OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums General Discussion Forum Lawn Care & Maintenance Weeds: Best way to remove ?

As Tyler has suggested you can get significantly lower prices on $ per volume basis from Ag suppliers than from retail outlets.

One caveat on this is that you’re likely going to need to buy a larger volume than might be used in a single application in a domestic-type setting. You’ll need appropriate equipment to handle the concentrate(s) and then need to store the rest of whatever you may have purchased. Although these chemicals are relatively safe to handle you do need to observe precautions as unintended spillages can cause a range of undesirable outcomes.

With respect to storage I’d strongly suggest reading both the MSDS and the product literature to properly understand what is required. Many Ag chemicals need to be stored in darkness in temperature stable conditions. If you don’t do this they degrade much faster and have significantly reduced efficacy or, in some cases, unintended outcomes. It’s not much good buying something at 1/4 the price if it’s gone off by the time you use it.

Another source of wisdom on maintaining a low cost patch of green can be greenkeepers working at golf courses. The things they use have to be relatively inexpensive, very effective and not cause unpleasant reactions to people using their facilities or the native bush. A few years ago I was put in touch with a firm that supplies to golf courses through a golfing friend and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the products.

Regardless as to what you use I would suggest finding out what the active ingredients are and comparing the prices on a dollar per gram basis. It can be worth asking people in your local area what they use and how it works for them. Sometimes things get swanky labels and marketing guff but there’ll be a generic product available at one tenth the price. Other things are absolutely brilliant at a particular job, cost 20 times the price of what you can buy at a retail outlet but are absolutely worth it.

For example, I use a particular set of commercial weedicides to kill blackberries. They’re more expensive, but I’ve found the generic products to be only 50% effective whereas these are 95% effective. I’m happy to pay a little more if I can get the blackberry under control a couple of seasons earlier and other plants established rather than wait what can be a further two years to establish cover.

Thanks guys :), I'll have a look around for the nearest Ag store and see what they have.

Since my last post, Using Glypho, I gave the driveway a spray, but also, using low pressure in my pump-spray bottle, I spot sprayed the weeds on the front and back lawns. One thing I was wondering though, how much is needed in order to be effective? I pumped the bottle to low pressure so only minimal came out, then I gave a quick spray on the leaves of the weed. this is enough isn't it ?
I didn't use the Bin-Die yet, figured as I'm spraying with Glypho, I'd try knock out what I could see with that first, then come back later for any missed ones with the Bin-Die.

very little is needed to be effective, hence the invention of the weed wand.

Ironbark is correct regarding storage - luckily its something I don't have to worry about too much. any of my expensive stuff or stuff in larger bottles that need to last a while I keep under the laundry sink (eg fipronil, fusilade, imidacloprid, stadium turf, etc)

The product information sheet will describe both the recommended dilution and application rates in quite a high level of detail. They are required to do this. It will go into such things as the correct droplet size.

I buy some of these things in 20l drums and store them in a separate locked building. I also keep a book on when, where and what I apply in what volumes not because I’m required to but because I apply different things in different seasons at differing application rates and I want to monitor the effectiveness.

Yep, I keep a notepad in the shed as well and note all my applications as I have a memory like a sieve and things like accelpryn and pre-emergent have to be applied at the right times

My 2 cents worth for this problem,

If you have a lawn, which is predominantly common couch [[i]Cynodon dactylon[/i]] then the best way I have found to keep it pure, is to spray the entire lawn with Roundup, which you must use at half rates [e.g. the recommended rate is 40ml/litre] from memory, so you would use 20ml in a two litre container, along with a teaspoon of dish-washing liquid, which acts as a surfactant. Of course the rate and quantity of water you use will depend upon the size of the area you are spraying.

This you must do in early Spring, and one spray will not be enough, you will need two, or possibly more, depending on the infestation, and don't spray if you are expecting rain within a 24 hr period.

In my case, when the couch is growing vigorously, the process kills every flat weed, Winter grass, Bin-Die, Creeping Oxalis etc., and to a degree, makes the couch look a 'tad' crook, but after a couple of weeks, it virtually "jumps out of the ground" you will have a pure sward.

I too, keep notes on when and where and what was sprayed, for future reference...