Just a thought. Would bleach kill grass and weeds?
It screws up everything else, LOL
Just seems like a cheap way to get rid of large ares of grass and weeds.
Round Up isn't cheap! And half the time it doesn't *completely* kill the root. I just tried it a month ago and have weeds and (some kind of ) grass growing back already.
I need something cheap and strong so I can completely kill about ah
Just seems like a cheap way to get rid of large ares of grass and weeds.
Round Up isn't cheap! And half the time it doesn't *completely* kill the root. I just tried it a month ago and have weeds and (some kind of ) grass growing back already.
I need something cheap and strong so I can completely kill about ah
Not really. You just have to wait for enough time to pass between applying the chemical, and adding sod. It will say how long to wait in the instructions sheet.
It'll burn the top growth and probably kill some of the roots of some of the smaller weeds, but it won't give you anything like a complete kill. Plus, depending on how much you apply and how soon afterwards you seed or sod, you could have residual amounts that could injure your new grass.
Boiling water will quickly kill weeds about as effectively as hitting them with bleach would, or use a propane tank flamethrower attachment. A lot of gardeners are using those nowdays.
Boiling water is cheaper yet. But, just like the bleach treatment, it isn't permanent. Then again, it won't screw up your soil or affect your new grass.
Even Roundup requires a second application a week or so after the first for a complete kill, and its effectiveness is affected by weather - cooler and/or wetter weather will impair its effectiveness. You may also want to try Finale instead - it's another broad-spectrum weedkiller that kills faster than Roundup and is less touchy about weather conditions.
Keep in mind that _any_ weed killing treatment you use is only going to (at best) take out the stuff currently growing in the treated area. Even after you kill that off, weed seeds will remain in the soil, waiting for an opportunity to eventually sprout and grow.
That's simply not true. Roundup is very effective and totally safe for reseeding 7 days after application. If Roundup didn't work well, the OP should check what the temp was when he applied it. For it to work, plants need to be active and growing. Applying it too early or late in the season greatly diminishes the effectiveness.
This is a lot of craziness - bleach, boiling water, etc. Even with another application of RoundUp, a very effective vegetation killer, you will need to wait until hell freezes for the sod to decompose. Spreading black plastic tarps is one means of killing vegetation. If most of the plants are dead - not actively growing - start digging.
25x25 isn't too bad to break up sod and level, if your back is in good shape. Spread some nice top soil on it, level it, and lay the sod. It might be worth your while to take a couple of samples of the old sod to the extension service to test for pests, pH, etc., and not real expensive.
University of Florida has a great website, with everything you ever want to know about home, garden, lawn, pests, etc. Here:
What's so crazy about boiling water? It's a lot faster than covering the area with black plastic or tarps. Face it, not everyone has the time or patience required for your method to work.
That's why most people till the area to grind up the sod after they've killed off the vegetation. For that matter, a lot of people don't even bother using a weedkiller first, instead they just till up the area, then lay the sod. Good quality sod and good cultivation practices will greatly limit the likelihood of residual weeds pushing through the new sod.
The only potential caveat with this bit of advice is that topsoil is simply full of weed seeds, so you're introducing more problems when you apply it. It should be used when necessary - say, when you need to change the grade of an area, or when the soil badly needs improving - but otherwise, think twice before applying it to a lawn. You'll adding to your weed control burden, and possibly introducing weed varieties you didn't previously have to contend with.
Just seems like a cheap way to get rid of large ares of grass and weeds.
Round Up isn't cheap! And half the time it doesn't *completely* kill the root. I just tried it a month ago and have weeds and (some kind of ) grass growing back already.
I need something cheap and strong so I can completely kill about ah
25'x25' area so I can put down some new sod.
(Fla. St Augustine)
Vinegar.....cheap,effective, biodegradable. Get the big bottle at Costco and soak the area.
Use a rototiller to chew up the ground and mulch the weeds. etc. Apply Roundup. Cover with a plastic sheet, eg. garbage bags or black plastic rolls. Leave for one week or more then resod.
The idea is that injured plant life will try recover and grow like mad. This requires water, nutrients and sunlight. The injured plants will have a high demand for water and therefore absorb a lot of Roundup in the process. The plastic will prevent the plants from receiving fresh water, will dessicate the ground, and will block out the sunlight forcing the plant to use up its own tissues for food. That's a triple whammy. A 25' x 25' plot sounds doable.
snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (Ron) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3197.bay.webtv.net:
It worked for me. We had a very large area of creeping ivy and a few weeks mixed in. We cut away as much ivy as practical (it was very thick) and sprayed liberally with bleach. It killed every bit of it.
Hey, maybe bleach is the best thing for killing weeds. Farmers have never thought of it. It's not generally known. Most people wouldn't think of it. None of those guys who work in research labs and research farms have thought of it. You may have something there.
It is a federal offense to release chlorine bleach into a waterway/ecosystem. Not like we don't do it all the time...Tom Someday, it'll all be over....
I wonder what happened to cyanamid (calcium cyanamid?). Way back they used to apply it and it would kill everything. Then it decomposed leaving a residue that was excellent fertilizer.
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