DIY Weed Killer (Effective Stuff)

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Pet -

Biodiesel, seriously.

Well most pond shops sell 500g tubs of sodium chlorate which makes upto 20lt water/spray weedkiller. There just isn't anything diy cheaper Or more effective then this.

Please insert "U" in pond!

But it will wipe out all vegetation without selection and there will be a period of time when one can't replant.

There's one I hadn't come across. Does it kill to the root or just wither & die to re-grow?

Would regular paraffin do the same job I wonder as I still have a few gallons left in the tank from the the days our shop was a hardware store.

That depends on how selective you are in applying it, the surrounding vegetation and what you hope to plant to replace the dandelions .

What's the objective?

Do you just want to kill the dandelions or nuke all vegetation?

If it's to nuke everything, then sodium chlorate.

If you want to be selective, then a glyphosate weedkiller is the usual choice.

:¬)

I'll take a look next time I see one.

Also... just noticed a thing called a Sheen X300 Flamegun. Might be another good way of using up some of the Paraffin I have left over.

Cheers Pete

For the most part that would be the aim.

The areas to be de-weeded are borders with a few large hydrangers(sp) but on the whole it would be for around 80% plant destruction. Casualties of war would be minimal and certainly not really missed.

How long would a sodium chlorated soil remain hostile to re-planting?

Not really fussed about saving anything as there's nothing that really to be saved.

Has the advantage of can be used to sterilise the soil so effective against animal pests as well as plant pests.

Owain

No! I don't want to get wet.

;-)

In article , Mark writes

I'd be wary of using it with much hope of selectivity:

"Sodium Chlorate - a non-selective contact herbicide, killing all green plant parts and has a soil-sterilant effect. It may persist in soil for

Glyphosate does the job but I've never tried to synthesize it from base chemicals so not DIY but you can get a lot for 20quid if you don't buy it at B&Q and that's good enough for me.

Realistically if you do it now, next year.

You may joke but true. In my youth (don't ask) tractor vapourising oil (green paraffin) was used to kill broad leaved weeds in germinated carrots!

regards

In message , Andy Hall writes

Umm... Glyphosate is intended to kill grasses which it does very effectively. There are some weeds which are largely unaffected.

regards

If it is a nuke then the pound shop sell the cheapest. Sodium chlorate is still sodium chlorate even when it is sold for a pound.

Adam

That's only relevant if you mix it at full strength and apply it with a watering can drenching everything including the soil, which makes it ideal for paths and driveways. If you apply it sparingly only on the plants you want to zap,then remove the foliage once it has died back the soil is good to plant within weeks,{1}

I know this as fact as I have used it like this for many years on property development gardens and our own. Glyphosate will also zap everything it touches if used indiscriminately but does not remain active in the soil, its also substantially more expensive.

{1} NOT vegetables or anything edible, IMHO all kitchen gardens should be

In message , Pet -

Difficult. Depends exactly what you want.

I've lived in this house for 5 years, at the back is a new patio (2 years or so) and at the front is a tatty old broken concrete and crazy paving driveway (30 years or so).

My experiences.....

Weedol - expensive but quick results killing whatever you spray. Unfortunately things grow back (or are replaced) just as quick.

Sodium Chlorate - Was told this is "the stuff". Well I bought a 1Kg tub

This year, I've taken a completely different route. Weedkillers are expensive so I've managed to get 5l of Roundup Amenity (Pro Biactive). It isn't as quick as Weedol but it seems to be more effective in the longer term at stopping their regrowth. "Amenity" is what the councils buy.

I have also applied Jeyes Fluid liberally over the patio and driveway (about 100ml per 10l). Everything stunk of disinfectant for a few days, but to be honest with the combination of Roundup Probiactive and Jeyes, our drive and patio are cleaner and more free of weeds than they have ever been.

I'll know more in 12 months time, but from this early experience, Roundup Probiactive and Jeyes are the way to go.

Hth Bill

P.S. 100ml of Roundup in the sheds can be a fiver. 5l of Roundup in an agricultural supplier is £55 (and you dilute it approx 1:20 to 1:40).

Someone

It also makes weeds highly flammable, which a handyman at work found out to his detrement, even though he had been warned. He always liked a bonfire, but this particular one was quick and spectacular.