Are just wanting to kill the jimson weed and dandelion and leave the grass? Or kill everything. And what are you going to plant in its place?
A safer alternative to Roundup
- Thread starter Walkin Horse
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Are just wanting to kill the jimson weed and dandelion and leave the grass? Or kill everything. And what are you going to plant in its place?
OP
Walkin Horse
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I don't want to sterilize the ground where nothing will grow back. There's very little grass in the field.
MoKelly
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True. It does worry me in that Syngenta has a $35 billion market cap and Monsanto is at $55 billion. That is a huge deal for Monsanto and may very well impact the dividend.
Analaysts seem to be mixed on the need for the deal.
MoKelly
paulharvey
Veteran Member
I can't help much with specific names; however there are plenty of options. Call your local seed/herbicide dealers. Axxe, Beacon, Liberty; etc. You may need to do a tank blend in order to get small seed broadleafs, large seed broadleafs, and grasses. Roundup/glyphosate is just one of probably 100 options. You might need to do a "burn down", then a post treat with some. Not all herbicides are listed in all states, so depending of where you are, some may not be avialable.
If you do go Roundup, I've been hearing you should apply when night time Temps are over 50 degrees, plants take it in much better when actively growing
Edit: DOW, BASF, etc will each have something in their portfolio that will work for you
Guess what I'm saying is skip Lowes, TSC, and Ace; and talk to actual agri chemical guys
I don't think you will find anything safer than Roundup. In moderation it's no worse than anything else. Just tell her not to go out and eat the grass if she's pregnant. (Sorry Dave, I couldn't resist.
)On the other hand if you turn the soil and plant grass, that will keep the weeds from getting out of hand. If she mows it every year before the weeds go to seed, she will still have a nice pasture to look at.
products like 2,4-d, dicamba, triclopyr will kill broadleaf plants and not harm any grass. You could mix in some clethodim or sethoxydim to kill of the grasses.
Or if you want total burndown you can use glufosinate or gramoxone.
Or if you want total burndown you can use glufosinate or gramoxone.
Monsanto hasn't been much of a chemical company the last 20 years or so, they have made their hay on seed and biotech. Conversely Syngenta has struggled on the biotech side but has continued to do well on the chem side. The acquisition would be a good marraige between the two in that aspect. I just question if they will be up to snuff with all the antitrust laws.
Creamer
Elite Member
Obviously you need to keep her happy and I would not overlook the suggestion of goats - they much prefer broadleafs over grass and definitely help a pasture. The only real issue is fencing - goats like to test fencing. Goats are very compatible with horses. In fact the old phrase "Get you goat" has to do with horse racing when they would put a goat in the stall with the horse to keep it calm and if people would steal the goat overnight and the horse would not rest and be tired and not run well the next day.
GPintheMitten
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Assuming you find some alternative chemical to eliminate the particular target weeds, I suggest you evaluate the relative risks of those vs. roundup (or generic). When you have a feel for what you would do if it were your field, try and have a conversation with her and educate her as best you can.
Your approach of giving her the options and costs of each, is a good idea. I would just add the education and guidance aspect.
Even no chemicals and just cultivation and discing has a negative impact. You use more diesel, time, soil compaction. And remember, not all weed seeds will germinate at once. Every time you disturb the soil, some of seeds that were present before will germinate. It could take several cycles to match chemical treatment. You would have to turn the soil, disc, let things sprout; do it again, and so on. It would take weeks so you would probably loose a growing season. So the efficacy is questionable... or at least the efficiency is.
Your approach of giving her the options and costs of each, is a good idea. I would just add the education and guidance aspect.
Even no chemicals and just cultivation and discing has a negative impact. You use more diesel, time, soil compaction. And remember, not all weed seeds will germinate at once. Every time you disturb the soil, some of seeds that were present before will germinate. It could take several cycles to match chemical treatment. You would have to turn the soil, disc, let things sprout; do it again, and so on. It would take weeks so you would probably loose a growing season. So the efficacy is questionable... or at least the efficiency is.
quicksandfarmer
Elite Member
If you're going to use a herbicide Roundup is the safest. My property is under a conservation easement with private conservation group and they are very strict, but they recently did an invasive weed eradication project in conjunction with the federal government and they specified Roundup as the only herbicide they would allow. They wouldn't allow imazapyr ("Habitat") which is viewed as generally pretty safe. Triclopyr is a maybe. I wouldn't put 2,4-d or Grazon on my land if you paid me but they're out of the question anyway.
In places the conservation group required that the Roundup be applied by hand with a sponge, so that only the targeted plants were treated. The cost of treating 14 acres was $95,0000. (This was multiple treatments over several years). Try pricing that to your client!
In my climate I find that regular mowing is all that is needed to give grass an edge over weeds. It is more expensive and time consuming than spraying but doable.
We keep goats but mowing is easier than keeping goats.
In places the conservation group required that the Roundup be applied by hand with a sponge, so that only the targeted plants were treated. The cost of treating 14 acres was $95,0000. (This was multiple treatments over several years). Try pricing that to your client!
In my climate I find that regular mowing is all that is needed to give grass an edge over weeds. It is more expensive and time consuming than spraying but doable.
We keep goats but mowing is easier than keeping goats.
