Preen

Has anyone used Preen? It claims to stop weeds, does it work?

Reply to
General Schvantzkoph
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Yes.

Reply to
Nad R

Yes, but make sure you follow the instructions. Don't put it anywhere you are going to plant seeds. Wait until after they have sprouted. I am thinking about putting it down pretty soon where my tomato plants are going.

Reply to
The Cook

Is this the new product that is basically corn gluten?

Reply to
Steve Peek

Why not use newsprint and mulch to suppress weeds? It works well for me, and keeps the worms happy.

"The best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow." - Anon

Reply to
Billy

The mulch distributor suggested Preen when I told him that the horse bedding mulch that I bought from him last year was full of pokeweed seeds.

Reply to
General Schvantzkoph

The mulch distributor told you that the mulch was full of pokeweed seeds? And this year, what's his prognostication on the pokeweed content? I suspect that newsprint is cheaper than Preen oil. Worst case scenario is that you add young pokeweed leaves to your salads, along with the dandelions, or serve them like spinach.

I just paid $18 for a bale of alfalfa. That's a little pricey, but it will hold down the newsprint, and last me all season long.

In his garden every man may be his own artist without apology or explanation. --  Louise Beebe Wilder

Reply to
Billy

Like a few other plants we eat are not poke weed berries toxic similar to rhubarbs leaves or the nightshade family?

Reply to
Bill who putters

I told him that it was full of pokeweed. Here is a description of what I used last year for the website of the distributor,

"It's base ingredient is horse bedding (wood shavings) from local horse farms. Other ingredients included in the product are manure, hay, grain, grasses, leaves, other organic material."

I had incredible yields last year, the first year that I used the stuff, but I also had a lot a pokeweed that I had to pull. Pokeweed is poisonous to humans unless you boil it several times, but I think horses like it which would explain how the seeds got into the mulch.

Reply to
General Schvantzkoph

DO NOT USE RAW POKE WEED LEAVES FOR ANYTHING!!! They are poisonous!! Poke requires a very special preparation to be edible.

How many bales to cover 5000 sq ft? How many newspapers? It's a great idea, but not feasible for a large garden.

I agree and will use my new tiller without apology to anyone.

Reply to
Steve Peek

The entire plant is poisonous. Very careful preparation is required for edibility.

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Reply to
Steve Peek

with the dandelions, or serve them like spinach.

How does it taste billy?

Reply to
Gunner

Oh dear, poisonous plants in the garden.

That would be about 8 bales, which would be $145. You don't read the news paper? If you did read newpapers (which are not so hot these days), it would save on landfill. An added bonus is as it breaks down, it feeds the soil with organic material and nitrogen (N-P-K for alfalfa = 3-1-2), so no additional compost is required, and less fish emulsion.

80' X 50", large? No particular stress in it for me and my ticky ticker, but your disability maybe more sever than mine.

Good on you, Steve, and don't let the laughing bother you while you use it for shallow hoeing of the weeds between the rows ;O)

How much you gonna pay for one of these global-warming, petroleum burning, CO2 belching, OPEC enriching, tranquillity-destroying contraptions, that cost money and time to maintain, more than $145?

- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." - Mahatma Gandhi

If you like weekends (8 hr./day & 40 hr./week), then thank a labor union. They paid for it in blood.

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Reply to
Billy

Similar, I don't know. Potentially poisonous? Yes. Which is why I gave references. (This is not a safe world for fools.) But, moreover, pokeweed berries make a damn fine ink, if anyone is still working in the Paper Age. A few chicken feathers, some wood pulp, and you'll be ready to revisit the 12th Century that our Republican guides are leading us to.

Bush's 3rd term: Obama

If you like weekends (8 hr./day & 40 hr./week), then thank a labor union. They paid for it in blood.

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Reply to
Billy

I realize that not everyone can follow directions.

If you are one of those, pokeweed is best avoided, and as bill noted, you should probably stay away from rhubarbs leaves, and the nightshade family too.

"Though an old man, I am but a young gardener." - Thomas Jefferson

Reply to
Billy

Then stupidly attempts to correct his deadly faux pas with :

orld for fools. ) { Add: especially when they give ignorant >and potentiall= y dangerous "advice" they know nothing about} But, moreover,

Better yet little billy, Thank the VET that gave him the country to do that! They got real skin in the game.

Reply to
Gunner

I'll more directly answer your question, without chasing rabbits....

I'm using it for the first time this year & so far it seems to work very well. It's still early, so I only have onion sets & cabbage in the ground, but nary a weed is popping up. Yes, follow the directions.

OK, I'll chase the rabbit a little bit. I do mulch my veggie garden with tons of leaves & grass clippings, but the weeds still take over if you give them half a chance.

Robert

Reply to
Robert Lewis

How expensive is it? Where can you buy it?

Reply to
mjciccarel

Better to use a hoe around the veggies than some chemical that you might be consuming. Most weed killers kill dicots like dandelions and tomato plants are dicots also. Read the label if putting around food stuff to make sure "they" say it is safe?

Its cheaper than the weed-in-feed stuff and available everywhere, local hardware stores and garden centers. Some say it is better to use weed killers first, like preen, and then a few weeks later the fertilizers separately. The weed-in-feed Stuff can help the weeds grow as well and cost more than if you purchase the weed killer, like preen and fertilizers separately.

However, your going to put yourself in the chemical trap. The stuff is probably not good for your soil. Those weed chemicals also kill the good bugs like worms and spiders. When the good bugs are gone then the flying bad bugs move in like the Japanese beetles and their offspring the grubs. Then your going to want to use more chemicals to get rid off the grubs. If you use the chemicals you will have a beautiful lawn for a few years, then each year later the soil and the lawn starts to look worse and worse as the years go by.

I find the best way to help reduce the weeds is by bagging your grass in the spring. Spring is the time for weeds to grow. Simply mowing the yard just spreads the weeds in the grass, so bag the grass and compost it. Then late spring to mid summer let the grass grow tall and let the grass go to seed. Then mow the yard without bagging. This helps your grass get thicker and better. In the fall aerate the yard. Spread some fine compost if you like in the fall. This method is cheaper but more labor intensive. With the organic method above you will not have the best looking yard but it will look better after many years go by from using the chemicals.

Reply to
Nad R

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