Can somebody recommend a broadleaf weed killer? I’m trying to get rid of mostly wild violets and oxalis in the lawn. My kids play in the lawn so I’d rather not use a lot of chemicals. But in worst case I can keep them off the grass for 4-5 days. Any suggestions? Thanks.
The 3 way (3 active ingredients) broadleaf sprays will be your best bet. Along with fall application after the weather cools. At that time those tougher to kill broadleaf weeds are more susceptible to chemical control.
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One that I use is Stinger (a.i. clopyralid). It’s labeled for various broadleaf in the aisleways.
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Wild violets are super hard to kill. Triclopyr works fairly well. I’ve heard of people using the retail concentrate without dilution quite effectively on them.
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Take any gardening article published by SFGate with a healthy dose of skepticism. It is not a scientific journal and the authors frequently have little if any formal horticultural training.
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Hey @Seedy, I’m on the coast of California, and we don’t get much chill here, so when I cut scions for people, I refrigerate them for at least a week before sending them out. I don’t want them to “wake up” in the mail. Maybe next year you could do that. If they are already pushing buds, though, I don’t know what you should do. Anyone?
Maybe they were talking about Asian pears which have blossoms that smell more like carrion than perfume. However, the smell doesn’t travel far in the manner of chestnuts, another species with foul smelling pollen.
When my Asian persimmons (D. kaki) are fruiting, they do have a distinctive odor. I wouldn’t call it a foul smell, but it is noticeable. Some of my trees abort a lot of immature fruit, and if left on the ground, those fruits will spoil and smell bad. But my trees are only 4-5 years old, so they might grow out of that. Some varieties might drop more than others - my Tamkam drops the most, and my Tecumseh the least. Since I only have one of each, though, that might be just based on the individual tree and where it’s planted. D. kaki is the fruit tree I’m most excited about growing - low maintenance, productive and beautiful.
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Keeping them refrigerated for a while is the ideal. Nights here recently have been back down in the 30’s…that’s helpful. I kept them for varying times in the fridge. I figure going ‘first class’ back east they will probably stay pretty cold a lot in transit. Your plan is definitely the ideal. Thanks!
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I do not like the effect a bleach solution has on my pruners, not to mention toxicity. Does isopropyl alcohol kill viruses? I much prefer using alcohol over bleach.
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I use spray Lysol. Liquid lysol or Pin-Sol also works. Best to do a dip with liquid for 5 minutes.
Here is some research. I’ll add it as a new topic.
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I skimmed through the study, it appears a 1:5 dilution of Lysol is mostly effective. A spray would be a lot easier in the field.
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Does anyone have experience or thoughts on pulling t posts that are several inches away from 3-4 year old trees? I’ve used these to secure tree tubes on some trees instead of pvc due to rocks. My plan is to replace the tubes with guards after several years but am wondering about how much damage I might cause when pulling the t post. Is this something to be concerned about or not?
Pulling tee post straight up should not be a problem ,
Unless that wide blade part is deep and under a root,
May want to pull up a little so the "blade " part is a little above ground so that it won’t end up under a root .
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Good Thinking. Thanks
I have an inarching/bridge graft question. I did this from rootstock suckers I let grow (for the purpose) on a small cherry tree that I had to cut canker out of (3/4 or so girdled). Those look like they took since last fall. I didn’t untape them until now. The remaining strip of non-girdled wood is still live and well enough, if narrow.
So do I rub off all the buds along the whole length of the rootstock bridge grafts, or do I leave any to make leaves to help feed them for any length of time?
Bede,
I doubt you’d notice any difference in vigor by pulling up the post, even if you damage roots in the process. Roots grow back as fast as pruned branches. So probably wouldn’t be an issue, unless you are dealing with something like crown gall, which is made worse by damaged roots.
Hillbilly makes a good point about leaving the T-post blade out of the ground, if you want to minimize root damage.
Another solution would be to beat the blade off with a hammer before you drive the post, so the blade won’t grow under the roots. Btw, don’t try to pull the posts by hand. Too hard on your back.
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Anyone know if i can spray chlorothalonil and copper together?
Rooting figs (etc.) giving you a headache? Use aspirin…
Use aspirin as a rooting hormone. Getting ready to try fig rooting, I thought I’d revisit the willow-water idea and I found out that the root encouraging goodies in willow-water are IBA and…salicylic acid. Salicylic acid, like in aspirin…willow was the precursor and natural source of aspirin. Can aspirin be used as a rooting hormone? Read on…
https://www.bluestem.ca/willow-article1.htm
It doesn’t specifically mention figs but neither does the store-bought stuff. Rooting hormone is not universally accepted as a good tool in rooting figs but a very mild dose of the natural form of its ingredients seems like a nice compromise. I have a massive supply of willow down along the creek but aspirin-water seems like a very safe experiment, if you don’t have willow.
So what do you use to pull posts. I do it by hand and it is hard on the back. Spud