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environmentally safe weed killer recommendations needed

gaseousclay

gaseousclay

it's that time of year and the weeds have begun invading my yard without mercy. so far i've only seen dandelions and creeping charlie but i'm sure there's a few more out there that've yet to rear their ugly heads.

so, can any of you recommend an environmentally safe weed killer that's safe to use on my yard? I don't know if that's an oxymoron because anything that uses chemicals shouldn't be safe. however, my coworker was telling me of some stuff he uses that contains 2, 4d which supposedly only has a 7 day half-life and won't get into the water table. i'm also concerned about potential runoff towards the lake by my house. I want to rid my yard of weeds once and for all but I don't want to contaminate the environment, especially my neighborhood. i'm looking for something potent that's guaranteed to kill any and all weeds without damaging mother nature
 
DavyRay

DavyRay

It's just a personal opinion, but I favor one of two approaches.

1. On my own yard, mother nature decides what to grow there on the "grassy" areas. I have fescue, bermuda grass, plantain, dandelions, lilacs, periwinkles, lamb's ear, yucca, and anything else. I mow it all down to a reasonable height. I don't spend money on fertilizer or weed killer, except for Round-Up. I use this, surgically, to kill poison ivy. Spray directly on the leaves. Wait a few days, repeat. Watch that overspray.

2. I have neighbors who have their lawn killed once a season. They re-seed with fescue grass seed. Their lawn looks great until the frost.

Any in-between approach is just accepting the advertising propaganda from Scotts.
 
gaseousclay

gaseousclay

luvmysuper said:
This is much more environmentally friendly than burning them out.
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I have a weed hound that's quite useful in uprooting dandelions. the problem is it's not solving anything. i've probably uprooted 3 bags worth of dandelions but they keep coming back. I guess I wouldn't necessarily have to use weed killer on my entire lawn but considering how expensive product it seems more efficient this way.
 
luvmysuper

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
gaseousclay said:
I have a weed hound that's quite useful in uprooting dandelions. the problem is it's not solving anything. i've probably uprooted 3 bags worth of dandelions but they keep coming back. I guess I wouldn't necessarily have to use weed killer on my entire lawn but considering how expensive product it seems more efficient this way.
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I'm with DavyRay on this, unless you have a budget for a groundskeeper, the best you're going to do is get the stuff that "stands out".
The Movie Style lawn takes a movie style budget to keep it looking that way.
 
Omnichron

Omnichron

gaseousclay said:
it's that time of year and the weeds have begun invading my yard without mercy. so far i've only seen dandelions and creeping charlie but i'm sure there's a few more out there that've yet to rear their ugly heads.

so, can any of you recommend an environmentally safe weed killer that's safe to use on my yard? I don't know if that's an oxymoron because anything that uses chemicals shouldn't be safe. however, my coworker was telling me of some stuff he uses that contains 2, 4d which supposedly only has a 7 day half-life and won't get into the water table. i'm also concerned about potential runoff towards the lake by my house. I want to rid my yard of weeds once and for all but I don't want to contaminate the environment, especially my neighborhood. i'm looking for something potent that's guaranteed to kill any and all weeds without damaging mother nature
Click to expand...
make some strong tobacco tea... enough for spray bottle. Nicotine kills pests. To the spray bottle add a few drops of liquid soap. this helps the concoction stick. That's about as environmentally friendly as it gets, and it works very well.
 
gollum83

gollum83

Omnichron said:
make some strong tobacco tea... enough for spray bottle. Nicotine kills pests. To the spray bottle add a few drops of liquid soap. this helps the concoction stick. That's about as environmentally friendly as it gets, and it works very well.
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Yes, yes. Let's give those weeds some extra protection. :lol:
 
R

rollsrook

There are only 2 true environmentally safe options for selectively (not killing everything) getting rid of weeds in your lawn right now. One is called the Green Guardian and the other is called IronX. Both are very expensive, and have somewhat hit or miss results. I get good control of dandelions, plantain and other larger broadleaf weeds with these materials. Clover is spotty, and wild strawberries, ground ivy and violets require a "weed buster" treatment (treating 3 times in 4 weeks). Both are designed to knock back the weeds and have a little fertilizer or iron to have the grass fill in. If you have thick weeds, it's probably easier to kill with a non-selective product (Vinegar or Round-Up) and re-seed.

