Glyphosphate

[Gazfoz]

I applied glyphosphate to my plot a couple of days ago and wonder how long I have to wait before I can start preparing the ground for planting.
Would it be advisable to apply a second coat after I have turned the ground over or will the one suffice this year.

Gary.

[Gazfoz]

[ACE]

I would let it do its thing with the weeds first. Although really it is a bit early as most of the weed seeds have not germinated yet and it will not do its work as it only affects plants that it has hit. What hits the ground supposedly neutralises and will not work on later growth.

You should have read the instuctions before blindly using it on your ground. One flash should be enough on most ground

[Barnowl]

Effects usually take 5-7 days to be noticeable.

[PAULW]

Glyphosate only kills green stuff spraying it on the ground is of no benifit what so ever, as the previous poster said you should read the instructions before using chemicals it is the iresponsible people like you that cause useful tools like weedkiller/pesticided to be banned

[Barnowl]

To be fair GazFoz didn't say he sprayed it on the ground ......

The instructions should give the info you need, but as a general rule I believe
you have to wait 2-4 weeks before planting depending on how heavy the dose was and all dead plant material should either be well dug in or removed beforehand.

So far,  I've only used it to clear paths although I plan to go for the convolvulus this year by sticking in bamboos so it grows up them, them wiping (not spraying) the glyphosate onto them.

[Sinbad7]

I wouldn't use any weed killer this time of year, not even on my paths.  I thought it was too early to do so, will be interesting if it does kill anything off.  Hope you let us know Gaz.

Sinbad

[Tee Gee]

I'm with Sinbad!

The plants have to be growing vigorously to get good results.

Can you see new growth on your weeds? If not you are wasting your time & money.

[Thegoodlife]

Glyphosate only kills green stuff spraying it on the ground is of no benifit what so ever, as the previous poster said you should read the instructions before using chemicals it is the iresponsible people like you that cause useful tools like weedkiller/pesticided to be banned



As from The farming back ground the weed killer in mention or (roundup tm) as its known will now be biodegradeable , still not a good idea to spray on the soil if theres no weeds!!, i used it last year when i first got my large plot made easy work of the docks and nettles which were 3 foot high, ;D and i will use it again this year as it keeps the russian vine weed at bay!! the only thing i dont use is pesticide unless it becomes an infestation, other than that i have a very large heard of ladybirds all nested in a warm corner of the green house.

So gazfoz you must read the instructions & as a whole you should not be using it as myself had to do a 2 day course on all chemicals used on the farm pa1 & pa2, i think all allotment folk should at least sign up for the pa1 course safe use of chemicals & safe storage etc. because if health & safty decide to have a nose around and see you using a knapsack they will ask you!!

I would also like to say dont spray in any wind as the drift will blow & your neighbour will not be happy when he see dead veg!!

[Gazfoz]

I have carefully applied the weed killer as per the instructions, to a plot of land that has been unworked for several years having first strimmed and cleared all the debris and dead stuff and Junk (by hand) thus revealing many annual weeds plus a few perennial.
The bottle states that I can apply from February, we are in the middle of March and I can't wait around all Summer for every weed to germinate because I won't be able to get a single spud in the ground.
What part of that is irresponsible Paul big mouth W.

I look forward to your wisdom.

Gary.

[ACE]

I'm with you all the way PAULW, I have also been on MAAF  courses and taken exams for herbicides/pesticides and the safe use of.

I would have thought the 'instructions' should have had when to safely use the ground after use!

[SMP1704]

Gentleman (and that includes you ACE)

Remind me - is this not a forum where we provide useful and constructive advice to each other, rather than sniping about which way is best?

You are all correct and here are my observations.

My lottie neighbour sprayed some very green couch grass a few weeks ago and yesterday I noticed it was yellow and very sickly looking if not dead.  So I would say, IMHO, certainly in West London that this is the right time to be spraying, if that's your thing.

