Roundup

[Bkue]

Anyone ever or can give advice on solitary palms with circular clearance using topical roundup in light dose to kill off grass / weed growth? In this case I have 36” round boarders with crushed granite. Getting weed / grass growth from within. 

[Las Palmas Norte]

They still sell that toxic stuff?

[Fishinsteeg234]

I stay away from glyphosate. I hand pull weeds and suppress weeds with heavy mulch cover applied a few times a year. 

[sonoranfans]

years ago I switched to distilled white vinegar, its harmless.  I put it on when its hot and dry to ensure it works.   Alternately you could put weedmat under the granite.  The problem with glyphosphate is they didnt safety test it properly and it doesnt decompose.  So as you add it it can accumulate in your soil.  I used it a few times on small spots before I read about it.  I dont use it any more, the vinegar will have to do.

 

https://extension.psu.edu/use-glyphosate-with-care-near-trees#:~:text=However%2C when accidentally over-sprayed,Dr.

 

[SeanK]

Here is what I would do.

1. Pull by hand whichever weeds I can.

2. Apply a thick layer of top mulch to block out sunlight.

3. Sparingly apply a weed killer to any weeds poking through.

It's better to deny them sunlight than apply glycophosphate to the root zone. Monocotyledons are more sensitive to glycoPO4 than are dicotyledons.

[WaianaeCrider]

Been using it for at least a decade.  Don't think it's dangerous to small time people like us.  To professionals who might use it daily yea but not me  It's the only way to keep the 2 acres under control If something happens and I can't get out to physically remove them

[Looking Glass]

I’ve used it, but use Spectracide normally now.   I only use it in areas that I never want plants to grow again, like pavement joints, or around landscaping stones along the foundation or gas meter.  I don’t use it near the root zones of palms.  Landscaping stone can be a real pain down here.  Weeds pop up at 100x/sq inch, and can grow several inches per day depending on the species and time of year, and they grow quickly all year round, and you can’t just bury them in more mulch when it’s stone.  Hand yank and vinegar in sensitive areas.  Shade them out, or crowd them out with ground cover. 

[Johnny Palmseed]

Roundup is a brand name. It no longer contains glyphosate. Glyphosate is available in a generic brand.

[Silas_Sancona]

15 hours ago, Fishinsteeg234 said:

I stay away from glyphosate. I hand pull weeds and suppress weeds with heavy mulch cover applied a few times a year. 

Yep.. Hand pulling and other natural means of out competing weedy stuff is the best way to keep them in check.

If applied correctly, vinegar works too for hard surface areas like sidewalks / driveway cracks ..though it won't work on tough grasses like Bermuda ( Glyphosphate didn't work either ) . That stuff requires literal surgery to permanently eliminate lol..

As far as banning it, that is happening world- wide..  Expect other stuff to get the Ax next, soon.

Monsanto recently blinked in a staring contest with Mexico..   https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/monsanto-drops-lawsuit-mexico-gm-corn-ban/

[TomJ]

I've been using it for years and love it.

[Tomas]

Here in Europe glyphosate was recently banned from commerce, but reintroduced in 2024.

Roundup is still the commercial name for glyphosate

 

It is the most used herbicide worldwide and the less poluting (which does not mean it is not)

[miamicuse]

I have a section next to my swale covered with gravel about 12-16" deep.  Had a commercial pavement roller rolled and compacted it down.  Weeds still grow.  Can't hand pull because the stones are compacted tight like concrete.  It takes a chisel to loosen a few stones just to pull the weeds loose.

[Dwarf Fan]

I always pull weeds by hand to avoid using cancer causing and environmentally toxic chemicals on my land. 
 

My plants and my family don’t need toxic chemicals sprayed into our paradise.

[rprimbs]

When I worked in landscape maintenance I loved Roundup.  In my experience when I sprayed an area with Roundup, over a period of time, little would grow back there.  I don't know if it just remained active in the soil, or whether it destroyed the soil.  

[NorCalWill]

One of my neighbors planted Distictis buccinatoria 20 years ago, and Round-up is the only thing that kills the suckers that pop up everywhere in my garden including under my decks and even under my house.

It also help control the yellow Oxalis that takes over in the winter and spring. Pulling that out just spreads the little bulbs.

What else do you use on Poison Oak?

If you have to use Round-up, wear a mask, gloves, goggles, and do it when the wind isn't blowing.

[Merlyn]

3" of mulch is the best weed preventer overall, but every time you pull a weed's roots through the mulch...you disturb the "sterilizing layer" of mulch and then more weeds pop up literally overnight.  And they grow from a single leaf to 3 feet tall and flowering in a week.  So yep, I use Glyphosate + Dawn dish soap several times per year.  I've never killed an unwanted plant with it.  If you accidentally spray a good plant, just wash it off immediately with water.  I've done that a LOT over the past 5 or 6 years. 

It binds to soil and is not a significant groundwater contaminant.  Soil microbes break it down in around 2 months, so it is NOT a "forever chemical" that sterilizes the soil.  There are a bunch of herbicides that do that.  IIRC Spectracide is Diquat and Dicamra which are probably just as bad or worse than Glyphosate.

Just today I've gone through the whole yard and sprayed 3 gallons of Glyphosate + 2-3 drops of Dawn.  I hand pulled all the weeds up close to the good plants.  In a week hopefully all the weeds and grass-in-the-wrong-spot will be dead.

[NorCalWill]

3 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

3" of mulch is the best weed preventer overall, but every time you pull a weed's roots through the mulch...you disturb the "sterilizing layer" of mulch and then more weeds pop up literally overnight.  And they grow from a single leaf to 3 feet tall and flowering in a week.  So yep, I use Glyphosate + Dawn dish soap several times per year.  I've never killed an unwanted plant with it.  If you accidentally spray a good plant, just wash it off immediately with water.  I've done that a LOT over the past 5 or 6 years. 

It binds to soil and is not a significant groundwater contaminant.  Soil microbes break it down in around 2 months, so it is NOT a "forever chemical" that sterilizes the soil.  There are a bunch of herbicides that do that.  IIRC Spectracide is Diquat and Dicamra which are probably just as bad or worse than Glyphosate.

Just today I've gone through the whole yard and sprayed 3 gallons of Glyphosate + 2-3 drops of Dawn.  I hand pulled all the weeds up close to the good plants.  In a week hopefully all the weeds and grass-in-the-wrong-spot will be dead.

What does the Dawn do?

[Merlyn]

@NorCalWill Dawn (or any dish soap) breaks down the waxy or oily coating on the leaves, making the herbicide (of any kind) absorb into the leaf faster and more reliably.  They sell "surfactant" additives for herbicides that are essentially just soaps.  I just have a small hand soap sized bottle of Dawn on the back porch, and squirt a bit in there when I mix a gallon.