I specified "classical" deliberately :) Rome is supposed to have sown the fields of Carthage with salt after defeating them, though I gather from googling that this is now doubted.
Nick
Do they have better aim, or are more willing, or less inhibited, or just drink more beer?
Owain
What? And have to look at hairy armpits as well as the weeds?
As stated Roundup is the way to go. Bear in mind it can take up to 2 weeks before any effect is seen and in some cases, nettles for instance, a second application may be necessary.
I have never found it affect hedges or trees and we use it every year on the boundary line, under hedges etc.It just keeps the area clear of weeds. After the weeds have died back we used to apply Simazine to stop them re-emerging but thats been banned now as well.
Anyone found a replacement for Simazine yet ? It was really useful in borders with shrubs and also around the soft fruits.
Paul Mc Cann
Glyphosate does work brilliantly on nettles and other soft weeds where it is absorbed through leaves. However, it won't prevent new weeds growing - by design, it is deactivated by the soil so it doesn't have any lasting effect on the area treated and it can be quickly replanted.
If you use one of the path clearing weedkillers instead, it also contains a germination inhibitor, to help prevent new plants growing for some months.
Noted. Thanks
Arfa
Now that might just work. My dog's piss has devastated my back garden lawn.
The dilution depends on the application, but I do agree you do have to dilute the concentrate. Maximum strength I have seen recommended for Roundup Ultra is 10% (100 mL/L) for saplings and tree stumps.
But won't produce the required "... de-weed. Permanently. For Ever." part of the specification. Sodium Chlorate will keep everything out for a period, but "For Ever" is a *very* long time...
Indeed. Sodium Chlorate used to be my weedkiller of choice. It would sterilise the ground for at least one season, and longer if you went wild with it. In terms of the constant war that I have with these weeds, I could live with the definition of "forever" being just a season ...
Arfa
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember The Natural Philosopher saying something like:
In the local farmers' market I found a clone of Roundup, at half the price of the real McCoy and a third of the price if I bought the 4L container. Examining the label it was the same concentration and dilution ratios as the original.
I drenched brambles in it some 4 years ago and while everything else died off quickly, the brambles stubbornly remained annoyingly alive. Until October, when they died back suddenly, never to re-grow. I reckon that, come the colder weather, they drew the sap back down to the rootstock and poisoned themselves.
So, patience counts.
Clinic Ace? No idea on actual price but my neighbour has bought that a time or two instead of Roundup so it must be cheaper.
On the advice of the head groundkeeper at Wrotham park, for brushwood (brambles and such) petrol is very good for large stubborn roots... and something called SBS (I think, memory fails me so I'll google and get back) :)
SBK Brushwood Killer; I've found it *is* good on brambles. Roundup recommends a higher dose for brambles, but as others have said that tends to just burn the leaves off, then the stalks/roots recover quite easily. The SBK is slower acting, but you eventually find the whole leaves/stalks have gone brittle and a swift kicking turns them to dust.
That's the kiddy :)
I have some haunching that has come away by about 1/4" from the dwarf brick wall of my workshop and the damn brambles have found it and taken root where I can't get to with any kind of offensive weapon! The Wrotham Park man said "Get ye some SBK if petrol don't shift it...lad... eeh by gum... eeeyaar..." and other mumblings.
deano.
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