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#16
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Roundup questions
"Frank" wrote in message news:631b4004-3cc0-475c-acf5- 4 x 8 sheets of plywood laid over the plot to smother the weeds would be effective -- and lay out perfect garden beds at the same time. _________________________ That's a GREAT idea for a new garden plot! I'd follow it up with cardboard & mulch, though, to keep the most hardy weeds down during the growing season AND to add some organic stuff to the soil when it decomposes. --S. |
#17
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Roundup questions
"zxcvbob" wrote in message ... I had a 1/4 acre garden when I lived in Texas. (and I used RoundUp to spot treat the Bermudagrass that kept sneaking in.) It was a huge garden (IMHO) and was pretty much unmanageable until I discovered drip irrigation. Drip irrigation is the best invention, EVER. Because of it, I get to plant my entire front yard in corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers, and only have to work about ten minutes a day on it. --S. |
#18
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Roundup questions
"Suzanne D." wrote in message ... "Frank" wrote in message news:631b4004-3cc0-475c-acf5- 4 x 8 sheets of plywood laid over the plot to smother the weeds would be effective -- and lay out perfect garden beds at the same time. _________________________ That's a GREAT idea for a new garden plot! I'd follow it up with cardboard & mulch, though, to keep the most hardy weeds down during the growing season AND to add some organic stuff to the soil when it decomposes. Unless one already has the plywood exterior ply doesn't come cheap... and a 4' X 8" plot is not much gardening space... I'd not bother with less than six sheets. And you still need to till, pick rocks, rake, amend, and till and rake again, and again. Killing the weeds by smothering or with chemicals is a total waste of time, labor, and money... there is NO labor free gardening. A good deep rototilling will dispatch any weeds/grass so that those will never grow again... and NEW weeds are inevitable forever. I've been preparing my garden for planting for two days now, I hope to finish tomorrow and I plan to plant this weekend. Gardening is always work, a lot of work. |
#19
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Roundup questions
"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 Think of Bermuda grass along the same lines as the movie "Terminator". It never, ever stops. You can't ever kill it entirely. It always comes back with a vengeance. Roundup is only temporary. Does not affect this type of grass's root system. Overlays such as plywood, newspaper and the like, it just either penetrates it or goes around to the perimeter. Just my personal experiences. Even the newsgroup website link pointer fanatic is confused here. -- Dave |
#20
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Roundup questions
"Suzanne D." wrote: Drip irrigation is the best invention, EVER. Because of it, I get to plant my entire front yard in corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers, and only have to work about ten minutes a day on it. Ten minutes a day... you must hold the record for the smallest garden. |
#21
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Roundup questions
In article ,
"Dioclese" NONE wrote: Even the newsgroup website link pointer fanatic is confused here. I don't need to be characterized by a flange head. Don't you ever get anything right? When I post a cite, it says there are at least other people who support a position. When you give your opinions, you are all alone. -- - Billy "For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En2TzBE0lp4 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050688.html |
#22
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Roundup questions
On May 23, 1:25 pm, "brooklyn1" wrote:
"Suzanne D." wrote in message ... "Frank" wrote in message news:631b4004-3cc0-475c-acf5- 4 x 8 sheets of plywood laid over the plot to smother the weeds would be effective -- and lay out perfect garden beds at the same time. _________________________ That's a GREAT idea for a new garden plot! I'd follow it up with cardboard & mulch, though, to keep the most hardy weeds down during the growing season AND to add some organic stuff to the soil when it decomposes. Unless one already has the plywood exterior ply doesn't come cheap... and a 4' X 8" plot is not much gardening space... I'd not bother with less than six sheets. And you still need to till, pick rocks, rake, amend, and till and rake again, and again. Killing the weeds by smothering or with chemicals is a total waste of time, labor, and money... there is NO labor free gardening. A good deep rototilling will dispatch any weeds/grass so that those will never grow again... and NEW weeds are inevitable forever. I've been preparing my garden for planting for two days now, I hope to finish tomorrow and I plan to plant this weekend. Gardening is always work, a lot of work. It was always a lot of work for me too until I read Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book 30 years ago, what an eye opener. I just planted this years crop, took about 5 minutes , just push aside the leaves and planted the seed and covered it up. No tilling, fertilizing, I didn't even bother to water, rain is expected soon. (for yield I get about 25 pounds of beans from a 4x8 size area, don't know if that is good or not). I don't stake tomatoes either. The secret is just to keep your soil covered with organic material 365 days a year like mother nature does, she'll take care of the rest (weeding, fertilizing, watering etc) |
#23
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#24
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Roundup questions
In article ,
zxcvbob wrote: If I was starting a new garden plot, I would spray one time with Roundup (actually, probably a generic equivalent) in late spring when the weeds and grass are growing good. Why, when in most cases, newspaper and mulch will accomplish the same thing? -- - Billy "For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En2TzBE0lp4 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050688.html |
#25
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Roundup questions
In article
