Round up and related questions

[chicknmania]

I talked to a Monsanto chemist and he put all my fears to rest, basically. And, yes, our neighbor is very responsible, and has been a farmer for about forty years. So, we're going with it....thanks for the help,

 

[thomast77]

I would not use roundup it is nasty stuff. You should watch a documentary about roundup called "The world according to Monsanto"
Here is a link
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6262083407501596844
It is about 2hrs long. I recommend you watch the whole thing but if you don't have the time skip to about the last 10 minutes where they show how it has affected a family living next to a field of round up ready soybeans in South America. He says it had killed 60 ducks and geese. And it is making his children sick.

 

[rainbowgardens]

A few years ago I was going to spray an area before putting in some landscaping. I was concerned about the baby birds that were nesting above and coming down to get bugs and practice flying.
I called up the company and asked the rep if it was safe for birds. She said that it was as safe as a teaspoon of salt. I told her about the baby birds and asked just how safe is a teaspoon of salt for a bird. She put me on hold. When she came back, she said her supervisor said not to spray it until nesting season was over.

 

[cybercat]

Quote:
No, Monsanto sells various lines of "Roundup-ready" soy that has been genetically engineered with a gene for roundup-resistance. Thus you can very easily 'weed' your whole field with glyphosate and almost literally ONLY the soy (which you bought at a premium from Monsanto, who also sold you the Roundup, is that clever moneymaking or WHAT) will survive.


Pat

One reason I like to stay away from soy products. yuck these plants are abosorbong this stuff in that they are sprayed with in the field. No wonder more people are sick everyday. You know if they took the time to till right herbacides would not be needed. But most farmers just want it done and over with and do not care how it effects the consumer.

 

[joebryant]

Sure wish that I had that offer from a farmer to plant Roundup/soybeans in my field. I'd insist on his doing it for TWO years in a row. I would not even ask for ANY compensation. After two years, the field would be devoid of almost all weed seeds, and I could plant it in NATIVE grasses and wildflowers by waiting until there was snow on the ground and then spread my seeds.
The Roundup/soybean method is the EASIEST way to start a top-grade native grass/forbs field.

EDIT: What better free ranging could your chickens do than on all-native grasses and flower seeds?

 

[CityChook]

Safe as a teaspoon of salt? Where in the world did THAT come from? Seriously unbelievable. I wouldn't want that chemical anywhere near my pets or my kids.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Quote:
I beg to differ! My FIL's field beside us has been farmed for years with round-up ready soybeans & corn and there are more weeds IMHO. The farmer comes in and sprays round-up a few weeks before planting, but especially for soybeans that are planted late May-beginning of June, some weeds have already spread seeds by this time because in a mild winter they have been green most of the time. Then he plants and a few weeks later comes and sprays the weeds in the little plants. Corn is the big offender here, as he does nothing else until harvest because the weeds only matter to small seedlings. By fall the field is a bloom with everything INCLUDING that darn, impossible to irradicate thistle. I have lived here 25 years and have NOT seen a decrease in weeds in that field. If my Dh did not brush hog around the edges of this field, we would have even more weeds! There are always some weeds in the middle of the field also that grow and bloom until November. We have had parts of the field that we grow stuff in killed by Round-up overspray when the guy is careless. Sorry, I would not take Monsanto's word on anything, but this is just my experience.

 

[chicknmania]

Quote:
Actually, that is ultimately what we want to do. If we do the land conservation deal in Ohio, you HAVE to farm it in beans or corn for three years first. That's why we want to do it. AND, if you want prairie, you HAVE to either do a controlled burn of the field, OR use Roundup, to kill everything before you plant the prairie seed. Farmer doesn't want to do a controlled burn, you can't do it this time of year anyway, and it creates it's own environmental problems. I couldn't care less about the beans...I want to restore the land to it's natural state to be a habitat for the wildlife here, and/or be able to change it to prairie land. And, apparently, Monsanto has brain washed the State into thinking the stuff's ok,, but, before you criticize the company, it wouldn't hurt to have a basic understanding of how the product works. It is NOT poison. I'm not defending them or saying it's not harmful...I'm just saying...we did our homework, we made our decision, and, too late, folks, we went with it. The chickens have been totally uninterested in the field, since the first day. The company doing the spraying won't spray the stuff for two more weeks, so there's less chance of it being nesting season for most birds. We did it as safely as we possibly could. Thanks for the input, we'll let you know how it works out.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
I beg to differ! My FIL's field beside us has been farmed for years with round-up ready soybeans & corn and there are more weeds IMHO. The farmer comes in and sprays round-up a few weeks before planting, but especially for soybeans that are planted late May-beginning of June, some weeds have already spread seeds by this time because in a mild winter they have been green most of the time. Then he plants and a few weeks later comes and sprays the weeds in the little plants. Corn is the big offender here, as he does nothing else until harvest because the weeds only matter to small seedlings. By fall the field is a bloom with everything INCLUDING that darn, impossible to irradicate thistle. I have lived here 25 years and have NOT seen a decrease in weeds in that field. If my Dh did not brush hog around the edges of this field, we would have even more weeds! There are always some weeds in the middle of the field also that grow and bloom until November. We have had parts of the field that we grow stuff in killed by Round-up overspray when the guy is careless. Sorry, I would not take Monsanto's word on anything, but this is just my experience.

I was describing what can be done with two straight years of Round-Up soybeans being planted. After the second year of beans are harvested, wait until the middle of winter and plant your native grasses and forbs (native flowers). Since you live in Ohio, scatter your seeds over the snow in December. The freezing and thawing of the ground will bury them for you.
This has worked for thousands of other people; can't imagine why it wouldn't work for you.

 

[chicknmania]

Thank you. I know you're not from Ohio, but do you know where I would find that type of seed in bulk? I haven't really researched it yet.