Another interesting Roundup study...

[Feral007]

here's a link to a site in Aus that I am planning to use when I have some money to test minerals and buy them to replace. Farm Results Has some good photos on crops as well.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Oh crikey that's a horrid thought and yes, very sad.

yes but attempting suicide is often a cry for help and in these cases if it was such a cry that got the attention sought, a good thing that glyphosate isn't immediately toxic.

[Aberdeenplotter]

here's a link to a site in Aus that I am planning to use when I have some money to test minerals and buy them to replace. Farm Results Has some good photos on crops as well.

I've tried using quarry dust which has been marketed as a means of replacing humic acid in the soil. I had a tremendous crop of onions in the area I treated but I didn't try a similar crop in an untreated area so have no idea if the quarry dust was responsible for the good crop or whether I would have had such a result without it. If I try it again I will at least set up a control area to compare against.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I should maybe have mentioned above that I practice a four year scheme of rotation and that I apply FYM to my potato crop and normally follow that the next year with alliums. FYM should replace and top up any deficiency in trace elements. I also usually apply a handful of granular fertilser (growmore or similar) to the onion crop. The purists will say that they prefer to grow organically but I'm only supplying and supplementing what onions need to grow and nothing else.

[cptncrackoff]

I should maybe have mentioned above that I practice a four year scheme of rotation and that I apply FYM to my potato crop and normally follow that the next year with alliums. FYM should replace and top up any deficiency in trace elements. I also usually apply a handful of granular fertilser (growmore or similar) to the onion crop. The purists will say that they prefer to grow organically but I'm only supplying and supplementing what onions need to grow and nothing else.

Youve made me think there AP, i was considering a more natural approach this year, I use growmore but never considered it 'chemical' i suppose I thought of it as 'a mixture of minerals' bit daft i know.

[zazen999]

Growing Power

Just one sustainable approach to urban farming.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I use growmore but never considered it 'chemical' i suppose I thought of it as 'a mixture of minerals' bit daft i know.

Not so daft. What is in the ground in mineral form is nonetheless a mixture of chemicals that plants need to grow. Naturally produced or manufactured. Is there really such a difference?

[VirginVegGrower]

I've tried using quarry dust which has been marketed as a means of replacing humic acid in the soil. I had a tremendous crop of onions in the area I treated but I didn't try a similar crop in an untreated area so have no idea if the quarry dust was responsible for the good crop or whether I would have had such a result without it. If I try it again I will at least set up a control area to compare against.

I tried Rockdust on my onion bed last year and ended up with better onions size wise on that bed than the other, but it wasn't a controlled experiment. I didn't feed those onions either. Normally I do in the Spring - give em a boost, so to speak.

[VirginVegGrower]

Growing Power

Just one sustainable approach to urban farming.

That's a lot of compost

[Feral007]

We're lookiing at it for the farm not so much for the veg growing. We are aiming to make it more attractive for the good grasses to grow, and also to unlock some of the minerals that are locked into the ground unable to be used. And for the horses benefit, and to help with reveging the farm with trees and native shrubs.
If you use compost and mulch you can get results in the garden but try composting and mulching 90 acres!

[Sheneval]

When I was discussing weed control with a member of the local allotment committtee I was assured that Roundup was safe for use as it was harmless to the soil and I could use the stock of Glyphosate stored on site - Being a doubtor of authority by nature, I was dubious about the truth of this statement and said I would weed by hand - having read these posts, boy am I glad I decided to go down this road.

[madpiano]

Hmmm....I think there is a lot of mix up in all of this.....
In Europe we do not grow Canola, which is a GM Rape Seed produced by Monsanto to be resistant to Roundup/ Glyphosate). We do grow a modified rape that has been bred over centuries (or longer) to be low in whatever causes stomach upsets in the plant, so it can be used as animal feed (the oil doesn't contain that stuff anyway). This isn't the same as GM. This is breeding by selection.
Now Monsanto keeps arguing that the GM rape they made is no different from the way Europeans selectively bred the seed. But as a soap maker I have to argue against it. Rape Seed oil is a very healthy oil and good for many things. I make soap here with it (although in soap it hasn't many advantages and is actually a cheap filler oil) and I have no problems with it. My colleagues over in the US and Canada where all rape seed oil is made from Canola (excluding organic health food shop oils) cannot use it, as it makes soap go rancid within a year. It develops soft orange dots which smell like old cooking fat and it will spread to other soaps. So something they did when they manipulated the genes, made rape seed oil suddenly highly oxidative. Which makes me wonder, if that also means it is now bad for human consumption and no longer protects organs. But that would need a proper study.
So seeing planes spraying Glyphosate over a rape or mustard seed field, would be from the US/CAN, rather than the EU (apart from the toughening up thing someone mentioned)
The other thing is, that study shows that Glyphosate is in Urine. That is a good thing, not a bad thing!
It shows the human body is perfectly capable of dealing with it and doesn't break it down into something dangerous, but just chucks it back out. If they would have said they measured it in serum or fat cells, that would worry me. Yeah, it may be a challenge to your liver, but so is your home made blackberry wine....It really is a safe way of dealing with some noxious weeds (bindweed comes to mind). And the way we use it in the garden, where we carefully spray it only on to the weeds and do everything we can to avoid blow-off onto our food crop and other plants, is probably the safest way to do it. It does break down on contact with the soil, and if it binds minerals while doing so in a spot where a weed was growing, that isn't always a bad thing and also temporary.

[chris]

[Jollyjulia]

I'm really new to veg growing. I have 4 very large beds in a field but they are covered in weeds. I was thinking of using roundup to kill, then strim, rotovate, cover with seaweed then wet cardboard to get initial control. Would this be a good move or should I steer clear of the roundup. Any advice would be great as I want to get off to a good start.

[alldigging]

Just cover it up. Save your self the trouble of paying for weedkiller and the effort of rotavating.
I'd have thought strimming was a good idea if it's very long.