Non-systemic Weed Killer?

[CT Tobaccoman]

Looking for some info on weed killer. I won't use Roundup once I have plants in the ground, and I cultivate between rows, but some areas in my growing space get invaded heavily by grasses from a very nearby hay field. I need to pick some brains to find week killer chemicals that can be applied topically to weeds and will not get into the soil or affect any tobacco plants growing nearby. There is only so much that I can do by hand about weeds, so I need to occasionally kill them chemically.
Any ideas?

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Glacial Acetic acid ( aka pure vinegar). If you spray it onto the leaves while they are getting full sun it will kill them.... real good.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Glacial Acetic acid ( aka pure vinegar). If you spray it onto the leaves while they are getting full sun it will kill them.... real good.

Wear ppe.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Wear ppe.

Probably a good idea. I used the stuff for a few years but never wore any protective gear at all. I was always spraying plants that were typically less than 3 feet high so I wasn't worried about the spray falling back onto me.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I use about a cup of it to mix 10 gallons of photographic stop bath. The few times I've gotten a drop on my skin, it burned.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I use about a cup of it to mix 10 gallons of photographic stop bath.

That's pretty much what I used to do when I had a darkroom... in the 70's
I'm thinking that when I retire (in 3 years) I'm going to set up the darkroom again..... and see what develops..
But then again I'll only be about an hour drive from Bob's place so I might be too busy sneaking over his house at night and replanting his tobacco into different rows.

 

[deluxestogie]

The few times I've gotten a drop on my skin, it burned.

That triggers our own personal protective instinct. It burns. Guess I won't keep doing it that way. It's like spattering bacon grease.

By contrast, PPE (Personal protective equipment) is crucial when spraying toxins that don't sting, don't burn, don't discolor. The stuff that rots your liver or your brain without a hint. They provides no avoidance opportunity. Insecticides, herbicides, fungicides are all pretty sneaky in the ways they damage people.

Of course, I've never been burned while pulling weeds.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Of course, I've never been burned while pulling weeds.
Bob

I have. Buttercups.

 

[deluxestogie]

Ha! I do recall a burn on my knee (through jeans) from kneeling on some odious weed. I should wear polyproylene pants.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I should wear polyproylene pants.

Bob

Knock on wood.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Wear ppe.

Have to have the sun out for this acetic acid to work? What about grass aka hay? Hay from the landowner's hay field right next to my tobacco is the major invasive monster. I can kill it all pre plant and pull it out by the roots over the winter, but it all comes back again and gets 5 feet high in no time. It gets around the edges and among the vegetables and is soon too big to pull without damaging roots of plants I am growing. Weeds among the tobacco I pretty much control by cultivating and once it's August there's not much weed problems in the tobacco itself.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Yup.. spray it in full sun. It works pretty well if you give the leaves of the weed a pretty good coating. Not as good as the nasty synthetics (like Roundup) but probably one of the better 'natural' sprays. As far as hay, it should work but I've never tried it.