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Ohio

How many guys are using Round up at this stage in the game? If your using it how are you doing it and whats the closest you are to your plants when applying it to weeds. I think Jerry Rose and Brett Hester use it all year long and are not affaid to get close to their plants with it.

Brooks

6/12/2006 5:10:59 AM

I have kept the weeds down at this point with hand methods, but I see np with using Roundup if necessary. No wind,use a "guard" on the sprayer nozzel for directing the spray,perhaps a larger cardboard/plywood guard carried along when getting close to plants, PAY ATTENTION !!

One old landscapers trick, apply with a paint roller or even closer up with a paint brush(the foam throwaways attached to a stick work well). PAY ATTENTION !!

6/12/2006 5:38:49 AM

Rhode Island

brooks

we used round up for the first time this year.
worked very well and does not effect the earth worms ,etc if applied correctly.
we put it on just a couple days before removing the green houses.
once it dries on the weeds round up is still effective even if it rains for a few days just after application.

pap

6/12/2006 6:19:02 AM

huntsburg,ohio

I don't start using it till later on just use a hoe and hand weeding for now.Jerry

6/12/2006 9:22:09 AM

Nashville, TN

I hand weed near the vines.. Use weedkiller within 2' of the vine.. Keep the weeds killed where the vine will end up growing..

Laid down some of that 'pre-emmergent' weed killer granuals this year.. It didn't make a DENT in the number of weedseeds that germinated!! Give it a double thumbs-down!!

6/12/2006 9:26:07 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

Is it important to not use a pressurized sprayer if you suspect it may of been used for herbacides 5-10 years ago even if rinsed???

6/12/2006 9:51:25 AM

Picton,ON ([email protected])

I had tiller problems early on. I sprayed Round Up around the areas I could reach with the cultivator. Pumpkins are still in hoop houses so no worries!

6/12/2006 11:17:34 AM

Greenville,Pa.

I use one sprayer for everything. Make sure you have whatever you are spraying completely dissolved, and continue to shake the sprayer 'till you are done keeping your solution mixed. Do not leave any mixed sloution sit in the sprayer for any length of time. When done spraying, dump any remaining solution out and triple rinse. Then I partially fill the sprayer with water, pump it up and flush the wand out. I usually spray this on my impatient plants. If there is any residue left in the sprayer, they wilt up fast letting me know to clean some more. Haven't lost any plants since do this triple rince!

6/12/2006 12:35:44 PM

Western Pa.

Wildb,

Pick up a cheap second sprayer just for roundup and weedkiller. It doesn't take much to ruin a whole season, why take chances?

6/12/2006 12:58:49 PM

Puyallup, WA

WOW! I have always used two different sprayers in my patch. Just one mistake can ruin an entire season....and at my age, I ain't got that many left!

I spray Round-Up just before the plants outgrow the hoophouses. I then rototill them into the soil. I have been afraid to use it one the plants are "in the open".

6/12/2006 2:48:34 PM

Eastern Pennsylvania

I sprayed once during early patch prep, and don't plan on spraying again. I use the hoe until I fall behind and then wait for a cool day to do a very shallow till.

6/12/2006 4:35:05 PM

Anamosa, IA [email protected]

I sprayed Roundup pre-plant, then again after the plants had been in the ground about 3 weeks but growing slowly. I covered them with buckets for protection. I have since been hoeing and mulching with grass clippings. I may do some more soon, but only when there is absolutely no wind and then using a fairly coarse spray to prevent drift. I also spray a couple times a year around my electric fence to keep weeds from shorting it out. I only till once for weed control, usually in late June to early July. I wait until the soil is very warm so the worms go deep and don't get chopped up. If I can't get my tiler fixed soon, I may do without the tillage this year.

I also have 2 sprayers and have them very clearly marked. One is for herbicide only and the other is for fungicide, insecticide and fertilizer so there is no chance for a mix-up.