The best thing you can do to keep weeds out is use proper cultural practices. Mow high, if you must irrigate do it deep and infrequent (you want the roots to chase water) and plant disease and drought resistant varieties. Nature doesn't like mono-cultures, but using what was mentioned in this paragraph will help.

BTW, I run the lawn care division for an organic lawn/tree/product company.
 
M

Mr. Clean

Several good suggestions already noted above. Building soil health, avoiding a monoculture, mowing higher, managing water etc. All of those will certainly help in reducing (but not totally eliminating) the number of weeds in the lawn over a period of time. I've been caring for this lawn via these methods for 15 years and I still have weeds. So long as the winds blow and birds fly and your neighbors have weeds this will happen, so don't be discouraged. :biggrin1:

For spot treating weeds, choose the vinegar method noted in the above post. But you don't have to use 20%, which is H-O-T and can cause injury without taking precautions. 10% will suffice. Fill your sprayer with vinegar, and orange oil (@ 2 oz./gal), and a few drops of liquid dish detergent. Spray in the early morning hours and let the sun go to work.

Note: If you can only find 20% (Lowe's carries it down here), cut it with some water and you will do fine.
 
azmark

azmark

I work for one of the largest landscape and irrigation distributors in the world that sell to the wholesale market. I asked one of our experts and she said that corn cob mix that is grounded up but we don't sell it but can be found in some farm supply places. Also Round Up because it's basically salt. Round Up also deactivates when it touches the soil so any run off is safe.

She's looking for the spec sheet on the corn cob product so I'll post it if it's a link.
 
M

Mr. Clean

azmark said:
I work for one of the largest landscape and irrigation distributors in the world that sell to the wholesale market. I asked one of our experts and she said that corn cob mix that is grounded up but we don't sell it but can be found in some farm supply places. Also Round Up because it's basically salt. Round Up also deactivates when it touches the soil so any run off is safe.
She's looking for the spec sheet on the corn cob product so I'll post it if it's a link.
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I have to ask if you're getting this information from Monsanto or has your company done independent testing? Check the first component listed on Round-Up it is not salt, it is glyphosphate. Now go g@@gle glyphosate, check it's toxicity (Toxicity to humans, including carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and acute toxicity. )and search for how it does not always break down before it reaches and contaminates ground water.
 
azmark

azmark

Mr. Clean said:
I have to ask if you're getting this information from Monsanto or has your company done independent testing? Check the first component listed on Round-Up it is not salt, it is glyphosphate. Now go g@@gle glyphosate, check it's toxicity (Toxicity to humans, including carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and acute toxicity. )and search for how it does not always break down before it reaches and contaminates ground water.
Click to expand...

We don't do independent testing but our buyers are chemists but I think the gal that buys Monsato products was a developer for Simplot which is competitor of Monsato. But without asking her I do know that some of our locations sell Round Up to schools and other public agencys and have been approved because it's safe. But that doesn't mean go drink it and yes glyphosate does all that and that's why it's registered as a pesticide and if you're using it in a commercial application you need an applicators license in most states. With all pesticides there are applications instructions and if you keep looking under the Monsato site you'll find their MSDS sheet that explains it. A big reason why we don't carry "environmentally safe" products is because they work poorly and people don't want to pay for them.

Would you rub lye all over your face if it was 100% in shaving soap? Of course not but the right amount makes it safe.
 
M

Mr. Clean

The thread title clearly reads environmentally safe weed killer recommendations needed for those who wish to do the research will likely conclude that Round-Up's properties would exclude it from this specific discussion.

If it is so safe, why is a license required? I'm guessing that is because training is involved related to usage, protective clothing etc.; yet they turn the product loose on a homeowner with only the instructions on the container. Great idea!

As far as enivronmentally safe products performing adequately, I disagree. There are a growing number of retailers and distributors in this area that have found that they (organic based products - herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers) work quite well and there is a large enough market to support several entities.
 
B

buyandhold2018

These work great...

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and you are also aerating your lawn, so if you overseed and fertilize, the benefits are even greater.

You may also want to look into overseeding with blend of seed such as Eco-Lawn; very slow growing, drought resistence and less maintenance in the years to come.
 
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