Hi
Just need a little bit of help - I have been told to use Sodium Chloride to kill off all the weeds/grass on my plot however I need to know if this is ok to use (the people in charge of my allotment group dont know) & if so how long would it take for the chemicals to go before I would be able to grow anything in the plot.
Thanks
you mean sodium chlorate
DONT DO IT - the ground could be poisoned for between 6 months and 5 years
Hi,
I've used its before to clear weeds on my path but I'm not sure if it should be used on a plot where your going to be growing? As far as i know you cant plant for 6 months!
I may well be wrong I'm new to growing veg but thought i would let you know what my thoughts were. Maybe we'll both find out something new ;)
Lucy
Only use it on ground where you dont intend to grow anything for at least 6 months.....but I would give it a year at least.
Sodium chlorate seeps throught the soil too and will spread.Unlike other weed killers that only affect the green they land on.
Hi
it is much better to use some thing like ROUND UP which is fairer on the soil.
SODIUM CHLORATE can leach in to the surrounding soil and make it usless
for growing in for at least 6 months. Dave
and be aware of the New Zealand Exploding Trousers Episode
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_trousers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_trousers)
seriously don't use it
Crikey I wont be using it again :o
I knew it was combustible but didn't know about the textile connection.
I use it (Sodium Chlorate) in areas where I am not planting to keep the weeds down, in fact I have just placed a bag on my order list.
A bag does me for at least 5 years, and like most chemicals if treated with respect you should not have any problems with it/them.
In fact one or two of the other plot holders have inquired to me about using it so I have agreed to share a bag with them.
We certainly use sodium chlorate, but only along the boundary fences to keep the brambles and bindweed at bay. Personally I wouldn't use it on paths between beds, and most certainly not on the beds themselves.
But for the right applications, it's extremely effective, and very cheap.
I understand that mixing sodium chlorate and sugar is a pretty volatile mix. ;D ;D
valmarg
BOOOOMMMM !!!
If it helps with your decision .It is soon to be taken off the market!
Quote from: ber77tie on October 09, 2008, 21:13:29
If it helps with your decision .It is soon to be taken off the market!
Why?
valmarg
Quote from: star on October 09, 2008, 21:10:02
BOOOOMMMM !!!
not any more it doesn't. I've tried it. It has a suppressant added. From The Troubles I expect
I Think the E U has withdrawn it but I will check and let you know.
Quote from: valmarg on October 09, 2008, 20:56:54
I understand that mixing sodium chlorate and sugar is a pretty volatile mix. ;D ;D
valmarg
I remember a mysteriously exploding briefcase when i was at school...
Quote from: valmarg on October 09, 2008, 20:56:54
I understand that mixing sodium chlorate and sugar is a pretty volatile mix. ;D ;D
valmarg
Things like this bring you to the attention of MI5 and anti terror laws. I am NOT joking. With a Ph.D. in chemistry this is not something I would do.......
On a lighter note sodium chloride (table salt) will kill weeds, just a bit rubbish at it compared to roundup.
I find a little pile of salt on a tough dandelion in the gravel does an excellent job compared to a squirt of roundup or pathclear.
Quote from: artichoke on October 10, 2008, 14:37:57
I find a little pile of salt on a tough dandelion in the gravel does an excellent job compared to a squirt of roundup or pathclear.
Roundup is the dearer version of Glyphosate (about three times the price) from Montsanto. Glyphosate and SBK are much cheaper and do the same job.
Years ago part of the council gardeners job was to cut the open plan front lawns on council estates. Some of the residents were idle lazy barstewards. One had the cheek to complain that his lawn was not cut to his satisfaction.
Sodium chlorate came in very handy when I wrote c*#t on his front lawn. It showed the week after and reseeding did not help. Never had anymore complaints though.
You could have done worse with it. We used to fill lengths of pipe with a chlorate/sugar mix, bury them, and let them off. The craters were most impressive. These days half the class would probably be spirited off to some torture chamber in Afghanistan, but back then, the worst that happened was a visit from a constable inquiring about mysterious explosions in the school shrubbery. That time it was thunderflashes, not chemistry experiments.