

It even killed bermuda grass for me, although I did have to make 2 heavy applications during August in Texas.

It's very strong, so be sure to wear protective clothing (safety glasses, mask, long sleeves/pants, gloves), & use it on a windless day so it doesn't blow where you don't want it.

IMO, 20% vinegar is more toxic (and definitely more dangerous to people) than round up is.

You could put another layer of newspaper and mulch down on top of the weeds and start planting right away.

"How long before planting if Roundup the whole thing?" -- I just read in a seed catalog to wait 14 days but it doesn't say after the application or after the weeds are dead.

I agree with someone above that 20% acetic acid is rather nasty compared to Roundup.

Chances are that the 9% pickling vinegar will do the job, & it's affordable & non-toxic.

20% vinegar *does* work, but it's expensive, & you do have to be careful.

Well, after running around checking several places, and not finding the vinegar, I caved and bought a generic RU product (41% Gly vs. 50-some for RU). I had a HORRIBLE day yesterday...
You know when you wake up you can just FEEL that the day is going to go south right from the get-go? It was one of those, and continued right up til I went to bed...but the only part that is applicable to this thread is the part where I get to the site, grab my jug from the backseat, and then go around to the passenger's side, where I had put the RU on the floor. I open the door, bend over to grab it, and get attacked by yellow jackets. I thought I had run over a nest or something, so was looking all around trying to find where they were coming from...turns out they were IN my car door- in the crick of the door where you don't see it unless the door is open...HUGE nest...got stung a couple times...they were very POd at me.

Killing something, anything...weeds worked...was a stress reliever for the first 1/2 of the day that had already gone badly. We won't talk about the rest of the day after that just suffice it to say that it just kept going in the same pattern all afternoon into the evening.

I haven't been up there to check progress yet today, but it was pretty hot yesterday, and by the time I got done spraying the whole thing, the first parts had a slight yellow tinge to them. I bet it's nice & crunchy today...damned weeds...take THAT! HA!

yellow jackets! Oh my, I do hope that you are okay mmqchdygg. And today will be better than yesterday, I promise. (I hate those days.)

I had a run in with yellow jackets last week. We had to take one guy, who was allergic, to the hospital. I only got stung twice. He got stung at least twenty times, if not more.

And don't be surprised if it takes awhile for the glyphosphate to work. It can take up to a week or longer.

Just remember not to cut off the tops of the weeds till after they are dead and you have given a little extra time for the chemicals to go down and kill the roots which is kinda the whole point of using a substance like RU. I don't really favor the stuff or any other synthetic chemicals for that matter but if you must use them, please read the instructions carefully and follow them too!

Sorry, that was just my personal service announcement since my other half loves to ignore labels, instructions, and directions of all kinds and then complains when things don't work as advertised.

Karma? Something yellow and jacketed in your past? Perhaps you intentionally spilled a champagne flute on some Best Man at some wedding who was wearing a rented, yellow tux?

Oh, I do hope you have a better day today.

You are a good person and a dedicated gardener to take on this project.

Karen

God Bless husbands. Today mine is up there removing the weeds. (ok, so the whole reason he's up there is because Weds went SO badly that he became my sounding board that evening, and left in the middle of my rantings, lest he say something that he would have regretted...he was entirely sick of hearing me rant about how badly my day had been going.)
So removing the source of my rantings seemed to be his solution to (my) problem, and he's been up there since early morning removing weeds.

I love him.

Gotta love a man who will roll up his sleeves and dig in dirt....all for the love of his woman ;)(well ok even if it's to silence his woman)...still works for me.

Kinda like a man with a tool belt...OMY, now that's definitely another thread!!!

mmqc: You're not alone. My husband had to bail me out last night, too. I was trying to remove some verbena bonariensis that is covered with powdery mildew to put out in the trash collection tonight. I won't compost them because of the disease.

It's been so hot (97 degrees today) for so long and no rain. We have near a 12 inch rain deficit now, and the ground is like a rock.

I tried 2 differnt shovels (flat and pointed) and a digging fork, and couldn't get any of them into the ground to dig. On principle, I worked until I thought I would pass out in the heat. I fell, partially because of a leg disability with pain/weakness in one leg. (or clumsiness?) My husband popped it out in a minute, no effort.

Yes, we need them to dig and open pickle jars for us. If I could only get him interested in turning compost...

Karen

Karen- buy him one of these...worked for me:

{{gwi:300348}}