Weed killer?

[gwill23]

Ok so I have read some of the posts on here about killing weeds and I have seen a few people who say that their chickens don't have any adverse affects with it.

I usually use the tractor with a 100 gal sprayer on the back and spray the driveways and such. We have mullen, and thistle really bad. I also like to spray a broadleaf only spray in the lawn. I know I usually move the horses for a few weeks after I spray.

So should I worry about the chickens. They are just free range all day long. I put them up at night and leave them in when I am gone but I would hate to pen them up for too long. I don't want to pay for the extra food but I don't really have a big enough out door run for them to move around.

So should I worry or not?

 

[Qi Chicken]

I'm sorry I don't know but we are getting our lawn sprayed next week and I also want to know this answer. I was planning on keeping them off the grass for about a week too.

 

[blacktailsmom]

Could you rig a temporary pen in the area you want decimated? I find my chickens bruttaly maul just about any plant. If they don't like it, they just rip it apart and leave it for dead.

 

[GardeNerd]

I will not disagree that glyphosate based broad spectrum herbicides (like Roundup) are very effective in killing plants, but they are highly toxic to birds and fish. Thus, I would not use Roundup around where the chickens come in contact... ever. These herbicides stay tied up in the soil, especially soils high in organic matter, for up to 6 months. Rain and irrigation do not leach it from the soil. It is broken down by microbes. If I had to use an chemical herbicide on a large area (however, I probably wouldn't) I would keep my pets and kids off the area twice as long as instructions on the bag recommends, just to be safe. I would also make sure the shoes that walk on the area don't come in the house and track the chemicals on to the floors and carpets.

As you can probably guess, I am an organic gardener. My favorite weed killers (other than my chickens,) are boiling water, vinegar, newspaper, and corn gluten meal.


Boiling Water essentially cooks the existing plants and their roots if it goes deep enough. I like it because it is cheap, is readily available, and no long term side effects.

Vinegar works best on the surface areas of plants, but not as much of the root systems. That is probably why some folks like to add salt to a mix with it. I generally would not recommend using salt in the garden. Around me, most folks have heavy clay soils. Adding sodium causes decreased fertility and impermeability in clay soil, unless someone is trying to get a long term or permanently barren area like a driveway. Vinegar is less effective on plants with tap roots like dandelions or rhizomes like bermunda grass, and it is not an ideal long term solution. It can lower the pH of the soil and if you have alkaline soil that isn't a problem, but if it is acidic already you could be causing other issues. Use vinegar early on a sunny hot day for best results. Adding the dish soap acts an anionic surfactant, thus making the vinegar wetter and stick better.

Corn Gluten or Corn Meal doesn't kill already growing weeds, but it works as a pre-emergent organic herbicide on the seeds. I just buy a big bag of corn meal and spread it out in the fall where I don't want annual weeds to come up. I usually use this on the lawn. The bagged commercial versions of corn gluten sold for this purpose aren't cheap.

Newspaper- A thick layer, wetted and then covered with mulch is very effective at smothering weeds and as it decomposes it actually helps to improve the soil underneath. This is my favorite long term solution for large areas. In addition, I can be planted over or small areas can be cut away to plant in.

 

[Teresaann24]

Quote:
thanks for that this has worked good for me!

 

[crittersitter]

Will this kill poison ivy also?

 

[fiberart57]

Please remember that Roundup and 2, 4-D is a dioxin and dioxins are very toxic. While it may take longer to kill things with vinegar, I use that.

Remember also that many weeds have limited life cycles. Mullein for example is a plant that only lives for two years; remainders come up from seed. When the mullein blooms, then cut off the flower head and the rest of the plant follows.

Mary