Know your weed killer!
 

here on the east coast, the Dr Oz show discussed "Roundup" on a show this week. hope you all saw it. Roundup is a known carcinogen according to scientists and the manufacturer is denying it because it is one of their best selling products. [in the billions i might add] Sounds like it is following in DDT's footsteps. How unfortunate for us and future generations that $$$ take precedence on such issues....

Glad they are bringing all these poisons to light. That poor family that was on vacation and all got poisoned, the boys and dad were still in a coma i think. The lymphoma website has said its one of the leading causes of non hodgkins lymphoma but no one can fight Monsanto, the more people spray, the more money they make. So many people think pesticides are good, but it alters the natural eco system that would ordinarily have its own defenses, and kills beneficial bugs, constantly causing weakening in the eco system, not to mention poisoning streams, wildlife and humans. People spray yards and homes and get on a maintenance plan, thats so the sprayers can make money. If they must use these toxic chemicals, they should only use as needed. Not to mention how many dogs in yards have gotten cancer and or died while their yards were being routinely sprayed. These applicators tell you this stuff is safe as soon as it is dry, really? Are they research scientists? How can peaticides and safe be used in the same sentence..

the sad part is, even if you don't buy it or use it you are still breathing it! Roundup has been banned in one of the Dutch countries -- i think it is Netherlands -- 1 in 2 men will get cancer in their life and 1 in 3 women will also.....

I still see commercials with professionals spraying someone's lawn, wearing regular clothing and shoes and walking forward as they spray for weeds, bugs, etc. When i spray for dandelion's, I walk backward and don't spray on windy days either. I hate chemicals but do use them. carefully.

GEE WIZ. I always used Roundup to kill the weeds in my yard. I am now in an apt and don't use it anymore. Wonder what the maintenance people use.

they want you to believe it's safe, -- when it rains, or you turn on sprinklers, it is leaching into the soil and the water table below ground, and eventually you are drinking it....

what bugs me the most is that there has to be a natural alternative, but apparently it doesn't make as much $$ as chemicals that kill... and if you're buying/eating organic b/c you think it's safer -- it isn't -- if there is a farm nearby that uses chemicals!!! and chances are there is! it will eventually reach surrounding farms/soil/water...it's very scary to learn that the EPA is just now reopening an investigation into Roundup!

thanks for the information. very interesting

I use pesticides and herbicides very rarely. I prefer to pull weeds than poison them but sometimes I just can't kill them manually.

I've always thought the company name "Chem Lawn" is such an odd choice. Who would want a lawn full of chemicals?

great observation, i think that's exactly what we have!

I never use chemicals in my garden, use natural fertilizers/minerals. Weeds/kikuyu get pulled up and composted, paths, just use boiling water, ants, just cheap dish detergent and water.

Doesn't the extra strong white vinegar kill weeds?

I use a mixture of 1 gallon white vinegar, 2 cups of Epsom salt and 1/4 cup of dawn dish soap. Mix it together and you can pour it on or use a sprayer. Usually works in 2-3 days.

My MIL's neighbor professionally sprayed lawns for a living. He died very young ( early 40's) from some strange form of cancer. Rumor was it was from not wearing a mask when he sprayed...

Since I read several articles about how Roundup is now in genetically modified seed corn, I buy only organic corn products, such as in cereal, canned corn or chips. Mary Jane Butters of "Mary Jane's Farm" has written about this. The man next door is in love with roundup, yet he thinks ivy is a desirable plant. He still can't figure out why the roses planted at the fence line posts died. They planted, then sprayed all around with roundup. There is not a day here in our SW WA area that there is not a breeze.

Weed killer: 1 quart vinegar, 1T salt, 1T Dawn dish detergent. Spray liberally....kills vegetation in hours. I use it all the time. (Heat vinegar to help dissolve the salt.)

Where I have just weeds and no grass or flowers I use the mixture of apple cider vinegar, salt and Dawn dish soap. Read about this I think on this digest so tried it out as I'd like to try to stay as eco friendly as possible. Takes a few days to work but it does work...............at least for me. My neighbor tried it and it didn't work for him so I guess its a 50-50 chance. Otherwise I go out to pull weeds most every morning early before it heats up. Gives me a reason to get some fresh air and to take a stroll around the gardens.

For bugs outside I check online to see what should be planted next to what to keep the bugs at bay such as garlic around your roses. I've used Irish Spring soap to keep the critters out of the gardens but didn't find that to work too well.

