From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Nc

I have one small patch and last year I let the vines just grow out into the grass. Would it be ok to use round up to kill the grass and weeds to reduce competion in the area where the vines will spread out?

Or could this put something bad in the soil that may hurt my plants?

2/21/2005 9:25:37 AM

Rexburg, Idaho (brianchristensenmd@gmail.com )

Do it before you plant. There is a chance of wind drift and pumpkins are very susceptible. I would not use it anywhere close to pumpkin plants. It's okay to use it in the spring before the plants are in, there is no residual that will cause problems.

2/21/2005 9:42:18 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Roundup is not a soil sterilant so it only kills what it touches and is growing...I actually kills the plant by over excellerating growth...exploding the cells...should be fine.

2/21/2005 9:44:43 AM

San Diego

don't use it around a growing plant, wind drift can totally nail your plant and seriously damage it, this happened to me last year from one of my neighbors who sprayed. Jimmy

2/21/2005 1:14:32 PM

Pocatello (cliffwarren@yahoo.com)

The best tool for taking care of weeds is called a stirrup hoe
or sometimes also called a "hula-hoe".

2/21/2005 1:28:55 PM

Ottawa, Ohio

Use a spray sheild or set up a temperary tarp. Also use a spray tip that makes big drop and use low pressure. Or use a propane tourch to kill the grass. I have sprayed a vine on my watermelon plants by mistake before and I just washed it off real quick. It didn't hurt it. Also on some regular watermelons I sprayed the vine in between rows and didn't wash it off. It didn't kill the whole plant but it turned that vine yellow where I sprayed it.

2/21/2005 8:53:48 PM

Syracuse, NY

i've seen a lot of names on this site but i think i like that one quite a bit---"wrench", lol!

ummm, keep in mind that no matter what you do, pretty much, once you bare the soil, any little airborne seeds will try to populate the soil you are reserving for your pumpkin plants' secondaries. you could kill the heck out of the grass, then cover it with weed-block, BLACK weed block, and
then roll it up gradually as the vines advance, being sure to BURY the vines, or else it is not accomplishing much.
like "rolling out the red carpet"; what good is it, really?
dig a trench where the vine will go, and then lay the growing vine in the trench and cover it with the soil you removed when making the trench. hmmm, maybe i'll try this...

2/22/2005 1:45:28 AM

Esneux / Liège / BELGIUM

Don't use Roundup at all.


Sophie

2/22/2005 2:26:27 AM

Hilpoltstein, Bavaria, Germany

JAB gave some pretty good ideas. I can only second the thoughts of using a spray shield and a spray tip for bigger drops. Also, only spay when windless.

The propane often doesn't kill the roots of the weeds and they will be fine again after a few weeks. So the Roundup is probably still the best choice.

Martin

Martin

2/22/2005 6:26:26 AM

huntsburg,ohio

Did some experiming last season with round up.I sprayed underneath the leaves on the weeds and got some on the leaf stalks and it never hurt plant but killed all weeds.Now mind you this was on a plant i had split fruit and didn't care about and these were totally mature leaves.Gonna do more this summer will let you know.Jerry

2/22/2005 8:54:31 AM

Streator ,Illinois

Here is what I have done around flowers and pumpkins , take a oil funnel (you can get a local gas station, free) cut the opening to fit , duct tape it to the shaft and have it 1-2 inches lower then the spayer tip, keeper to the ground and you will have no over spray.
Good luck
Gene

2/22/2005 11:41:46 AM

Pocatello (cliffwarren@yahoo.com)

Keep in mind, a stirrup hoe is cheaper, quicker (removes
weeds immediately), and easier (you don't have to mess with
tanks, mixing chemicals, etc.), and safer overall than dealing
with roundup during the season. Yes, you have to come back
later and do it again, as you would with roundup.

I think its a fascination with chemicals... use it on
weeds in your sidewalks or whatever... but in the patch it's
just better to have a good tool.

2/22/2005 12:47:51 PM

huntsburg,ohio

Cliff i use stirup hoe too (have 2 of them)but i'm also incorparating round up in the late season when i don't want to disturb things as much.Its about immpposible over burried vines to use the stir up with out disturbing things.Jerry

2/22/2005 1:58:17 PM

Nc

Thanks for all the info and good ideas.

As for the screen name "wrench" thats one of my nicknames from many years ago!

2/22/2005 5:13:21 PM

Pocatello (cliffwarren@yahoo.com)

Wow, you are using them close to your plants!

I just pull them, but what do I know... ;-)

2/22/2005 5:24:34 PM

Syracuse, NY

here's what i did for weeds on a broad scale last year:
i made a framework, a very simple box out of 2" X 3" x 8'
building boards...i think it may have been a giant square
8 feet by 8 feet and 4 feet high, surrounded on three sides by plastic. i also put two wheels on the two back corners of the thing. so, what i could do was spray Roundup inside the thing, pretty much as close as i dared to to the plants,
and then just step inside the box and move it until it was at the point at which the spray had ended from the previous spraying. spray, move, spray, move. always stopping short of where the spray had ended, for overlap.
this may be difficult to envision; i should put it in my diary, but i may not have pictures of it. it worked very well, and prevented virtually all overspray or drift.
i also let the plastic hang down about 6 inches all the weigh around where it was secured, sort of like a little "seal" to further prevent splashing or misting-out from under the plastic. couple days---weeds be done for! EG

2/22/2005 6:39:34 PM