I can't use weedkillers now in my garden in France, apart from noxious acid. They have been banned. No more glyphosate, which was what I always used on the drive and paving. The worms will have to go to the lawn and borders.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I understand people not wanting to use Roundup or similar but, for me, Roundup is quick and easy to use and extremely effective. I just spray the entire area every 6 weeks or so throughout the growing season and have very little trouble with weeds.
All regular 'kill everything' weedkillers which are sold to the general public are Glyphosate based, they'll permanently kill some things, but not others. It depends how delicate it is. It'll kill grass dead, end of. Forget it, that won't be coming back and it's re-seeding time if you want some more. Common weeds* with good and deep root systems will die back for about 6 months before they come back again because the roots have not been killed. With these you have to apply the Weedkiller twice a year until it gets fed up and does not come back.
So if the weed killer goes to the roots, which are growing in the soil, the weed killer goes into the soil.
If people want to use weed killer that’s entirely their choice but I don’t think we are fully aware of any possible damage to the microorganisms living in the soil. So I don’t use it. A few years ago I tried it on bindweed which was out of control but then after one application I felt too guilty. Personal choice.
I can't use weedkillers now in my garden in France, apart from noxious acid. They have been banned. No more glyphosate, which was what I always used on the drive and paving. The worms will have to go to the lawn and borders.
What would happen if you took some with you from the UK? You might find it's banned for sale, but not for use... There is another type of weedkiller which we can get in the UK, IDK about France. It's banned as a weedkiller, but sold as a compost accelerator (IIRC). I only know that much about it. You do know there are also other 'proper' non-Glyphosate weedkillers available which will do the job too?
So if the weed killer goes to the roots, which are growing in the soil, the weed killer goes into the soil.
It does not. Not at all. It's retained in the plant 100%. It gets taken in through the leaf and nothing else. If you use Glyph based 'killer you can re-seed the next week. All soil poisoning weedkillers were taken off the market years ago now for that very reason, that's why we've still got Glyph. People are circumnavigating this ban by pouring on their own home-made noxious solutions. The powers that be know better than the general public, that's why we're allowed what is sold to us.
Most of the weedkillers I see in the GCs are not Glyph based any more and in my experience they are not as effective. In fact I think they are a waste of money so I won't buy them any more.
I can't use weedkillers ..//... apart from noxious acid.
I'm quoting Busy-Lizzie but she in turn has borrowed the phrase"noxious acid" from some post above. B-L is probably being ironic.
Why is the word chemicals so often preceded by "noxious"?
Acetic acid couldn't be more eco-friendly. Apples rot to sugars, sugars ferment to ethyl alcohol, which is oxidised to CO2 and H2O. What could be less noxious? I admit that worms don't like vinegar and it brings them to the surface where they wriggle away. Worms would drown in saturated soil, but they move on.
Foxgloves are packed full of chemicals, most benefiicial, some poisonous. I happily put foxgloves on my compost heap, but never eat it.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
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It'll kill grass dead, end of. Forget it, that won't be coming back and it's re-seeding time if you want some more.
Common weeds* with good and deep root systems will die back for about 6 months before they come back again because the roots have not been killed.
With these you have to apply the Weedkiller twice a year until it gets fed up and does not come back.
*Such as docs, dandys, nettles, thistles.
There is another type of weedkiller which we can get in the UK, IDK about France. It's banned as a weedkiller, but sold as a compost accelerator (IIRC). I only know that much about it.
You do know there are also other 'proper' non-Glyphosate weedkillers available which will do the job too?
If you use Glyph based 'killer you can re-seed the next week.
All soil poisoning weedkillers were taken off the market years ago now for that very reason, that's why we've still got Glyph.
People are circumnavigating this ban by pouring on their own home-made noxious solutions.
The powers that be know better than the general public, that's why we're allowed what is sold to us.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Why is the word chemicals so often preceded by "noxious"?
Acetic acid couldn't be more eco-friendly. Apples rot to sugars, sugars ferment to ethyl alcohol, which is oxidised to CO2 and H2O. What could be less noxious? I admit that worms don't like vinegar and it brings them to the surface where they wriggle away. Worms would drown in saturated soil, but they move on.
Foxgloves are packed full of chemicals, most benefiicial, some poisonous. I happily put foxgloves on my compost heap, but never eat it.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."