Ridding weeds forever?

For those of you with weeds in your lawn, grab a bottle of Kamba-M or similar. This only kills broadleaf weeds, leaving the grass intact*

* 1 or 2 varieties of lawn don’t like it, so read the label first.

You can pick up glyphosate at your local hardware store for around 10 bucks a litre. Make sure you always buy 360 (gpl) – you will often see180 in supermarkets but this is obviously more diluted. Also, I use a watering can (marked “weedkiller only”) to slap it on my substantial areas of crushed red granite. I think this method is more effective than a spray pack. Apply when the sun has gone down and no rain expected. Works a treat.

Never could work out why round up costs 4 times as much for the same mixture.

Mattenagger said :

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Where can I get glyphosate that I mix myself? I’m aware it’s the active ingredient in Round Up and similar products and obviously I can’t brew that stronger than the mix that is sold.

The mix that Round Up and the like are sold in is a concentrate, designed to be diluted with water (barring pre-mixed spray bottles etc). To make it stronger, you just need to add less water. If you need to go stronger than undiluted round up to kill your weeds, then you’ve got issues that extend beyond the horticultural and into the realms of science fiction!

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Where can I get glyphosate that I mix myself? I’m aware it’s the active ingredient in Round Up and similar products and obviously I can’t brew that stronger than the mix that is sold.

Yates Once-A-Year Path Weeder. Bunnings.

I use glyphosate about 3 times a year. Seeds still blow in, so having a decent (e.g. 1 litre pump pack) sprayer and some concentrated glyphosate works very well.

I make it up a bit stronger than the label. It takes a couple of weeks to work.

Use glyphosate as recommended on the pack, with a sprayer (the extension is cheap and means you don’t have to bend). Two weeks later, clear the weeds, removing as much as you can (to minimise seeds), and bin. (Remember the adage: one year’s seeds = seven years’ weeds.)
Maintenance: keep handy a spray bottle of white vinegar mixed with a drop or two of dishwashing liquid (which helps it stick) and spray any errant weeds that pop up amongst your pavers. This is a natural solution that works a treat and saves you having to spray nasty chemicals more than you really need. There’s lots on the web about using vinegar to kill weeds.

Glyphosate and a sprayer pack.

The trick is to repeat every couple of weeks for about two months, that way you will get all the seeds as well.

Salt. The choice of retreating armies since 525 BC.

There are several products used in agricultural settings that virtually stop weeds germinating for a year or more (diesel will work as well). Another product called Trimac is used by councils etc around rural guideposts and signs. I don’t know if hardware stores would stock these products though.

However, the problem with using any of these residual herbicides in a garden environment is that they can (and do) move, sometimes with catastrophic results. I have heard of an entire backyard wiped out by improper use of one of these products, not to mention possible environmental damage further afield. There is no way I would use them around my house.

Far better and safer in my opinion to have a simple glyphosate applicator that is quick and easy to use; the job is not such as hassle then. If you use a strong brew (following the label of course) when the weeds are perky (early in the morning), you should only have to do it occasionally.