spraying for weeds

[csutton]

What would be a good weed killer to use this winter before planting potatoes and tomatoes next year? Any thing special for these types of crops? Any suggestions on how to keep the weeds from taking over? We got about 2-3 acres of garden so its kinda hard to "chop weeds". TIA


p.s. most of the grass that comes up is bermuda and some coastal


csutton

 

[randiliana]

What would be a good weed killer to use this winter before planting potatoes and tomatoes next year? Any thing special for these types of crops? Any suggestions on how to keep the weeds from taking over? We got about 2-3 acres of garden so its kinda hard to "chop weeds". TIA


p.s. most of the grass that comes up is bermuda and some coastal


csutton

I am in a totally different area than you, but I would imagine that roundup (glyphosate) would work well. It will kill almost everything.

 

[cattlegrazer]

I am also from a totally different area, but here's what we do for our garden. Several weeks before you are planning to plant, prepare the area and hopefully rain will sprout weed seeds, then spray with roundup. Every time a new batch of weed seedlings emerges, spray the area before they get too big. If you are planting seeds, you can even spray after you sow them and before they emerge to get the cleanest bed possible. By spraying instead of tilling, you aren't disturbing the soil and bringing up more weed seeds that can sprout. Depending on how well the weeds have been controlled in this area in the past will determine the success of this method.

Then once our plants are up and growing, I use a small hand sprayer to spray between the plants carefully. After that I have to hoe the area right around the plants since I can't get everything with the spray without killing the crops.

There are probably some herbicides that are good for the crops you want to grow as well. But I am not familiar with them.

Happy Gardening!

 

[msscamp]

What would be a good weed killer to use this winter before planting potatoes and tomatoes next year? Any thing special for these types of crops? Any suggestions on how to keep the weeds from taking over? We got about 2-3 acres of garden so its kinda hard to "chop weeds". TIA


p.s. most of the grass that comes up is bermuda and some coastal


csutton

So far as I know there is no weed killer that can be sprayed this fall and will kill weeds the next year. The only way to keep the weeds out of your garden is to get out there with the hoe or pull them. Any weed killer will also kill the plants, and the only thing that I'm aware of that will kill grass is round-up - which will kill anything it comes into contact with, with the possible exception of trees. Just out of idle curiosity, where did you get the impression that gardening did not take some serious work on the part of the gardener?

 

[Beefy]

put down some black plastic and make some holes in it where you plant the plants. you might want to put one of those soaker hoses under it.

 

[dj]

I threw the hoes away years ago. Don't use many chemicals. We mulch heavily.

 

[msscamp]

put down some black plastic and make some holes in it where you plant the plants. you might want to put one of those soaker hoses under it.

That will work so long as you have no wind. If you have wind it will blow dirt and weedseed onto the plastic where they will germinate and grow. The plastic will break down (aided and abetted by the roots of the weeds growing on top of it) and you're right back to where you started from. I know this from personal experience. It took the plastic sheeting around the trees that were planted on the property less than 2 years to have roots growing through it. Considering this is a garden, maybe that won't be a problem for you, but you've still got the plastic sheeting to deal with come tilling and planting time next spring. The weed seed will also blow into the holes and sprout next to your plants. If you're not diligent about keeping them pulled when they are small, a fair sized weed will bring your garden plant up with them. Short of a hoe and pulling weeds, dj's got the best answer so far, but the depth of the mulch will have to be watched for decay and maintained at the proper depth.

 

[dj]

we have to maintain about 4-8 inchs. we don't have to till anymore. but we have raised beds just 4 ft wide and can work them from the sides so compaction isn't a problem. if we are needing a stronger barrier we start with newspaper and cover that with the hay. this has worked for starting new ground without tilling.

 

[Beefy]

also if you have any old water troughs laying around that have a hole in them or soething they make pretty good garden containers too. especially for people who cant do much bending over.

chain link fences are good for growing stuff up too. like cucumbers and tomatoes and such.

 

[msscamp]

also if you have any old water troughs laying around that have a hole in them or soething they make pretty good garden containers too. especially for people who cant do much bending over.

chain link fences are good for growing stuff up too. like cucumbers and tomatoes and such.

