Recommend herbicide for weed control

[SmokeStack]

Last year I used rolls of weed barrier between rows to control weeds and it did a great job. However, between plants I had a lot of weeds growing and some were very tall. I tried to control them by manually pulling them out, but, since I had a large amount of plants and very little time, I could not keep up with the weeding. I don't like to use chemicals (even though I'm a chemist) on my plants, but I need to find an easier and quicker way to control weeds. Is there an herbicide that I can use between tobacco plants without killing the tobacco plants? Or is there an herbicide that I can apply before I transplant seedlings to the field?

 

[Knucklehead]

Use landscape cloth on your rows. Cut an X and put in a plant every three feet. It allows water to pass through.

 

[Boboro]

Yes, Its a preemerge You till it in a mounth before plantin. Its made for home gardens but I forget the name. Its in my last years log if you can wade through the nonsence.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Full strength acetic acid does the trick. It works best if you spray the plants when they are in full sun. Some of the Ag supply places around me sell the stuff. The lesser strength stuff "vinegar" at only 3% is way too weak to kill weeds. It is not nearly as effective as Roundup, but it does work.

Lancaster Agriculture Products sells it as "White Vinegar (200 grain) CFU" for $8.59/gallon or $115.00/15 gallons
717-687-9222

Not sure what shipping would be, it might have to ship "hazardous"

 

[Michibacy]

Organic, fat reducing herbicide.
If you're not that motivated use the landscape fabric previously mentioned. I try and stay away from herbicides as much as possible when dealing with consumable products

 

[istanbulin]

Acetic acid will work but for a limited time because it may not kill the weed entirely. After a while weed may sproud from its roots again. Before selecting a herbicide it's better to know the weeds in your area. When you know the weeds it's easier to control them.

For example, for Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense) there's a biological solution, radish. Just crash radish into small pieces and mix it with soil. I don't know if Johnson grass is a problem in the US but it's nearly the biggest weed problem here generally in cotton fields.

Here's a photo of Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense).

 

[indianjoe]

Oh yea, we got lots of Johnson Grass.

 

[SmokeStack]

There are so many different types of weeds growing that it would be impossible to identify all of them and then to use an herbicide for each one. Glacial acetic acid sounds like an environmentally friendly way to go, but I wonder if it would lower the pH of the soil. Additionally, it seems like glacial acetic acid is cost prohibitive - I got a quote from the Science Company for $20 for a half liter. That's comes to about $160 per gallon. I'm sure I could get it cheaper, but it would still be expensive.

At this point it seems like Round-Up is my best option. My only concern is that the Round-Up would seep into the soil and kill the nearby tobacco plant. I know that Round-Up works through the leaf so as long as I don't spray it on the tobacco plant, I should be OK - am I right?

I guess the only way to know for sure is to test it on a small area - unless someone tells me otherwise.

 

[Knucklehead]

There are so many different types of weeds growing that it would be impossible to identify all of them and then to use an herbicide for each one. Glacial acetic acid sounds like an environmentally friendly way to go, but I wonder if it would lower the pH of the soil. Additionally, it seems like glacial acetic acid is cost prohibitive - I got a quote from the Science Company for $20 for a half liter. That's comes to about $160 per gallon. I'm sure I could get it cheaper, but it would still be expensive.

At this point it seems like Round-Up is my best option. My only concern is that the Round-Up would seep into the soil and kill the nearby tobacco plant. I know that Round-Up works through the leaf so as long as I don't spray it on the tobacco plant, I should be OK - am I right?

I guess the only way to know for sure is to test it on a small area - unless someone tells me otherwise.

If the fabric worked well between the rows, why not use it in the rows. That's actually what it's made for. Landscapers use it under flower beds to keep out weeds. It passes water, no problem. In your area, the black fabric would also help heat the soil.

Reread the first sentence of your first post before you go the chemical route. My $0.02 for what that's worth.

