"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote
"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"SteveB" wrote in message
...
My garden is weedy. I'm tilling it and preparing it to plant. Yeah,
yeah, yeah, I waited a long time, I know.

I have what seems to be Bermuda grass or a variant. Stuff that has a
spreading root system. Hundreds of other garden variety weeds. I till
and till, and rake out the weeds and roots, but I know I won't get them
all.

I use Roundup on my 2+ acre spread. I have heard that it only kills
what it comes in contact with, and doesn't work once it hits the soil.
I'd like to know if it is safe to use in the garden on the weedy areas,
or will it stay in there after I plant. Other suggestions for weed
control that is plant friendly would be appreciated.

Steve



What will you be planting, Steve?

Tomatos, peppers, beans, cucumbers, squash .......... whatever.


OK. Here's where Roundup discussions always get interesting, so pick and
choose which of the responses you believe. A pair of dice is helpful,
since that roughly matches the science behind human exposure to
agricultural chemicals.

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/DMPGR.php

In my opinion, the only way to determine whether ag chemicals are safe
around humans is to test those chemicals in the same way as drugs. In
other words, dose living volunteers with the stuff. For all intents and
purposes, that never happens, although someone in this group once showed
an exception.

If you're growing food at home, what's the point of taking the same risks
as commercial farmers and exposing yourself to chemicals which have not
and will never be tested for safety? Why do all that work to end up with
essentially the same result?

Use mechanical methods to deal with weeds, like the suggestions about
cardboard & mulch.


Every three years I treat my 12' wide by 600' long crushed stone driveway
plus two parking aprons with Roundup Pro Concentrate, that area is roughly
1/6 acre. I mix and spray 3 gallons of roundup pro concentrate, last time
was two years ago and it cost more than $300 (would cost $400 now) and most
of a day's labor with a 3 gallon manual pump sprayer and a lot of sweat
mixing and lugging on a hot sunny day (didn't feel the investment in a power
roadway sprayer was worth it for one time every 3 years). It would cost
roughly $2,400 to treat 2 acres of unwanted lawn with Roundup... and I
seriously doubt vegetables would grow there for at least a year... I know
from personal experience that the effect of Roundup continues for a long
time, that's why I can get by with an application every three years... it's
been two years now and vegetation is starting to move in enough that now I
mow my driveway.

I don't believe SteveB has a 2 acre garden, in fact I don't believe he has
any size garden or has ever had any garden, and probably once he wakes up
from his beer fogged trailer trash dream and realizes what gardening is
about he will never have a garden... no one who has a 2 acre garden (that's
a farm, folks) would ever ask such questions about killing grass and weeds
with Roundup defolient... a person could feed a family of four with veggies
from the market for two years for the price of enough Roundup to treat 2
acres. A person can easily feed a family of four (and two other families of
four) veggies all year from a 1/16 acre garden and not pay a cent for any
chemicals whatsoever... Steve couldn't afford to treat a 2 acre garden with
H2O. When I read of people with their claims of 4 1/2 acre and 2 acre
gardens (none have ever posted a photo) I seriously wonder if folks here
have any concept of what's an acre of garden.