Time to order some concentrate weedkiller and I've noticed some negativity around glyphosate aired from some recent studies.
Before I waste hours of my life looking into this, anyone aware of the validity of these findings and any if it appears to be well-founded, any suggestions of alternatives?
Needs to be a weedkiller that breaks down on contact with soil, yet is still effective (doesn't have to be fast acting).
Ta.
Didnt the EU ban the effective stuff?
You can still buy it online. Whats its name? (White powder)
Asked a gardener recently. The only strong stuff needs a sprayers certificate to buy (legally) otherwise Roundup....
hora - Member
Didnt the EU ban the effective stuff?You can still buy it online. Whats its name? )
Iron Sulphate?
I got 5L of glyosphate from local farmers merchant (Countrywide) for the price of a tidy bottle of roundup. Works fine here.
I use grazon 90 on the lawn though.
I think its this stuff.... http://mistralni.co.uk/products/ammonium-sulphamate?gclid=CJvXn7yCx8UCFa7KtAod0EwA-g
Roundup at the industrial level is ( or was last time i used it) really good stuff but the stuff in the shops for the general public is not that great.
We used to use it for clearing areas of rough ground prior to planting game crops and it killed off EVERYTHING i think they trade off the strength of their name used for farming comunity and unfortunatly it's no where as effective.
It's just the simple hardcore glyphosate stuff that Stoner is mentioning I usually get, but apparently it's the latest cancer cause of mankind?
TBH, I don' give that much of a shit if it's just the latest "the letter Z gives you cancer" type of hype, but thought I should check if there's any truth to the claims, and if so, are there any alternatives to the deliciously effective glyphosate.
Don't spray it on yourself.
Many things are carcinogenic in sufficient doses. As Drac says, don't spray it on yourself, and don't ingest it.
We use Rosate (same stuff) on our allotment and it's epic stuff. Takes a couple of weeks to work, but very effective. No residual effect on the soil means you can plant out soon afterwards too!
Personally I am more concerned about my addiction to bacon and preserved meat and the risk of cancer than I am about using a bit of Glyphosphate a few times a year.
Quite CHB, which is why I love it so.
It appears STW has spoken. I will continue with purchase and try my best not to point the lance against my mush.
Your post prompted me to Google a little deeper, as we do use more than average of this (we have two allotments).
Looks to me that if you work in heavy agriculture and use the stuff lots then you have an increased risk. German studies show no big increase or significant mutagenic properties.
So for me it's business as usual. I use it infrequently and target very specific weeds.
Glad I don't live in Newcastle...apparently the local council use more of the stuff than Islington do yellow line paint!
Well over a million tons of glyphosphate produced each year - used intensively for 40 years all over the globe, and as a result is one of the most toxicoligically studied substances in history. Concensus result is that it's about as carcinogenic as pish in a bottle. ie don't drink it, but feel free to splash it left right and centre.
I worked as degree placement student years ago for Monsanto and Glyphosphate back then was extremely widely reviewed for toxicology and carcinogenicity. It is probably the safest weed killer available. There was a story from back in the sixties of a US farmer who tried to kill his wife by putting Glyphosphate in her coffee, every morning for over a year!
I had a mature oak tree felled last summer and the tree surgeons cut a ring 20mm down into the stump all the way around, using the chain saw, and filled with (I presumed) glyphosphate. Today I noticed the stump is sprouting. Should I just reapply the glyp, or drill some holes and fill them? Stump is about 24" across.
You can buy glyph undiluted online from barious suppliers, even ebay, just make up a business name to go on the label.
I ordered online for the concentrated stuff from Amazon, didn't bother making a name up.
[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=glyphosate&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=34250434316&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16895593229730717672&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_22z95sh7mu_e ]Amazon for Glysophate[/url]
Rosate