6/12/2006 5:56:39 PM

Mulino, Oregon

Roundup becomes inactive once it hits the soil. I have no problems spraying under the leaves (at a low pressure!) with straight round up. As long as there is no contact with the plant, it will not have any effect. As with any herbicide just use your common sense. Avoid using any ester formulations of 2,4d as it has a tendency to volatilize at higher temperatures and can remain viable in the soil for a week or more. Plain roundup will work fine, it's just a little slower so you have to be patient.

6/12/2006 11:23:14 PM

Eau Claire, WI

I am surprised that people are using Roundup around their established plants. I weeded my patch tonight in about 15 minutes with my loop hoe. Here is a picture of a loop hoe.

http://www.midwestrake.com/divisions/industrial/22gardenprogardening/loophoe.htm

These things work great - fast, no bending over, cuts the weeds right at the surface, minimal soil disturbance, easy reach around the vines, no chance of chemical drift, cheap.

6/12/2006 11:40:31 PM

Syracuse, NY

i will get one of these or similar soon.
i have always been concerned with the
roots near the surface getting chopped up
in the process, but i guess if i am burying the vines
and doing the plant that favor, why NOT make MY life a little easier? thanks for the link, and good luck with your season-----i have an idea brewing for a way to use Roundup that will hopefuly be revolutionary,
but i am too busy lately getting my greenhouse/windbreak(s)
technique(s) in order, but soon i will bring it forth---eric g

6/13/2006 12:22:44 PM

Eastern Pennsylvania

hmmm if you are going to do a shallow till, is it smarter to do it when it's very hot out as Iowegian says? Do the worms hide deep?

6/13/2006 12:38:48 PM

San Diego

round up in hot southern areas near plants is a very bad idea! lol

6/13/2006 3:44:13 PM

Chico, Ca

Hoop hoes can do a number on the pumpkin roots if you go more than 1/2" deep.... I use round up within a foot or so of the plant in the mornings. I can say that everyone should check their brass wands for pinhole leaks..... I had one an inch from the spray tip that sprayed sideways.....
I thought it looked like a spiderweb......wrong!

6/15/2006 12:55:59 AM

[email protected]

I'm using RoundUp while the plants are still in the houses. I let a good crop pop up then spray them so I'm not spraying every other day. I use 3 sprayers, 1 for foliar ferts, one for insecticides and fungicides, and a third for herbicide. I just use the little 2 gallon sprayes for the insecticide, fungicides and herbicides. They're only 20 bucks each.

6/15/2006 9:42:42 AM

Colorado

I would go with what Jim R says: Roundup, around your giant plants doesn't sound too good.....not when there are loop hoes. I haven't heard them called that. I only know them as scuttle hoes or disrupters.
Seriously. I hand weeded only about 1/100th of my garden three years ago and it took 3 hours,a quart of persp. and wiped out my knees, toes and ankles. Went in the house to have a coronary and caught the garden guy on HGTV telling about disrupters (loop hoes)vs weed killers. Disrupters won. Went to Lowes and two hours later there was not one weed in the entire garden. And they are super simple to sharpen with a file. Here's another tip: It doesn't take any longer and is much easier on the back to do the whole thing sitting in a lawn chair rather than standing and it makes the angle of the blade closer to being parallel to the ground so you can control just how deep it is going.

6/20/2006 3:11:01 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Johnny's Select Seeds sells the best hoe out there. Replaceble blade, Nice Swivel...7 Inch cutting surface.
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/product.aspx?category=292&subcategory=634&item=9504&source=w0406_toolniche_9504

6/20/2006 3:57:09 PM

Colorado

There is another good name for it. "Stirrup Hoe". 7" wide and replaceable blade to boot. Don't like the curved looking blade though...ones I've seen are straight.
Before I started spraying defoliants around (you and your plants)and having to keep track of which sprayer has the miracle grow in it and which one has agent orange I would pick one of these up and give it a try. Best tool I have.
Thanks JF.

6/20/2006 6:36:32 PM