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thinkstoomuch

Have tomato plants.......need to kill lawn

thinkstoomuch
13 years ago

Hi All,

Part of my backyard plan this summer is to kill my lawn(more like weeds), and reseed. I keep reading posts here about herbicide drift killing tomato plants. How can I protect my tomato plants when I spray to kill my lawn? Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Kim

Comments (11)

  • digdirt2
    13 years ago

    You can't. Not by using herbicides. It isn't just drift, it is water run-off from the soil too.

    Use one of the many other methods for working on the weeds.

    Dave

  • bigeric
    13 years ago

    We had our yard power raked and it worked a treat.

    Good Luck.

  • spiced_ham
    13 years ago

    I hand spray Roundup around my tomato plants all the time and never have any trouble. The trick is to use "spray" rather than "mist" on a still day. The broadleaf specific lawn herbicides have a long retention time in the soil so seepage/runnoff could be a problem.

  • ubergoober
    13 years ago

    How big of an area are we talking here? I have a homemade weed killer recipe that shouldn't affect your tomatoes...that is unless you get it directly ON a plant. If your yard is big it may not be an effective way to go about things.

    Our city has banned all chemical herbicides so we are learning to live as one with our dandillions and clover.

    Recipe is:

    4 cups vinegar (pickling is best but I usually have white on hand and that works OK too)
    1/2 cup salt
    2 tsp dish soap (any kind)

    Put it in a sprayer and go to town but be careful as to not get it on any other plants you do not want to kill. Within a day or two, whatever is sprayed will turn brown and die.

  • thinkstoomuch
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    The area I need to kill off is aboutu 3,000 sqft. So, not a tiny area. The majority of my tomatoes are in EarthTainers. I have two runt plants that I put in my raised beds just as an experiment to see how they do. So I guess I really don't need to worry about runoff.......

  • euarto_gullible
    13 years ago

    Have you looked into solarizing your soil? I realize it may not be practical for 3,000 square feet, but it is another option that doesn't involve chemicals.

    Here is a link that might be useful: How to solarize your soil

  • digdirt2
    13 years ago

    The majority of my tomatoes are in EarthTainers.

    Then if you still prefer to use the herbicides rather than one of the other methods, I'd move the Earthtainers as far away from the area as possible and cover the plants with plastic while you spray the stuff and for at least a couple of hours afterward.

    But honestly this is something that should be done BEFORE planting things you don't want to be affected. Lawn weed killers can effectively be applied very early in the spring long before garden planting time.

    Dave

  • thinkstoomuch
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    The best time of year to renovate a lawn is the end of the summer/fall.......hence the timing of killing the lawn over the summer.

  • daylilyfanatic4
    13 years ago

    I'd cuation you of using any herbicide with salt in it on an area you ant to grow things in again. Depending on your soil type it can end up being a dead zone forever.

  • karencon
    13 years ago

    yes 300 SF is a lot, but you might consider doing a "lasagna garden" in a small area. It goes by another
    name I think, maybe... "compost bed". You don't have to do anything with the grass except cover it and add compost material, sort of like solarizing. Last season I started an area in late spring ans still planted it in summer. Its the easiest way to create new rich beds.
    Karen

    Here is a link that might be useful: lasagna bed

  • jtcm05
    13 years ago

    Yes you can. Just use a tank sprayer with a glyphosate-based non-selective herbicide and use care while applying. Spray on a calm evening or morning with the sprayer nozzle close to the ground. This will eliminate the dreaded "DRIFT". Will take a while with 3K sq ft to do. It is ridiculous to think that doing it this way will create any drift and any residual water run-off. I use glyphosate in the pathways between my garden beds a few times each summer and have never witnessed any herbicide damage on my 100+ plants. Your problem will be keeping the weeds down once reseeded. If it has as many weeds as you say it does, then there will be buku weed seeds down as well which will continue to germinate and compete with the turf for nutrients, but this is a discussion for another forum.

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