You don't need "Extra strong" white vinegar. Agricultural vinegar is 20% acidity and is VERY caustic and dangerous, requiring protective gear. Homeowners do not need this stuff. It's expensive, too.

I'm surprised to hear this....my vinegar mixture killed in hours. Do you dissolve the salt???

I don't disagree that the lawn care products are toxic and long range dangerous, but, since 99% of us who have property insist on grass. And inevitably dandelions...that can be quite aggressive and one can loose the battle with them quickly....what is the alternative.....we have a veggie garden and some flower gardens, but like everyone else...much grass...that must be " maintained" to keep property values stable..........so I have a lawn service.....

I would be interested in an alternative to Round Up that works here in the deep south. I've tried all those recipes with Dawn, salt, vinegar, etc. in various combinations, some boiling, etc. It kills the green parts, but, then in a day or two it is all back like it was on steroids!! I pull as many as possible, but, anyone down here will tell you in a minute, weeds will take over again. We have done a good job in the flower beds with pine straw. that has cut down tremendously on the weeds. Weeds come up through landscape fabric, two layers with the top part of the grass/weedy part scraped off first. Go figure. So, will be interested in a good alternative.

I have a huge old cherry tree in the middle of my front yard. The drip line covers 80% of the lawn. I flat out refuse to use any toxic chemicals that could get into the cherries.

I do not have the 'must kill the dandelions' gene. I pull them, but do not worry about them in the long run.

I also plant bulbs in my lawn.

Lastly I do not water my lawn. It usually has turned brown by the end of May and greens up again in September when the rains start.

Roundup commercials set my teeth on edge.

There is a great deal of misinformation available and unfortunately we have people such as Dr Oz and the media, who only like to give part of the story. Here is an article with more information:
http://www.askthefarmers.com/glyphos...-a-carcinogen/

PB from MN
A proud American Farmer

If you live where there is planted field nearby then you have chemicals in the air, water, and soil. Organic fields use chemicals deemed safe for the product but not for the environment. No farmer wants to waste water and food for weeds but why care about weeds in a yard? Mow or weed them short and they look just fine. Round Up works by increasing the growth of the plant so much it can't keep up with itself and dies out. Really like a turbo Miracle Gro.

That is a great article. Thanks for sharing.

"There is a great deal of misinformation available and unfortunately we have people such as Dr Oz and the media, who only like to give part of the story. Here is an article with more information:
http://www.askthefarmers.com/glyphos...-a-carcinogen/ "

This is not a scientists blog, this is a farmers daughter. A farmer who produces GMO corn. There are many modern farmers that advocate the widespread use of GMO chemicals, and pesticides. This is their living, and many are funded by these chemical companies, especially those producing GMO soybean and corn. They are going to support the use of these chemicals and downplay their impact.

Or you can read on the American Lymphoma website, and many medical websites, scientific research, and on Beyond Pesticides to read the impact these very chemicals and GMO products are having on the lives of "the everyday citizen", which in this article said is largely unaffected. Know your sources. This article advocates GMO's and pesticides.

DH uses vinegar and dawn. For the really stubborn ones he mists them with ammonia. We've had couple really thick batches of poison ivy in our yard and use the Dawn vinegar and ammonia. DH brushed up against a small patch and didn't take him long to start itching. He immediately grabbed Dawn and started washing his hands and arms. best thing to use. Never needed the Calamine or any other lotion. [QUOTE=just_the_scraps_m'am;7160441]what bugs me the most is that there has to be a natural alternative, but apparently it doesn't make as much $$ as chemicals that kill... and if you're buying/eating organic b/c you think it's safer

Round Up is a diluted form of Agent Orange.........the defoliant used in Viet Nam. That is what is being sprayed on the fields and our food. If you live near a farm that uses this make sure you stay inside or leave when this is being done. It is a definite carcinogen, skin irritant, lung irritant........and I could go on and on. Just BE AWARE !

