How to keep down weeds -- Preen?
mark_roeder 4B NE Iowa
8 years ago
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mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
8 years agocharles kidder
8 years agoRelated Discussions
keeping weeds down in a 1+ acre plot?
Comments (10)It sounds like you are not planning on planting the whole acre right away. All you have to do is till the areas you are using and mow the areas you aren't using. So you need a mower and a fairly serious tiller. I would avoid tilling anything until you are ready to plant. Mowing is much easier. Often when you till, new types of weeds sprout up. I see a lot of thistle turn up in previously tilled areas. If you already have a tiller, then maybe you can mow with a string trimmer. For an acre, I would probably get pro-quality equipment (Stihl or similar). You can put blade attachments on them that will cut through woody shrubs and other things that you can't cut with string. Another option is to rent or buy a walk-behind tractor like a BCS. They have rear tiller attachments, and also front mower attachments. They are also called two-wheel tractors. You can find them used on craigslist or similar. I have one, and it makes fairly short work of the mowing jobs. I don't use the tiller much, but it is a strong tiller. I have around 5 acres to mow, and I use a mixture of the BCS and a Stihl string trimmer and a hedge trimmer. BCS stuff is not cheap, but it is durable and holds its value. Let me know if you want more details on any of this. I'm not an expert, and I only moved to this place less than two years ago, so I am kind of figuring it out myself. --McKenzie...See MoreWeed Control With Preen
Comments (3)From the Extoxnet link, "In August, 1979, trifluralin was brought under Special Review by the EPA because of the presence of a N-nitrosamine contaminant which had been shown to cause tumors and to have mutagenic effects in animals. The principle manufacturer of trifluralin had already instituted manufacturing methods to reduce N-nitrosamine contaminant levels. The Special Review was concluded in 1982, with the requirement that N-nitrosamine contaminant levels in trifluralin not exceed 0.5 ppm, a level which EPA believes will have no toxic effects (12, 13)." There is a requirement that even at the 0.5 ppm level there be on the label a cautionary statement. And that should be reason enough that this is not a good rpoduct for an organic gardener to use....See MoreWill Preen keep my flower seeds from sprouting?
Comments (9)bud_wi - Waiting period depends on which pre-emergent you use; commercial ones will have the info on the label; just remember that no chemical knows the difference between a sprout you want and a sprout that you don't want. A lot of time variance is caused by climate - days of rain or heavy irrigation can shorten the length of time the preemergent is effect, vice versa, a long dry spell can extend the time. For CGM, the recommended wait period (before seeding) is usually 4 to 6 weeks - that's the period the gluten is effective. I use whole cornmeal only on already sprouted lawns, but from DH's experiences I would guess it has the timeframe as commercial CGM. One either waits until the seeds sprout before using the preemergent, or waits until the chemically effective period is past. The point of the pre-emergent is to prevent seeds from sprouting, irregardless of whether you want that seed to sprout or not. And re weeds in the garden, I'd recommend using any organic mulch -which would give you both a superb weed-barrier and *improve* the soil; all without worries about what chemical pollution may be doing to the environment. A variation of lasagna-gardening works marvelously to keep the areas weed-free: put down 10 to 20 overlapping sheets (or up to 1/4") of sopping wet newspaper and cover all visible paper with 2" shredded leaves or 5-6" straw or hay or 2-4" mown grass or whatever is handy that will decompose. The paper smothers the weeds; the mulch prevents the paper from wicking moisture - and looks nicer; and the worms will be thrilled and they leave castings which your plants will adore. I mulch all paths heavily, leaving rows or beds open until the seedlings are about 4" tall, when I then tuck mulch around each plant. Tomatoes and peppers get the path lasagna to within an inch of the stem; carrots, lettuce and similar bedders get dry shredded leaves sprinkled over them weekly (I just run my hand across the plant tops to uncover them and brush the dry leaves to the soil). Beans seem to be very fond of lasagna so I plant them in high-hilled rows and make an on-going lasagna with paper and mowings in the paths between rows. And I rarely have a weedling to pull....See MoreWill Preen keep ferns from spreading?
Comments (2)I have no idea what Preen is, but I might be able to help with the issue of "ferns spreading." There are only a couple of ferns that are likely to spread by root runners through the whole bed. Most ferns will stay put and just bulk up where you've planted them and won't spread whether you Preen or not. Some may spread by spores, which is the ferny equivalent of self-seeding. If Preen is some sort of a pre-emergent herbicide, then it will probably also kill fern spores, but it probably won't stop the root runners from sprouting. It all depends on what kinds of ferns you have - feel free to post the names here and someone can tell you how they grow, or look them up on the web or in a book......See MoreGary in Riverside Ca (USA) USDA Zone 9b; Sunset Zone 18
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