I think Gazfoz that to spray in order to get an uncultivated patch under control is the pragmatic thing to do.  You say you strimmed first - does that mean that there was green growth to spray?  I find that glyo works by encouraging a big burst of growth, so initially the weed/grass looks really healthy but it wears itself out and then dies (I'm sure someone can offer a more scientific and grammatically correct explanation, but I'm tired) ;D

Make your decisions, see them through as you have - note what works and do more of that and note what doesn't and make a point to not do more of that in the future!

and now I'm going to stand back ;)

[Thegoodlife]

ace paul w has not done the maaf, its me not done the quote correctley!!!

gaz pm me i will be happy to help you, paul w was bang out of order

[Gazfoz]

I was fully aware that glyphosphate works on the weeds not the soil and would not consider spraying anything more than I have to.
The instructions on the bottle are a little ambiguous about the ability to kill weeds first time round, stating things such as "if it rains within 6 hours of application" and "tough perennials may need more than one application" and seeing how I have a variety of weeds, grasses etc to contend with plus no experience perhaps you may understand some of my confusion.
The plots either side of me are currently vacant so there is no possibility of me spraying my neighbours veg. (If indeed he had any in at the moment). I spoke to the site manager about spraying my plot and he was happy with my plans. My "second coat" statement was my thoughts about letting some more weeds come up after I had turned the ground over and getting rid of those before trying to grow something and I am sure you will believe me when I say that I would be more than happy not to have to spray twice:- more work, more expense.

Hope that clears things up a little,

Gary.

[Melbourne12]

I like glyphosate.  We have a new fragment of lottie from last autumn.  We sprayed it with Roundup Professional, and even the bindweed roots are now dead.  Only the docks, and a few nettle roots survived, and they've been dug up recently.

If you've sprayed recently, you'll almost certainly need to spray again as the weeds start to sprout.  Personally, if I were planting spuds, I'd hold off for a while until the weeds start to emerge, spray, leave it a day, then plant.

[Gazfoz]

There seems to be some confusion guys.
I have got a plot full of green leafed weeds and am trying to get rid of them before I attempt to grow something.
If I tried to dig them out by hand I would be there till next Christmas and my family would starve (well at least till I found some time to go to the supermarket)

Gary.

[Melbourne12]

There seems to be some confusion guys.
I have got a plot full of green leafed weeds and am trying to get rid of them before I attempt to grow something.
...

Glyphosate's the stuff, then!  Personally, having sprayed them, I'd leave the weeds in situ for a week to allow time for the enzyme mechanisms of the roots to be thoroughly banjaxed.  Then just dig it over and plant.

Obviously if you have very persistent weeds like docks coming through, you'll need to dig out the roots anyway.  IME, docks, nettles, and brambles will recover from a single Roundup application, albeit it will set them back a bit and you may not see them until next year.

[Gazfoz]

Thanks Melbourne ::)

[flytrapman]

Glyphosate is a translocated weedkiller so it will (or should) kill all parts of the plant.
Diquat (Weedol) is a contact weedkiller and will only kill the parts it makes contact with. Personally I think it is too early to use. Whilst I have my pesticide certificates I would never use any on my allotment, but that is my own personal choice

[Lauren S]

Not having used Glyphosate before, I do have some nasty bind weed coming up on the bank/hedge behind my plot that I would like gone. Do you use one of those hand sprayers or do you need something bigger to apply the stuff? I only have a small area of weed to get rid of.  ::)

[Melbourne12]

Not having used Glyphosate before, I do have some nasty bind weed coming up on the bank/hedge behind my plot that I would like gone. Do you use one of those hand sprayers or do you need something bigger to apply the stuff? I only have a small area of weed to get rid of.  ::)

We keep a sprayer and a (red) watering can for the purpose.  The watering can is more wasteful, but doesn't carry so much risk of spray being blown onto neighbouring plants.  It's pretty effective on bindweed.