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kterlep

Round-up & tomatoes question

kterlep
13 years ago

So, I keep my tomato seedlings on a balcony about 20 feet up...a few of them are showing slight damage from herbicide drift. I don't know if they were on the edge of the balcony because my husband brought them all in when I was out of town and managed to "scramble" them all when he put them back out, but it appears to be herbicide damage. Since the balcony is so high up, and since only a few are damaged, I don't want to ask my next door neighbors because it's not terribly neighborly to be suspicious. So I'll just be picky about which ones I plant out. Any advice on how to know whether they will bounce back? the poor things look like they're made of plastic and someone's melted them... :(

My second issue is that *I* need to do a little discretional round-up spraying before I plant out my tomatoes--this is a new yard to us and our previous owner didn't do any yard work. We have some terribly invasive vines that we have been trying to dig out by hand, but it's not working (trumpet vine, sometimes one per square yard). We need to round up them, we've been told. My "plan" is to bring the tomato babies in the house, spray round up, wait (how long?) and then take the babies out on Mother's Day and plant them (my normal plant out date).

Questions:

1) how long do I need to keep the tomato babies inside, to worry about evaporating roundup vapors?

2) I don't plan on spraying in my garden, I have been organic so far, but digging isn't working (I'll take other advice for in the garden). If I painted a trumpet vine in the garden, do I need to dig out the dirt and remove it to save the tomatoes from any residue?

:)

Kate

Comments (13)

  • mulio
    13 years ago

    The type of roundup labeled for pre-plant use in vegetable gardens will not be effective on trumpet vine. In fact most roundup ISNT that effective for established trumpet vines (there are some management and timing issues involved I won't get into).

    The most effective way I know of to get rid of all the trumpet vine (except seeds waiting to germinate) would not allow you to follow up with tomatoes this year.

  • kterlep
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    graah. I don't want to hear THAT.

    What if I ignore/pester/pull the trumpet vine until fall...

    is there something I can use in the fall on the blasted stuff, so that it will be safe to plant in 2011?

    Not planting tomatoes is not an option!

  • horseflysgarden
    13 years ago

    Round up is a systemic herbicide... it kills anything green and only kills what it touches...

    Sooo, technically you could spray it on the vines today then plant tomorrow...

    I don't think that would be the best idea, but I would spray the heck out them today (or when you get to it) then wait about a week...

    There isn't suppose to be any residual when working with Round Up, but you never know, and might as well not take the risk...

    My opinions are just that, my opinion...BUT i do have over 10 years in the greenhouse business...

    good luck with all this!!! Kill em!

  • John Tebbs
    13 years ago

    Kate, Mulio is correct, Roundup will have little effect on trumpet vine, especially if it is established at all. Trumpet vine is a woody plant, and you'll need a herbicide labeled for woody plants to kill it. Unlike Roundup, which will have no effect on tomatoes planted 24 hours after application, many of the woody plant herbicides do have residual effects, and planting tomatoes where they have been used is something I would not do for at least a crop year.

    Digging and pulling may be your best bet to have tomatoes in this ground this year....

  • timmy1
    13 years ago

    Mulio is right.

    And Roundup has no evaporating vapors and no residual soil activity to be worried about. Only be concerned with spray droplet drift. Don't pump your sprayer up to high, this "rips" or atomises spray into small droplets that can drift all over.

  • kterlep
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    OK. So don't waste roundup on trumpet vine. Just dig it out/cut it as the season progresses.

    If we spray (say the fence line and the front yard sidewalk, etc, which we didn't do last year and regretted)put tomatoes inside for the spray time (and maybe that night too, if I want to be compulsive about it) and then proceed as normal. I won't be spraying near the garden area at all...

    Thanks for the help.

    For my information, what do I DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO to this horrible stuff in the fall to KILLLLLLLLLLLLLL it????

    Nuclear warhead???

    Is it like the magma flow under yellowstone national park?

    :)

  • John Tebbs
    13 years ago

    Well, you might give this stuff a try this fall....

    Here is a link that might be useful: Vine-x

  • daylilyfanatic4
    13 years ago

    If your trying to be organic I wouldn't recommend using non organic herbicide.

    You might want to try this organic herbicide. It's not 100% effective but with a couple applications it may do just as well as roundup.

    You will need

    1 old tea kettle or large glass pitcher.

    Water.

    Boil the water and immediately go outside and pour it on the trumpet vine.

    you won't have any problems with drift.

    If that does not work ater a couple applications try spraying vinegar on the plants also may take a couple applications keep your plants indoors for 2 hours after spraying.

    hope this helps!

  • timmy1
    13 years ago

    2-4D in the fall is your best bet.

  • miesenbacher
    13 years ago

    "So, I keep my tomato seedlings on a balcony about 20 feet up...a few of them are showing slight damage from herbicide drift".

    "My "plan" is to bring the tomato babies in the house, spray round up, wait (how long?) and then take the babies out on Mother's Day and plant them (my normal plant out date)".

    I had to chuckle after reading the above. Is this called returning the favor.:) Ami

  • kterlep
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    lol you are funny. :)

    I have to spray around the back of my carriage house in the alley, I think the Previous Owner intended it to be gravel, now it is WEEEEEEEDS. :)

  • helenh
    13 years ago

    Have you been pulling trumpet vine with out getting an itchy rash? I can't pull it.

  • kterlep
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    we mow it in the yard and clip it in the garden, dig as far down as we can and clip it with pruning shears. I can't pull it, it's like tentacles of a monster. :)

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