Flame thrower for weeding?

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Aspasia
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Flame thrower for weeding?

Post by Aspasia »

I am seriously considering investing in a garden blow torch to get rid of the docks I've been battling for years. Some of them have roots literally the size of giant carrots. They are very happy there, and, no matter how deep I dig, it's impossible to get every last piece of root out, so they just keep regenerating like evil Dr Whos.

Has anybody used something like this, and, if so, was it any good?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0020S1YXM/r ... HDHA8F7SQR" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I expected them to be a lot more expensive, but the price doesn't include the cartridge, so there's that.

Also, does anybody know whether (or how) this sort of thing could be used on weeds which are among wanted plants? Some of these docks love snuggling up to my strawberry plants. I'm seriously considering transplanting all the strawberries and just blowtorching the whole area several times over the spring and then planting something else there, but if I can avoid that, I will, as it's a fair-sized area and my back won't like that job.
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silverback
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Re: Flame thrower for weeding?

Post by silverback »

Not being an experienced gardener, I can't see how this would work on your Doc's problem, if you burn the top of the plant it would still leave the root unscathed! :? .
Going by what your saying, even after you dig the roots out they still regenerate! }hairout{ , what about chemical assassination??...
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Re: Flame thrower for weeding?

Post by Totally Scrambled »

My mum uses one and it works well on normal weeds but like Silverback I'm not sure it would work on things like dock, brambles etc. unless you got them while they were very young.
We suffer from docks, brambles and nettles here and I use glyphosate on them but they need doing regularly to keep them in check as they just re-seed from the fields out the back.
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Aspasia
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Re: Flame thrower for weeding?

Post by Aspasia »

Thanks for the replies, Silverback and Dom! The info I read suggested that annual weeds would wither completely with one treatment, but dandelions etc would need several (apparently it damages the cells and the damage extends into the roots). But, like you, I am not convinced it would work on those really entrenched docks which have such massively well-stocked roots to keep them going. There are several hundred new ones every year, which I suppose this might work on. I'm reluctant to use chemical assassination unless I can avoid it, but the temptation is growing strong! )de:
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Re: Flame thrower for weeding?

Post by Totally Scrambled »

If you did zapped them every time they showed a bit of green I would think it would do the job over time as they need the leaves to stock up food supplies in the tuber and there would only be a finite amount of time the tuber could sustain the plant if it wasn't being resupplied by the leaves.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Flame thrower for weeding?

Post by lancashire lass »

As already pointed out - if the root survives, then it usually grows with even more vigour. Glyphosate is very effective against dock though it may take about 3 weeks and sometimes worth a second dosing later on to catch any seeds that have germinated once light hits the soil after initial plant die-back.

However,

Aspasia wrote:Some of these docks love snuggling up to my strawberry plants


why not after cutting back top weed growth, put a heavy duty weed suppressant down like this one (there's usually some good bargains on e-bay too, with different widths and lengths)

Then just plant the strawberries through slits in the membrane. You might need to put some heavy weights like bricks down especially where the dock comes up as it may push the membrane up but eventually (give it at least a couple of years or more), it should kill the dock off, and the membrane will protect the strawberries from getting soil splash back. One slight downside and that is the slugs and snails do like to hide under the membrane and come out to feast after dark but a small price to pay
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billnorfolk
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Re: Flame thrower for weeding?

Post by billnorfolk »

I have one of these from Lidle or Aldie cant recall now ,good for weeds in slabs and on my crushed granite paths.Realy wouldn't recommend for deep rooted weeds ie docks etc .As LL says Glyphosate better or digging works for me but got to go deep, usually docks associated with old bullock yards from years back. )t'
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Aspasia
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Re: Flame thrower for weeding?

Post by Aspasia »

Thanks very much, Dom, LL and Bill!

Having looked it up, glyphosate will unfortunately not be an option for me. My OH's post-grad work was in fungicide and herbicide persistence in food and drink so he knows altogether too much about how it lingers in produce from land treated with Roundup, and the health effects of eating the produce. Frankly, I'm not even going to suggest it because I already know far more about it than I ever wanted to, or am comfortable knowing! He likes to share... ;)

I think I will give the torch a try: as Dom says, if I can just zap them often enough, it might just work. It will be less labour than digging them up as I usually do, if so.

The weed suppressant is a great idea, thanks, LL! I've been using just cardboard, but I'll definitely think about going to that next step up, if the torch fails me.

Thanks for the info about the bullock yards, Bill! It makes sense, as the land I'm using was well manured some years ago, before I started using it. It also makes me wonder about the wisdom of accepting an offer we recently had of sheep manure...
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