, " wrote: On May 23, 1:25 pm, "brooklyn1" wrote: "Suzanne D." wrote in message ... "Frank" wrote in message news:631b4004-3cc0-475c-acf5- 4 x 8 sheets of plywood laid over the plot to smother the weeds would be effective -- and lay out perfect garden beds at the same time. _________________________ That's a GREAT idea for a new garden plot! I'd follow it up with cardboard & mulch, though, to keep the most hardy weeds down during the growing season AND to add some organic stuff to the soil when it decomposes. Unless one already has the plywood exterior ply doesn't come cheap... and a 4' X 8" plot is not much gardening space... I'd not bother with less than six sheets. And you still need to till, pick rocks, rake, amend, and till and rake again, and again. Killing the weeds by smothering or with chemicals is a total waste of time, labor, and money... there is NO labor free gardening. A good deep rototilling will dispatch any weeds/grass so that those will never grow again... and NEW weeds are inevitable forever. I've been preparing my garden for planting for two days now, I hope to finish tomorrow and I plan to plant this weekend. Gardening is always work, a lot of work. It was always a lot of work for me too until I read Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book 30 years ago, what an eye opener. I just planted this years crop, took about 5 minutes , just push aside the leaves and planted the seed and covered it up. No tilling, fertilizing, I didn't even bother to water, rain is expected soon. (for yield I get about 25 pounds of beans from a 4x8 size area, don't know if that is good or not). I don't stake tomatoes either. The secret is just to keep your soil covered with organic material 365 days a year like mother nature does, she'll take care of the rest (weeding, fertilizing, watering etc) I presume you do crop rotation, and that is why you needn't fertilize? -- - Billy "For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En2TzBE0lp4 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050688.html |
#26
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Roundup questions
On Sat, 23 May 2009 16:36:22 GMT, against all advice, something
compelled "brooklyn1" , to say: He certainly did refer to his 2 acre garden Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. Who gives a shit? I mean, besides you. -- Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats. - Howard Aiken |
#27
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Roundup questions
"brooklyn1" wrote in message ... "Suzanne D." wrote: Drip irrigation is the best invention, EVER. Because of it, I get to plant my entire front yard in corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers, and only have to work about ten minutes a day on it. Ten minutes a day... you must hold the record for the smallest garden. Not at all. My entire front yard is about 60 feet long. (I've got 120 hills of corn, and about 100 cucumber plants along the front fence.) My back yard has eighteen 3X6 foot raised beds, plus a six-foot round 3-tiered herb garden, and a bean house that is about 10 feet on each of four sides. And I have about 20 fruit and nut trees, plus odd vegetables stuck randomly throughout the yard, such as on trellises and along the decks. (I like edible landscaping!) Watering the majority of the garden takes as long as necessary to turn a couple of spigots, plus hand-watering three or four of the beds every day. Of course, the initial laying-down of the drip lines took a long time, but now that everything is in place, it just takes a few minutes to make sure everything gets watered. --S. |
#28
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Roundup questions
"brooklyn1" wrote in message news:%YYRl.312
Unless one already has the plywood exterior ply doesn't come cheap... and a 4' X 8" plot is not much gardening space... I'd not bother with less than six sheets. And you still need to till, pick rocks, rake, amend, and till and rake again, and again. Well, no you wouldn't. If you start off by smothering the grasses with plywood or some other solid surface, then you shouldn't till at all after that. Tilling will just bring the submerged weed seeds to the surface and you'll have the same problem over again. It's much better to smother everything under where you want to plant (letting the old plants rot and add nutrients to the soil), and then build on top of that to make new, relatively weed-free soil. This is why I would advocate cardboard instead of plywood (since cardboard can be left in place to decompose), but the plywood *IS* a good idea if you can get it and don't mind moving it when it comes time to plant. A good deep rototilling will dispatch any weeds/grass so that those will never grow again... A good, deep rototilling will also dredge up dormant weed seeds and bring them back to life. With my clayey, weedy soil, I have found it infinitely better to leave the tiller in the garage, and just pile organic stuff on top of cardboard to make rich, fertile garden plots that are virtually weed-free. --S. |
#29
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Roundup questions
wrote in message news:0b27fed2-e802-4496-90a0- It was always a lot of work for me too until I read Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book 30 years ago, what an eye opener. I just planted this years crop, took about 5 minutes , just push aside the leaves and planted the seed and covered it up. No tilling, fertilizing, I didn't even bother to water, rain is expected soon. (for yield I get about 25 pounds of beans from a 4x8 size area, don't know if that is good or not). I don't stake tomatoes either. Amen. The first year I tried to do a garden here, it was tons of work with the tiller, and then the clayey soil compacted and left me with stunted vegetables that became progressively more hidden in a sea of persistent weeds. Then my husband piled that fall's leaves on one area, and when I went to plant some tomatoes there, I found the soil deep, black, crumbly, and full of earthworms! Got an incredible tomato crop in a plot that was barely ten feet square. Since then I have put more work into it by making raised wooden beds, laying down paper in the fall and piling the leaves and grass on top of that. But yeah, in the spring, the work to prepare the garden is so light. I just pop transplants right into the beds, no tilling or mixing or measuring. For small-seeded beds, I make little furrows in the old leaves and throw some compost in there to plant the seeds in. I can't believe I used to mess around with a tiller and waste all that time and gasoline. --S. |
#30
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Roundup questions
"zxcvbob" wrote in message ... If I was starting a new garden plot, I would spray one time with Roundup (actually, probably a generic equivalent) in late spring when the weeds and grass are growing good. See, to me, putting poison on weeds is just a waste of good organic matter! I prefer to either smother them, or if that's not possible, pull them and put them back into the bed to rot. Either way it means more nutrients for my garden. I used to loathe the thick stand of Timothy grass we have invading our garden beds, but once I saw it as virtually the only source of nitrogen in the later months of our dry, hot summer climate, I just get excited when I see it growing well, because I get to chop it down and put it on my vegetables! People really need to understand that weeds are nature's way of protecting the earth. When you expose a patch of earth bare (as with tilling), weeds will sprout to cover it. You can't expect to have pure bare land. Killing weeds solves a temporary problem but doesn't solve it forever, unless you plan to keep putting poison on there year after year. When the ground is bare, weeds will grow, no matter what you do. So the key is to NOT let the ground remain uncovered. Mulches and cover crops can help protect the earth so that weeds don't have to. --S. |
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