Selfsufficientish.com

Hi Hedgewizerd, WEEDAL is what I used to clear my plot when I first started doing things on my plot with my containers and pallets on. The Allotmentears I've ask said like me they did not know,maybe others on this forum might know,I'm sorry but I can't help you. John.J.R.P.

I wasn't familiar with Weedol as we don't have it here in Sweden, but I looked it up on the maker's homepage here: http://www.scottsukonline.com/products/ ... eedol.html
(the company that makes Miracle Gro)

It definitely doesn't seem organic and even says: Always read the label. Use pesticides safely.

I believe this is a forum for growing things organically (without chemicals / pesticides)

Drenching the soil with herbicides, even relatively benign ones like Weedol 2 (diquat) isn't something I would do personally. Put your brain to work at finding a way to leave out the poisons!

There are a few ways to get rid of weeds without herbicides.

1. Dig out all the weed roots in the ground, and if you have horsetails, bindweed, docks etc the roots can go a long way down. That's rather contrary to the point of John's idea though.

2. Smother the weeds by laying down a thick impenetrable barrier such as old carpet. Deprived of light and water the weeds will die eventually. This might be compatible with John's idea. I think on his website he shows his allotment covered with pallets and with plants growing in old milk cartons on the pallets. A layer of carpet underneat the pallets would clear the ground without herbicides.

What I can't understand at all is why you would grow plants in milk cartons which can have roots at most a few centimetres long and which surely require the most awkward watering routine, when you have a perfectly allotment with deep soil sitting sterile underneath a bunch of pallets. Container gardening is fine for those who have no soil, and using recycled containers in those circumstances is admirable. But for most crops it's a poor second best to growing plants in the ground.

Hi ALL,I tried to post a reply to Chick pea which took me over 1 houre to one finger print,but when I pressed spell check it went,what a waste of my time,I will try again,sorry. John. J.R.P.

Bad luck John. It's worse than exasperating when that happens.

the spell check should open in a new window.... only it's not working at the moment... still opens in a new window though (at least on IE) and shouldn't zap your post

John, if you're investing that kind of time then work in a word processor program and save your work regularly. When you're finished, cut and paste it into your browser.

Chickpea wrote:
What I can't understand at all is why you would grow plants in milk cartons which can have roots at most a few centimetres long and which surely require the most awkward watering routine, when you have a perfectly allotment with deep soil sitting sterile underneath a bunch of pallets. Container gardening is fine for those who have no soil, and using recycled containers in those circumstances is admirable. But for most crops it's a poor second best to growing plants in the ground.

Hi Chickpea,thank you for showing your interest in my ideas.
I gather you have not used my system in any way or you would not be saying what you are,as I have no problems growing things in my containers,done with very little gardening knowledge my self.
The reason I grow things the way I do against the normal way you would use a allotment plot,was to show others that you can grow food to eat using my very simple to make system of cantainers on most surfaces including water,by me having nothing growing in the ground but up on pallets added another way of using it,which I will add to again, next time it will be growing things higher using just one base pallet section.
In the past some one else thought the same as you,he said I was not using my plot of land the way it should be used,and he tried to get the rest of the old plot holder to get me off my plot. Why,because I was enjoying growing things without digging,no weeds,no tools,and my plot always looks neat and tidy all the year round,and any pallet section which are no good can be simply replaced back in the same space,every thing I've done is to prove you don't have to do things like every one else,if you don't want to,which I though I would share with the rest of the world to help feed the poor mainly,and save lives too for next to nothing,done by using unwanted rubbish. What more can one man do to try and help others. May you and yours live long and happy. John.J.R.P.

So we're ignoring the herbicide concerns. Fair enough. Good luck next year John!

Hi Shirly2005,and Chickpea,and Hedgewizard,thank you,I did what you suggested and I cut and pasted it this time and it worked. May you and yours live long and happy. John.J.R.P.

Hi Hedgewizard,I'm not trying to ignor the herbicide of things,if I've got a problem with something I try to solve it in the simplest of ways,and as I have little gardening Knowledge my self I thought others would have been more helpful to answer your concerns,OK. John.J.R.P.

STHLMgreen wrote:

John wrote:Stage one is to clear your allotment plot of weeds by using a fast acting weed killer

do they have fast acting organic weed killers?

Hi STHLMgreen,YES,there is a organic weed killer. I was told by a friend you can use not watered down VINEGAR from 5% upwards,but don't get it on your crops or it will kill them too. I don't know how fast it will work though,I suppose it will depend on our much water you add to it. John.J.R.P.

You don't add anything to it, and for it to work on perennial weeds you need to get industrial acetic acid or add other ingredients.

From: KRITER (65.160.148.200)
Subject: Safe Weedkiller
Date: August 26, 2004 at 7:39 am PST

Not sure if many have a interest in this.But,I posted a safe,environmentaly frendly weedkilling formula here awhile back.I hadnt used it at the time but hav been all summer.
1 cup of table salt to one gallon of heated white vinegar.
Heat vinegar so salt desolves.I pour it back and forth till salt desolves.
When it cools add 8 to 10 drops of liquid detergent.
This here makes the vinegar stick to the plant.
Spray weeds in direct sunlite.It works best with the sun.
Spray the weed good.You may hav to come back and spray certain hardheded weeds agan.But its been working real good for me.I hav alot of grounds to take care of and wanted to cut back on using weedeaters.I mix up 7 gallons at a time.Using a coffee maker to heat the vinegar.I reckon I got the cleaness coffee maker in the County.I hav two 3and1/2 gallon backpac sprayers.
Iv used this in my vegetable garden carfully and my flower beds.Itll kill most anything.Hope this helpful to sombody.

Vinegar is comparitively expensive in the third world and in some countries is subject to taxation (being a brewed product), so I'm not convinced this is a goer. Mind you, if we're shipping everyone a couple of tons of old pallets and hundreds of milk cartons, I suppose a drum of industrial acetic acid isn't going to break the bank. Bye John!

What's wrong with just plain old digging and hand weeding, like most people do, anyway??????