 

[Chicken]

im in the same boat as you are,

and did the same thing last year,

im gonna roll my fabric, out and make my '' rows'' and then i may fill in the middle, where the weeds would be,

but i also plan on using it or getting some chicken wire, and making me a '' garden fence'' for the dogs,

so im intrested in what you plan on going with

 

[johnlee1933]

If the fabric worked well between the rows, why not use it in the rows. That's actually what it's made for. Landscapers use it under flower beds to keep out weeds. It passes water, no problem. In your area, the black fabric would also help heat the soil.

Reread the first sentence of your first post before you go the chemical route. My $0.02 for what that's worth.

I didn't jump in here before but I do like Knucks says. I cover the whole patch and cut X's where I want to put plants. It has worked very well for the last two years and I'm going to do it again this year. I think there is a real benefit in soil warming do to the black fabric. I get the occasional weed around the plants but so few it is no chore to pull them

 

[LeftyRighty]

I've used Scott's Turf Builder with Halts before - generally, it is a preemergent for preventing crabgrass & foxtail, and pretty much any weed, effective about 2 months. I buy it for my lawn, but hit the garden area also. I know the Halts can be obtained seperately, not with the fertilizer. There is also a product called Preen - another preemergent, for veggie gardens - have used it years ago for garden beds. If you can avoid or stop the weeds early, it makes life much easier.
A 'preemergent' prevents weed or other seeds from germinating, it won't kill growing weeds. Till your growing are first, then put down a preemergent.

I don't encourage non-organic methods. However, sometimes that's the only option that actually works for all general weeds.

 

[istanbulin]

There are so many different types of weeds growing that it would be impossible to identify all of them and then to use an herbicide for each one. Glacial acetic acid sounds like an environmentally friendly way to go, but I wonder if it would lower the pH of the soil. Additionally, it seems like glacial acetic acid is cost prohibitive - I got a quote from the Science Company for $20 for a half liter. That's comes to about $160 per gallon. I'm sure I could get it cheaper, but it would still be expensive.

At this point it seems like Round-Up is my best option. My only concern is that the Round-Up would seep into the soil and kill the nearby tobacco plant. I know that Round-Up works through the leaf so as long as I don't spray it on the tobacco plant, I should be OK - am I right?

I guess the only way to know for sure is to test it on a small area - unless someone tells me otherwise.

It's not impossible to identify the weeds but it would be hard for you, you may request help. Also, there is no herbicide for each variety of weed. Herbicides generally affect " a group " of weeds. I think using a total herbicide like roundup don't beseem a home grower. Also, it may affect your tobacco plants too.

 

[Jack in NB]

The agricultural black plastic mulch has been my staple herbicide for years now. It's placed over my drip irrigation tape, which is going into its sixth or seventh season.



The current plastic strips ($20 from a local farmer for 200 ft of 4' width) are going into their third season. Takes a bit of time to place - I hold it down with rocks (most of us have a plentiful supply of those, I think!), and plant through the existing holes. Each plant goes into a bit of a depression - a shallow bowl - to assist in feeding with a liquid fertilizer a few weeks after planting.

I use a string line trimmer on the walkway.

The odd weed sneaks up through the planting holes, but they take no time to remove.

Aside from the weed control, my first year using the plastic gave twice the plant growth as similar plants without the plastic. I presume this was due to soil heating and moisture conservation with the plastic, because I kept the second group of plants nearly weed free by hand. That took far more time than suckering, and I vowed - never again!

 

[johnlee1933]

Good job Jack. Rocks are our largest crop here in CT. Each spring a whole new batch push up for harvest. LOL

 

[Jack in NB]

I'm afraid I'm going to have to move the patch, rotating to new ground.

After 5 years, this one's running out - of rocks, dang it!

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

I sharpen some hoes and scrape the weeds between rows. This is only after at least two cultivations (digging up the dirt between rows and hoeing the dirt up to and between the plants to form ridges.) At cultivation you uproot weeds and can also add supplement nitrogen. After this the tobacco plants overwhelm the weeds if you scrape the rows once or twice. This is the weed control and cultivation method traditionally used in Connecticut Shade, and I find it an adequate method for all types. would never use herbicide anywhere near or downwind from growing tobacco.