• Re: /turf management

    From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to All on Mon Jun 8 12:20:00 2020

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    ** Original area : "/FIDO/COFFEE_KLATSCH"
    ** Original message from : Doug Cooper@1:227/702
    ** Original message to : August Abolins
    ** Original date/time : 08 Jun 20, 08:38 >==================================================================<

    Are you hooked up with HOME-n-GRDN yet? I posted something in there,
    but maybe the intermediate hubs have long gone dropped it?


    I received a "rules" auto-bot but thats about it. I'll double check today, maybe post a quick test message and I'll reply if I get it :)

    Is there an inexpensive way to get rid of the grass and weeds once and
    for all? And don't say Roundup. :/


    No weed spray is permanent .. you CAN use round up and enjoy the dirt for
    good majority of the year, however dirt and sun is present, weeds will always grow. There are millions of weed seeds that live in the soil, blow through
    the air, and that birds and other wildlife "dispense of." The lowest maintenance solution is gravel; and to help ensure weeds don't grow from the soil through the gravel would be a good landscape fabric and /or
    plastic.It's not the "most affordable" solution, but the lowest
    maintenance. Many
    times a gravel yard will bring it out and relatively level it for nothing
    more than the delivery fee. And gravels is rather cheap per the
    ton.However, that would require the owners permission of course.
    The other alternative to weed control is to get grass growing well. The best time to plant seed is in fall when temperatures are cooler. A good overseeding, starter fertilizer (If you can get it where you live, it has potash in it ..) lightly blanketed with loose straw, and lightly watered to keep the seed moist until it sprouts, will get the grass up and growing
    better then in temperatures over 80 degrees. The obvious challenge is that
    any grass wil not handle the heavy traffic of vehicles, which is why I'd lean more toward gravel for the area pictured. I would think the owner should own or split the expense which can help.

    Otherwise, I'm afraid your only option to killing off grass AND weeds is roundup. That or diesel fuel I hear does the trick :) I can't imagine that smelling well, nor be safe to "apply' during the heat.
    Vinegar does NOT work, so regardless of what you read, Vinegar would be considered a contact herbicide if used for this purpose, and at best just temporarly injurs the leaves of the plant, small ones will die, but not most
    of what I see in the picture. To kill off thistle and any root spreading
    weed, a systemic herbicide is necessary -- gets into the plant and blocks a function of photosynthesis, causing the plant to fail, down to the
    root.Most systemic herbicides are designed not to kill grass, other then
    the
    "grass and weed killers" which all share the same basic chemical as round-up, just under a different label.

    Hope this helps...

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  • From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to Doug Cooper on Mon Jun 8 13:02:00 2020
    Hello Doug!

    ==================================================================<
    ** Original area : "/FIDO/COFFEE_KLATSCH"
    ** Original message from : Doug Cooper@1:227/702
    ** Original message to : August Abolins
    ** Original date/time : 08 Jun 20, 08:38
    ==================================================================<

    No weed spray is permanent .. you CAN use round up and enjoy the dirt for good majority of the year, however dirt and sun is present, weeds will always grow. There are millions of weed seeds that live in the soil,
    blow through the air, and that birds and other wildlife "dispense of."

    The spray solution may be my easiest solution. Would either weed-wack the laneway or just mow it down. I have electric versions of each device. I like the quick OFF control when I want to pause for a few seconds.
    Cordless versions of mower and wacker would be better. Then, I would
    treat the freshly cut area with the chems. As long as that at least
    retards the growth, I'd be happy (and my vehicle would be happy).


    The lowest maintenance solution is gravel; and to help ensure weeds
    don't grow from the soil through the gravel would be a good landscape fabric and /or plastic.It's not the "most affordable" solution, but

    Gravel, yes! ..but fabric, no. I wouldn't want to keep driving over underlying fabric, would I?


    the lowest maintenance. Many times a gravel yard will bring it out
    and relatively level it for nothing more than the delivery fee. And gravels is rather cheap per the ton.However, that would require the
    owners permission of course.

    Even if I wanted to play the "angel" role for gravel, it's probably out of
    my budget right now. Good suggestion to ask the deliverer of the gravel
    to spread it out a bit.


    The other alternative to weed control is to get grass growing well.
    [snip]

    That sounds like a fine solution around my barnyard/farmyard. But right
    now I think everything just needs a good bulldoze to flatten it all.


    ..The obvious challenge is that any grass wil not handle the heavy
    traffic of vehicles, which is why I'd lean more toward gravel for the
    area pictured. I would think the owner should own or split the
    expense which can help.

    It would have been nice to get the odd "Thank you" for maintaining *their* laneway however ineffectively I did it over the years.


    Otherwise, I'm afraid your only option to killing off grass AND weeds
    is roundup. That or diesel fuel I hear does the trick :) I can't
    imagine that smelling well, nor be safe to "apply' during the heat.

    Deisel would be smelly, and probably not a good idea since there is plenty
    of dead leaves/sticks/grass from over the years. Raw deisel doesn't ignite from flame or spark, But the vapours could. The wick effect of underlying dead grass and debri could aide the burn.


    Vinegar does NOT work, so regardless of what you read, Vinegar would
    be considered a contact herbicide if used for this purpose, and at
    best just temporarly injurs the leaves of the plant, small ones will
    die, but not most of what I see in the picture.

    Vinegar was precisely what some people were suggesting for killing off freshly cut trees at the root, pouring it over the cut regularly for
    several days. I figured that vinegar ought to work a simliar way for grasses. I *can* afford vinegar. :)


    To kill off thistle and any root spreading weed, a systemic herbicide
    is necessary --gets into the plant and blocks a function of photosynthesis, causing the plant to fail, down to the root.

    I have one patch of thistle that has taken over in my barnyard. I didn't realize that the plant gets very woody if it gets a chance to mature. At
    one point I was able to chop it down with a regular gas-powered lawnmower attacking the target at an angle serveral times until I could finally
    level off. It never occurred to me to use chems after that.


    Most systemic herbicides are designed not to kill grass, other then
    the "grass and weed killers" which all share the same basic chemical
    as round-up, just under a different label.

    We used RoundUp on some crops on the farm many years ago. It was amazing
    to see corn unaffected and the rows between the corn weed-free.


    Hope this helps...

    It did! Thanks.


    ../|ug

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