Keep gravel drive weed free

[Howboutthemdawgs]

What’s the strategy? I feel like I spend all spring/summer playing whack a mole spraying. I’ve seen some places that look great and mine looks like I could feed goats at times.

 

[homerj]

Plenty of products out there, I use this

https://www.gordonsusa.com/products/weed-grass-control/barrier-year-long-vegetation-control-concentrate/

 

[Catscratch]

Doesn't seem to matter what I use, the weeds come back.

 

[homerj]

If Pramitol doesn't work, then I don't know what would. Pramitol doesn't kill quickly so it's oftentimes applied after a burn down using another herbicide.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

If Pramitol doesn't work, then I don't know what would. Pramitol doesn't kill quickly so it's oftentimes applied after a burn down using another herbicide.

I’ve used pramitol this year already. It does get a kill, but my problem is every time I turn around something new is sprouting. I feel like I literally need to spray every other week to make it look halfway decent. And maybe that’s the game

 

[T-Max]

Probably not ideal, but everywhere the tractor has sprung a hydraulic leak, nothing grows back. Ever...

 

[homerj]

I’ve used pramitol this year already. It does get a kill, but my problem is every time I turn around something new is sprouting. I feel like I literally need to spray every other week to make it look halfway decent. And maybe that’s the game

Was the Pramitol lightly watered in?

Pretty sure it's only supposed to be applied once a year per the label

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Was the Pramitol lightly watered in?

Pretty sure it's only supposed to be applied once a year per the label

I mixed per the label for spot spraying. And I guess I should clarify, my applications kill the weeds that are there but every week a new batch emerges

@T-Max dont think that thought hasn’t crossed my mind! That was my dad’s suggestion, they use to do it on the farm when he was young. But I can’t bring myself to do that….

 

[omicron1792]

Spike 20 pellets.

 

[FarmerDan]

Applied at the "proper" dose soil sterilants tend to be quite expensive on a per square foot basis. The other problem with them is, when applied at the proper rate, they bind tightly with soil particles. If those particles move with runoff you end up with a kill somewhere you don't want it. IMOX is labelled for "industrial" weed control in gravel lots. We know better cutting the label rate to suit our purposes.

Double 6 looks promising - in print.

Double 6 Industrial Soil Sterilant | Continental Research Corporation

Continental Research Corporation is the preferred specialty chemical supplier for organizations of all sizes across the nation. We sell specialty chemicals that improve maintenance operation by saving time and money.

crcorp.com

 

[FarmerDan]

I mixed per the label for spot spraying. And I guess I should clarify, my applications kill the weeds that are there but every week a new batch emerges

@T-Max dont think that thought hasn’t crossed my mind! That was my dad’s suggestion, they use to do it on the farm when he was young. But I can’t bring myself to do that….

If I remember right, a memory from long ago, Paramatol application rates are quite hefty.
https://www.winfieldunited.com/products/herbicides/pramitol25e/214

"Application rates vary from 5-10 gals. of PRAMITOL 25E per acre depending on climatic conditions, soil type, the weeds present, and the stage of growth of the weeds."

 

[FarmerDan]

Plenty of products out there, I use this

https://www.gordonsusa.com/products/weed-grass-control/barrier-year-long-vegetation-control-concentrate/

Here's the key ingredient:
Imazapyr, isopropylamine salt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 .25% but it has a short-halflife of 10 days.

It should be familiar to food plotters.

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-10/Herbicides-factsheet-Imazapyr.pdf

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

If I remember right, a memory from long ago, Paramatol application rates are quite hefty.
https://www.winfieldunited.com/products/herbicides/pramitol25e/214

"Application rates vary from 5-10 gals. of PRAMITOL 25E per acre depending on climatic conditions, soil type, the weeds present, and the stage of growth of the weeds."

I guess my conundrum would be how to stop the weeds before they emerged. I can kill them post emergence but would pramitol sprayed at label rates do anything more than glyphosate in contact killing the weeds? Is it possible to establish a residual on gravel or does the herbicide wash into the soil from the gravel eventually?

