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John Galt6
Forward, March
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join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

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Re: Cheap & environmentally freindly way to kill grass & weeds?

said by public:
said by mityfowl:

Really something like Roundup is about the best for your needs and it's relatively environmentally benign.
If you believe that, there is a bridge for sale
»The World According To Monsanto
Oh, I don't know what you are so worried about. God plans to kill all of us anyway.

If you decide to use Roundup, just use the absolute minimum necessary and apply it very sparingly. Understand how it works and use it accordingly.

There is a BIG difference in using it as a spot treatment and applying it to vast acreages.

Use common sense with chemicals...ALL chemicals.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
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join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

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I have to avoid salt as it would come into direct contact with the concrete.

Not wanting to destroy the driveway to kill the weeds and grass

Heterman
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join:2004-02-28
Fayetteville, AR

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As already mentioned, Roundup (glyphosate) is a non-selective herbicide. What many don't bother to do is add in a surfactant which helps the product "stick" to the leaves and breaks down the wax, providing for better uptake by the plant. A little dishwashing liquid (Dawn, Joy, etc.) will do the trick nicely.

Brainless
Premium Member
join:2000-12-15
Nicholasville, KY

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Dog Piss, Yea, I said it. Dog Piss. My dogs have left brown patches all over my yard and nothing will grow there. And the best part.... Its Free!

natedj
Elected
Premium Member
join:2001-06-06
Irmo, SC

natedj

Premium Member

said by Brainless:

Dog Piss, Yea, I said it. Dog Piss. My dogs have left brown patches all over my yard and nothing will grow there. And the best part.... Its Free!
And how do supposed to harness this potion. I don't think rover will take kindly to being fondled.

DiscardedVet
Premium Member
join:2005-04-06
Sturgis, SD

1 edit

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Another Salt Here

Add another one for regular table salt. I just got done doing my front walkways and "supposed to be a garden" area, heh. It kills it in the cracks of the walkways (brick) as well. Be liberal with it, it's just salt, and cheap. Not one weed left, nor anyting growing back.

Ditto on the "Roundup sucks", all that stuff does is temporarily turn the weeds brown .... they're nice anc green in 5 days.

heels_fan
1.20.09 The start of Socialism
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join:2003-02-07
Columbia, TN

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Re: Cheap & environmentally freindly way to kill grass & weeds?

Round up has ALWAYS worked for me.
I mix mine a little stronger than the direction indicate, but sure enough it kills the weed.
HarryH3
Premium Member
join:2005-02-21

HarryH3

Premium Member

As I moved to different areas of the country over the years, I observed that Round Up works very well in humid climates but doesn't work well at all in arid climates. I don't know if the dry air causes it to dry too quickly or what the problem is, but it didn't work nearly as well for me in Colorado Springs as it did in Houston.

Karride
Slower Traffic Keep Right
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join:2000-04-17
Germantown, TN

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I'll place a 3rd vote in for salt dissolved in water. After making some Ice Cream with my ex I accidentally dropped the brine bucket in the backyard and killed a generous patch of her grandmothers precious zoysia grass, quite quickly too. Her grandmother never did let me hear the end of it, you'd think that grass was made of gold or something.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
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Tulsa, OK
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KrK

Premium Member

Guys, you can't use salt on concrete. It destroys cement!

I'm sure salt would work wonders on the weeds tho... I just can't use it on the driveway TY tho for the suggestions!

stev32k
Premium Member
join:2000-04-27
Mobile, AL

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stev32k

Premium Member

said by KrK:

Guys, you can't use salt on concrete. It destroys cement!
I don't why you would think that, but it's simply not true. Cities that salt the streets to melt ice in the winter have problems with cracks and pot holes, but it's not because of the salt. The problem is the salt melts the ice and melt water fill the cracks, and small holes. When the melt water re-freezes the ice expands and enlarges the cracks and holes.

Common table salt will not have any effect on concrete at all.

P.S. You may be confusing rock salt with table salt. The two are not the same compound. Rock salt is composed of Calcium, Magnesium, and potassium chlorides. Table salt is sodium chloride.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
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Tulsa, OK
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KrK

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Salt damages concrete due to the way it acts on freezing/refreezing cycles, but apparently it also can heavily damage cement that is still curing.

Why does salt cause so much damage to some concrete?

In winter, when salt combines with water it is absorbed into concrete and becomes diluted in varying concentrations at varying depths. At a depth of about 5mm, the solution is so weak that the freezing point is near the regular freezing point of water (0°C). The top layer of concrete is very sensitive to minor temperature changes. Not only is it a narrow freezing zone, it also reacts to all temperature changes from -14° to 0° C. For instance, if the temperature drops from -4° to -5°C, a very thin layer will freeze.

The concrete that is saturated with enough salt to have a freezing point lower than -5° will remain unfrozen. Even slight changes in temperature lead to very fine divisions of freezing/thawing zones within the concrete. A drop of a three thousandth of a degree in temperature would freeze a layer of concrete a thousandth of a millimetre thick. Any change, no matter how small, between 0° and -15° will cause freezing or thawing of a thin layer in that critical top 5mm. Temperature changes caused by a passing cloud, an opened door, or even the infinitesimal change caused by body heat are a few of the hundreds of factors that cause minor fluctuations every day. Each change is a half of a freeze/thaw cycle.

On freezing, water expands about 10% and, if restrained, creates stresses that no concrete can withstand. The presence of salt in the cement in varying concentrations leads to many freezing/thawing cycles occurring in the surface and near surface of the concrete... literally tearing it apart and breaking it up.

Here's some more quotes:
quote:
"If you put salt on a concrete driveway or walkway within the first year, the surface will begin to peel and may not stop until it's gone. The salt doesn't have to be deliberately applied, either - what drips from your car may be enough. It is possible to mix the concrete to resist salt damage, but this has to be done at the batch plant, and will add to the cost of the work."

garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI

garys_2k

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How old is your driveway? If it's older than a year you're fine with salt in non-freezing weather.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
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Tulsa, OK

KrK

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Ya but if the salt stays there killing the plants it will be present when winter does come around...

DiscardedVet
Premium Member
join:2005-04-06
Sturgis, SD

DiscardedVet

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said by KrK:

Ya but if the salt stays there killing the plants it will be present when winter does come around...

Uh, only if you don't have one drop of rain between now and winter.

garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI

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It won't, but if you're that worried then a few minutes with the hose a month or so after the application will wash it away.

Use the salt, it will work and your concrete won't be bothered.

I used to use my favorite defoliant, equal parts of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D, but you can't get that any more...

seqrets
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join:2001-05-03
Nederland, TX

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The 7 Deadly Homemade Weed Killers/Grass.

seaquake
MVM
join:2001-03-23
Millersville, MD

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We uncovered our pool yesterday. Put the tarp out on the back lawn so I could wash it and let it dry. It was out there for all of 4 hours on a sunny day (no clouds) and 78F temperatures. Today, you can see exactly where it was because the grass is brown. Not a big deal since I want the grass in that area to die and for the Zoysia to take over.

So I'd recommend a dark tarp over the area you want to kill. It will only be a short lived solution though, killing the existing plants. After that you will need to use some type of ingredient. I saw salt mentioned but you have to be very careful that what you use is safe for concrete.