This is old but it tells you about Monsanto and how they infiltrate the Gov.
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Michael Taylor, former Monsanto Vice President, is now the FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/he...4fda.html?_r=0
Roger Beachy, former director of the Monsanto-funded Danforth Plant Science Center, is now the director of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/usda_watch.cfm
Islam Siddiqui, Vice President of the Monsanto and Dupont-funded pesticide-promoting lobbying group, CropLife, is now the Agriculture Negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_A._Siddiqui
http://www.organicconsumers.org/arti...icle_20276.cfm
Rajiv Shah former agricultural-development director for the pro-biotech Gates Foundation (a frequent Monsanto partner), served as Obama's USDA Under-Secretary for Research Education and Economics and Chief Scientist and is now head of USAID.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/arti...icle_19665.cfm
http://www.naturalnews.com/037310_ba..._lobbyist.html
Elena Kagan, who, as President Obama's Solicitor General, took Monsanto's side against organic farmers in the Roundup Ready alfalfa case, is now on the Supreme Court.
http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/201...k-elena-kagan/
Ramona Romero, corporate counsel to DuPont, has been nominated by President Obama to serve as General Counsel for the USDA.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronnie..._b_642385.html
http://climate-connections.org/2014/...anto-betrayal/
http://whoismonsanto.com/sources/124-2
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I use one gallon of the strongest vinegar I can find pickling is what I use most with one forth cup of orange oil and a good tablespoon of dawn. It kills very fast except woody things I have to do over two or three times.

thanks for all the info, dandelion is edible by the way [if you don't spray it with roundup] and if you would like to eradicate it, you must pull ALL of its root system or it will return...


the use of DDT was much the same, except used decades earlier; it took 20-30 years and a biologist to lead the way to a worldwide ban -- it is still found in the earth today....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT

sometimes when I hear "dr oz said" I immediately think of National Enquirer publications. All scare tatics to get eyeballs and never the whole story.

But on the issue of things we use with carcinogens I'm gobstopped by the members who absolutely refuse to consider rinsing out their fabrics before adding them to stash. Why do you think there aren't any more big fabric mills in the US? Because they can still subject employees to known toxics in other countries and they can't here.

Life is a circle and while we all wish we could be vigilant about every single thing, we sadly also base our actions on what is the easy way...
I've had both breast and lung cancer by the way. The lung cancer was very rare, seldom seen in the US, much more common in the far east. What did I do to give myself that?

Or let their children wear clothes right off the rack without washing first? Fabric is loaded with chemicals from dyes and sizing. Think of the chemicals in new carpet that will stay in the house for a long time. My friends thought I was nuts having a room with new carpet steam cleaned with water only the very same day it was installed. My grands were to play on that carpet in an enclosed room.

I read once a few years ago there is a way to deter the weeds from coming back in the spring. I printed the method and filed it away and would have to search for it at this point, but what it entailed was two different spreading applications of natural substances about 2 weeks to a month apart when rain would not be imminent. Like first layer in late January or early February and second layer following. All I can remember at this point is that one of the applications had corn meal in the mixture. Supposedly what this does is suffocate or smother out the seeds from germinating that were dropped into the ground from last years weed crop. I have seen a mixture in bags at Lowe's that has the corn meal for the lawn. Anyone familiar with this?

Water is a chemical. Just saying (for those that say they don't want chemicals on their lawn).

Roundup itself is not in genetically modified corn. It's genetically modified so that roundup can be used on it and it won't kill the corn, only the weeds around it.

http://www.prevention.com/food/smart...now-about-gmos

this article explains what GMO's are. Produce created with GMO seeds are saturated in chemicals (pesticides) throughout their growing process.

That article addresses pesticides inserted into plant DNA. That's for insect resistance. Roundup is an herbicide, not a pesticide. The post that I was referencing says this: "Since I read several articles about how Roundup is now in genetically modified seed corn, I buy only organic corn products, such as in cereal, canned corn or chips."

Unfortunately with the low price of grain and the high cost of fuel and fertilizer (natural or otherwise) large and medium scale farmers can't break even without using chemicals. You can only use mechanical methods to get rid of weeds in the first few weeks of crop growth and even at that point, weeds can quickly overtake a field and lower yields enough to cause loss of income. Crop insurance doesn't help either. Seed that isn't pest resistant can be ruined before it even breaks ground and there's no good cost-effective way to avoid pests coming into a 5000 acre field.

Thank you Gale. There are two sides to every story, and everyone thinks the other side is greedy and getting rich. The fact is we all like our lifestyle and relatively cheap food. And farmers need chemicals to feed us the way we like to eat at prices we can afford. Over 50% of Americans are overweight, so maybe those folks should all just eat less. Less food consumed, less produced, less chemicals used......simple.

But isn't it interesting that our politicians are in bed with Monsanto....and I don't trust either of them.