 

[T-Max]

I guess my conundrum would be how to stop the weeds before they emerged. I can kill them post emergence but would pramitol sprayed at label rates do anything more than glyphosate in contact killing the weeds? Is it possible to establish a residual on gravel or does the herbicide wash into the soil from the gravel eventually?

In planting corn this year and looking into preemergent herbicides I think you are on to something. A lot of them mention %OM in their literature. Since gravel is basically 0% it would probably effect most of them. I spot spray with Roundup 365 and I think it works, but like you said they seem to just pop up somewhere else. Plus it would be like $1,000 to spray my driveway. I haven't found a perfect solution, but keeping things sprayed over several years has definitely helped minimize it over time.

 

[Tree Spud]

A back pack sprayer with Gly. Spray before the plants form seed heads. Usually have to spray once a year.

 

[FarmerDan]

I guess my conundrum would be how to stop the weeds before they emerged. I can kill them post emergence but would pramitol sprayed at label rates do anything more than glyphosate in contact killing the weeds? Is it possible to establish a residual on gravel or does the herbicide wash into the soil from the gravel eventually?

Roundup/glyphosate is a contact herbicide. Paramatol is in a dfferent class of action. It takes no prisoners. It's only use is to render ground useless to plant activity, before, during, and after.

Any decent soil sterilant - like Paramatrol - kills what's emerged and forms a barrier in the soil. A weed seed might germinate...but the sterilant will knock it dead before it completes the germination cycle. That has been my experience. So, to be clear, spray the existing vegetation and the soil. If there is a lot of vegetation you might want to use something else first just to lower the cost. I'm not sure how much any of this stuff sells for today.

It is nothing like glyphosate in action or result. Use enough paramatrol and you can kill the soil for decades (poetic license for emphasis).

 

[Gravel Road]

Nothing too fancy here. Boom spray with gly 3 or 4 times a year. Spot spray with gly or 24d if needed. I figure between vehicle traffic, blading and the mower throwing seeds into the gravel, the soil will be disturbed and the weeds are going to come back. I'm not risking sterilizing the soil since my driveway has crops on both sides a few feet away. Besides, the farmers have to spray and disk every year and the weeds come back in the fields, so I doubt if I can do any better. Nature abhors a vacuum

 

[FarmerDan]

Roundup/glyphosate is a contact herbicide. Paramatol is in a dfferent class of action. It takes no prisoners. It's only use is to render ground useless to plant activity, before, during, and after.

Any decent soil sterilant - like Paramatrol - kills what's emerged and forms a barrier in the soil. A weed seed might germinate...but the sterilant will knock it dead before it completes the germination cycle. That has been my experience. So, to be clear, spray the existing vegetation and the soil. If there is a lot of vegetation you might want to use something else first just to lower the cost. I'm not sure how much any of this stuff sells for today.

It is nothing like glyphosate in action or result. Use enough paramatrol and you can kill the soil for decades (poetic license for emphasis).

One other thought. If you do decide to use a soil sterilant then you probably want to think differently about the application. In a perfect world, regardless of what kind of sprayer used, you will want to "flood" the soil. In that perfect world, again, when spraying a contact herbicide like gly or cleth you want to "mist" the plant material. Small droplets from a flat fan nozzle. Applying pre-emergent herbicides to soil requires different. Lots of water thru flood jet nozzles. In the end we do the best we can with what we got....

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

One other thought. If you do decide to use a soil sterilant then you probably want to think differently about the application. In a perfect world, regardless of what kind of sprayer used, you will want to "flood" the soil. In that perfect world, again, when spraying a contact herbicide like gly or cleth you want to "mist" the plant material. Small droplets from a flat fan nozzle. Applying pre-emergent herbicides to soil requires different. Lots of water thru flood jet nozzles. In the end we do the best we can with what we got....

I can adjust my pressure to go from a mist to a heavier droplet. May try that. Thanks

 

[homerj]

Pramitol needs to be watered in shortly after applying/spraying. Best to apply before a light rain.

That's why I asked previously if it had been watered in.