Weedkiller: how much water?

Merlin5 · 20 May 2016 at 16:36

Hey guys, I'm about to put Glyphosate down. On the instructions it mentions watering can and also Sprayer. Since my watering can has a Rose, does that count as a Sprayer? Reason I ask is that they stipulate different amounts of water depending on watering can or Sprayer and I just bought a new 6L can with a Rose. So I don't know if it wants 1 or 4L of water.

Borealis · 20 May 2016 at 16:59

No, they expect you to use a watering can with a rose/weedkiller bar or a pressurised sprayer.

What are you trying to kill off? If you're trying to get rid of a real nightmare weed (ground elder, bindweed etc), mix it up stronger than the packet says.

And for goodness sake, make sure you DON'T use that watering can for anything else other than weedkiller!

Merlin5 · 20 May 2016 at 17:26

Thanks Borealis. Definitely won't use the can for anything else. I've used this weedkiller before to good effect on my garden, but was never sure about how much water. So I always mixed 4L water to 45ml glyphosate concentrate.

My lawn will be replaced soon as I get closer to selling, but I put the mower over it a couple of days ago and pulled up loads of weeds, if was all very overgrown. I couldn't tell you what the names are of the weeds, but mostly nettles. This is my garden right now. Just want to keep the weeds down for a while. There isn't much grass left anyway.

bazzabear · 20 May 2016 at 17:33

If you put turf down over ground you've covered with weedkiller, will it not likely kill the new grass? Not sure how long the effect lasts.

Borealis · 20 May 2016 at 18:04

Glyphosate breaks down/becomes inert on contact with the soil. The existing plants will be poisoned, but anything new won't be. You won't be putting turf down straight away so it's fine. It's not like you're using Triclopyr which does poison the ground (Triclopyr is not too chemically dissimilar to Agent Orange).

If it's just nettles and the usual nuisance weeds, then the standard box dilution will be fine. It's a shame that nettles are a pest because they are amazing for insects and pollinators.

I wouldn't bother trying to re-seed that grass, it's pretty much had it. Better to weedkiller it and start again.