ongbird wrote:
F Murtz wrote:

If I have some raised gardens with vegies in them and grass weeds start
growing can I carefully paint the weed with glyphosate without affecting
the vegies?

is this a current problem or a hypothetical
future problem?

i would not use glyphosate for any application
near veggies or otherwise.

it isn't benign and is persisting and accumulating
in spite of what the manufacturer claims.

if the grass infestation is minor pull them out
or dig them out (making sure to get all the roots),
if you're able to consider painting each weed you
should be able to pull the weeds out, it will
probably be much faster.

if it is major, trim off as much of the green stuff
as you can and then smother it with a few layers
of cardboard and mulch, absolutely no light or gaps
can be left because that is all the grass needs and
believe me it will find a way through.

raised beds on or near a grassy area should be
set up properly to prevent grass incursions. weed
barrier fabric underneath, keeping the edges neatly
trimmed (don't point your mower chute at the gardens,
don't string trim knocking grass seeds into the
garden, etc.). often it is better to extend the
weed barrier out from the raised bed and to mulch
that area also making it less likely for grass to
be near the gardens.

also, make sure when you add organic materials to
the raised beds that it is properly composted or
certified to be weed/grass seed free. cow or horse
manure may not be composted well enough, same thing
with grass clippings sucked up by lawn mowers (never
use this stuff unless you want a lot of weeds in
your gardens, it must be hot pile composted first).
i often bury things in the gardens, but before i do
that i make sure it isn't full of seeds and if it
has roots i make sure those roots are well dried out
so they cannot resprout.

All excellent suggestions. However even taking every precaution weeds
will come/gardening is work. Also I once had the not so bright idea
to cover large sections of my garden with cardboard and to leave it
over winter... made a wonderful home for voles... among other plants
they ate the roots on my blueberry bushes and rug junipers... got all
the blueberries to heal but for three, the once gorgeous rug junipers
are no more. For mulching a vegetable garden I strongly suggest weed
block cloth, voles don't seem to find it attractive to make their
homes, but they love cardboard and they also like wood chips
especially pine bark nuggets. Once the subteranean critters establish
a home they don't like to move and I refuse to use poison... sometimes
pouring ordinary household ammonia into their entries repels them but
not permanently.
These work very well for me:
http://www.amazon.com/Sweeneys-9014-.../dp/B0013E3TXC
I have four in my vegetable garden and a half dozen around my house
amongst the foundation plantings, they've been working unfailingly for
nigh on seven years... I think the solar version is a lot better than
changing batterys. They don't recommend leaving them in the ground
where freezing and snow occurs but I do with no problem, I just push
them in so that 3" extends above ground. Considering how long they
last and how well they work $20 per is cheap.