Don't forget cattle panels! Tomato's can be grown in 5 gallon buckets, too. Just put a 2-3" layer of gravel in the bottom for drainage.

 

[csutton]

Just out of idle curiosity, where did you get the impression that gardening did not take some serious work on the part of the gardener?

I didnt get the impression that gardening is easy. my grandparents have a 2-3 acre plot and my they do most of the work since I work 60-70 plus hours a week at my job. I help them when I can. I am trying to find information for them to make it easier to control weeds besides chopping with a hoe. ie tilling or some sort of herbicide. I do not know very much about chemicals but I do know that for them it is physically impossible to hoe 3 acres of potatoes. The plants start off good but when spring hits the weeds and grasses just take over, mainly due to the watering that gets done. I just assumed that in this day and age of chemicaly altered products that there would be some sort of chemical that would halt or retard the growth of grasses around the plants. I have always seen corn crops that look just as nice and clean as when it was first plowed, and was wondering if that is something that is sprayed or done to the field.

 

[Bez!]

also if you have any old water troughs laying around that have a hole in them or soething they make pretty good garden containers too. especially for people who cant do much bending over.

chain link fences are good for growing stuff up too. like cucumbers and tomatoes and such.

Don't forget cattle panels! Tomato's can be grown in 5 gallon buckets, too. Just put a 2-3" layer of gravel in the bottom for drainage.

Make sure to drill a hole or two in the bottom of that bucket.

We have an old cow - nick-named Jumper. Good old girl that earns her keep - but has "confinement issues".

So we keep her in the pasture winter and summer.

And we use what we call "her panels" in the garden for climbing crops!

Bez!

 

[ga. prime]

csutton, you can use Poast herbicide, along with a little crop oil, to control bermuda grass, crabgrass, and various other grasses. Safe for most anything you can grow in your garden, except corn. It will kill corn. Poast will not control any broadleaf weeds (or Nutgrass). Poast is a post-emerge herbicide, so you don't need to spray it until after you've planted your garden and the grass is growing. It wouldn't hurt, though, to spray bermuda, say in August, so there will be less of it next year.

csutton, that ultra-clean corn you see is most likely round-up ready.

 

[bigjohn513]

i cant wait untill they come up with roundup ready sweet corn

 

[ga. prime]

You and me both, bigjohn.

 

[csutton]

thanks ga prime

 

[MikeC]

csutton, you can use Poast herbicide, along with a little crop oil, to control bermuda grass, crabgrass, and various other grasses. Safe for most anything you can grow in your garden, except corn. It will kill corn. Poast will not control any broadleaf weeds (or Nutgrass). Poast is a post-emerge herbicide, so you don't need to spray it until after you've planted your garden and the grass is growing. It wouldn't hurt, though, to spray bermuda, say in August, so there will be less of it next year.

csutton, that ultra-clean corn you see is most likely round-up ready.

Good advice for grasses.

Treflan should be sprayed before setting out plants. It is a pre-emerge and will stop weeds and many grasses before they germinate. Use Atrazine as a pre-emerge on corn.

 

[backhoeboogie]

csutton, you can use Poast herbicide, along with a little crop oil, to control bermuda grass, crabgrass, and various other grasses.

That is where I am getting confused on this post. Bermuda is not a weed. Most folks spray weed killer on bermuda to kill weed and not bermuda.

Mulch and more of it is the best thing.

 

[MikeC]

csutton, you can use Poast herbicide, along with a little crop oil, to control bermuda grass, crabgrass, and various other grasses.

That is where I am getting confused on this post. Bermuda is not a weed. Most folks spray weed killer on bermuda to kill weed and not bermuda.

Mulch and more of it is the best thing.

A weed is anything "Undesireable". Therefore; in your garden, Bermuda would be a weed.

Poast will kill grasses and NOT "Broadleaf" weeds, tomatoes, potatoes, cukes, etc.

 

[dj]

having to water regular but still no hoe here

ignore the little cedar in front of the corn. my sons bonsi. it's probably about 12-15 yrs old now still only about 24" tall.