I would say both Pudge :)

I've been lasagna gardening for years now, I don't have the back either for the old hard digging way.

Your method is something like I'm doing for my shrub project that I started last year. Last year I started it by shaping a island shape bed with a water-hose. Over several weeks, I then gave it three good Round Up applications to kill the sod and weeds. This spring I will be adding in a truck load of aged manure from my horse friends down the road and all the leaves that I collected last fall. As soon as the shrubs are out there for sale I'll be plunking them in and mulching around with straw.

Sharon

When you use Roundup, how long do you have to wait to plant stuff in that area, and is it best to plant seeds or transplants???

I think that is smart gardening. I should have done that when we started out new beds here a couple years ago. Instead I sprayed out and picked up the weeds, then trucked in a bunch of good loam and put that over top. I should have brought in a bunch more compost - but I will add it over time.

Janet

Hi all,

This comes in a timely matter, because I'm redoing the whole perennial garden this spring. Years ago when I started the garden I neglected to put put in a barrier to the grass and it decided it liked the beautiful mix of topsoil, peatmoss and compost. It went to town.
I don't like the idea of using Roundup, but I really hate friggin' grass roots and Quack grass more.
I was thinking of digging it all up and getting rid of all that soil with the grass roots, but it really is good soil.
I tried Roundup on a small one foot patch a couple of years ago and wasn't that impressed. It took days to do anything and I'm not sure if it really got everything.

Sharon, you said you did three applications.
How many days apart and how do you really know if you've got all of those grass roots?

I just don't want a repeat of what happened last time.
I even went so far as to get some used dryer felt from the paper mill I work at, to line the walking paths and around the island beds beneath the mulch. This is heavy duty landscape fabric let me tell you...It lets the water through, but no weeds would ever make it.
I have to be able to time this all with my holiday and arrival of plants in late May and early June.
I know I can't apply any Roundup til I can see green.
Any help would be appreciated.

Rob

I've only ever done one application, and it takes about 10 days - 2 weeks before you see that it's dead. Temps have to be right, too, and the warmer the better. I get the concentrated stuff (transorb) from the grain elevator and mix it slightly stronger, though. The only time I ever had to do more than 1 application was when I was trying to kill raspberries. They're tough!

Love2b, I think it depends on the area you're spraying. If it's grass then I always wait to make sure I got it all, and then I've always used transplants or bulbs.

Thanks pudge,

I think I'll have to get some of that Roundup(Transorb) from the grain elevator here.
That should do the trick.
I have to be careful though, 'cause one time I tried Roundup to get rid of some unwanted seedlings (Towering Poplars) that the nursery swore to me didn't spread by roots.
Well, needless to say, I killed half of my full grown Towering Poplar several feet away.
Then we had a bad spring with strong winds and high temps in April the next year before the ground could thaw and it killed the top halves of all of the rest of those Towering Poplars.lol Well at least they all look the same.
From experience I've found that Swedish Aspen (a parent of Towering Poplar) is far superior and hardier without spreading.

Anyway, thanks for the help.
Rob

I did 3 applications with the Super Concentrate RoundUp that you can buy at your local hardware store. I did 3 to make sure I got every blade of grass and weed. There is nothing worst than missing a blade of quack grass in the middle of your new bed. Its a nightmare to say the least ;)

In between applications was about 2-3 weeks. I'll probably no one more spot check once things start growing out there.

They say RU is not active in soil, ornamentals and flowers can be planted or seeded the next day. Hmmm, I wouldn't chance it, I'd wait at least 2 weeks before planting.

Sharon

Here is a link that might be useful: Roundup® Super Concentrate

I also use transorb roundup. If I spray it and a few minutes later it starts to mist or rain, it still takes effect. Yes, it is a week or so before you notice any difference in the plants but it is very very effective. Someone said that the stuff that is in the local Cdn Tire and other hardware stores is a different kind...almost watered down...and you have to have no moisture for up to a week for it to take effect.

Here the grass is definitely starting to grow. Today I want to mix up a batch of roundup and spray around the raspberries (they haven't leafed out yet and there are a few grass that I saw in there the other day).

I only have to spray once with the transorb compared to the 3 times with the super concentrated stuff. It comes in a large jug and costs over $150 for the jug. When mixing it up in my backpack sprayer I put just over 1/2 a cup in a 4 litre milk jug of water. Two jugs of mixed roundup and I am ready to go.

As soon as the roundup hits the soil it becomes inactive. What it does is make the plant grow so fast that it bursts its seams...therefore dying.

Anyways, here on the 10 acres I have no quams about using it and absolutely would recommend Transorb. BTW, you can freeze roundup so, there is no need to store it in the house....important fact for us FNers.

Been there and done the landscape fabric thing. Not any more. I use flax shives and find that they are wonderful. Easy to place down, a little layer will do you, cheap (a semi load just dropped off here for free since they wanted to get rid of it), makes a nice smooth surface and looks good. I am really interested to find out whether slugs like or dislike the little sharp flax shives. No problem on any plants that were mulched with flax last year. So, all the rest of the beds will hopefully be mulched with flax this year.

Brenda

That reminds me - I have to get out and spray beneath my shrubs before they leaf out. The grass is usually green before the bushes get going, and if I spray nice and early it usually does a good job of killing the grass - easier than hoeing, that's for sure. Once the bushes get big enough, they shade the ground well and I rarely have a grass problem, but it sure helps in those first few years when I'm trying to get them established.

Connie

Its clear that I am definately not getting wiser. Last week was so nice that I dug up a 4' x 8' new rose bed and the "normal age related degeneration of my joints" (encourageing words from my docotor) tells me now that I shouldn't have. I have always shied away from Roundup but it looks like that is the way I will have to go.
Leo