Herbicide Application w/ Backpack

[Wi-sunflower]

On that Agrisupply page, the first one -- the $18 one is what you want. It's almost exactly like what I made. I think that second one would be too heavy to use for long and wouldn't be as maneuverable.

What I was talking about the rope assembly is down in the next row of products on that page. The pic shows what looks like a rope but it has the ends on it and the gasket. You don't need that for the item up top, only if you want to make your own from scratch.

You control how much they wick with the cap on top. You don't want the cap on tight, but you don't want it on really loose either. Too loose and it WILL drip or worse, you will lose it in the field as it can fall off as you swing your arm back and forth. But most of them can use a hose end cap so replacing it is no big deal. Even with the cap off tho, they don't drip a whole lot.

You want the rope just wet enough that when you wipe it on the weeds, you will see a bit of a wet / damp sheen to the leaves.

We've gone thru stuff you couldn't even see, the weeds were so bad. The worst is doing melons or squash that are climbing the weeds. You WILL sometimes hit a good plant. If you notice the wet sheen on something good, just quickly break off that part of the plant and generally you will be OK.

The wand doesn't hold a whole lot of Round-up so it helps to have your mixed jug at a row end and a small funnel that you use to fill the wand. Depending on the size of the weeds, we were getting 3-4 300 ft rows before the wand needed a refill. That was with mega weeds.

Carol

[JackE]

Carol

I ordered the applicator, the washers, the 10' rope assembly and the fittings - everything on the page except to 5' of rope at the bottom (I guess that's for replacement later -$107).

I'm still not clear what the pvc is for. It should be here in a few days. and then I'll see what the deal is. I am very grateful to you for this info. Can I contact you here - or should I send a PM?

Our volunteers are older, with bad backs, and they have a terrible time stooping to run the florida weave. If this works, I may go back to all cages (2-1/2 ft). We still have 1000 cages and I can build more. The only reason I went with the weave was because of weeding problems inside the cages. This tool could really be blessing for us. We have lots of labor, but we're all old and arthritic - and bad knees. LOL If it works-out, I'll get several more units and put the whole crew on it.

We'll catch these weeds when their real small.

Thanks again,

Jack

[Wi-sunflower]

Oh boy, you really over did it unless you are going to build more of your own.

Without looking at that page again, depending on what you ordered you should have most of what you will need to build several.

The pvc is only if you are going to build your own.

I will be gone most of tomorrow, but in a couple of days I'll find mine and give you some measurements and a list of parts and some pics for a DIY version.

I'm not sure if they will be manuverable enough to work thru the openings in a cage tho. Maybe you will be able to reach in over the top.

Carol

[JackE]

I just bought one each of the parts/accessories. I hope it fits in the cages. The spray wand fits with the 45 degree angle on it -6" openings (CRW). The whole thing was only 30 bucks (the $107 was the price of the 10 ft of rope at the bottom of the page) - so it's worth a try. If you made a note of my email. I'm going to delete it - don't like to leave it too long on the open web.

[Wi-sunflower]

OK I went back to the Agri Supply page and that 5 ft thingy at the bottom of the page is for a 5 ft boom like would be mounted on a tractor or ATV to run around a field. So that is nothing you would want I don't think.

But the rest of the stuff is good, a wand and some parts.

I do have your email in the reply copy in my email folder. I'll send you info on making a wand when I have some time later on the weekend.

Carol

[JackE]

Carol -- Y'all better change the name of your state capitol to Cairo! LOL But I better not laugh - we'll soon be looking at the same thing in Austin. Jack

[Wi-sunflower]

Oh I know, Madison has been crazy all week, just like Egypt was last week.

I'm just glad it's happening now because that's where I sell twice every week during the summer.

On Wed we are 2 blocks off the capitol. But on Sat we are right there on the capitol grounds. But we've gone thru all kinds of crazy demonstrations and such right during some markets.

Carol

[JackE]

Could be good for business - you know, sell them all your cracked and bruised tomatoes to throw at the legislators. LOL I bet the kids are luvin' it - no school! Hopefully the cops and firemen are still working.

They shipped all the accessories and other parts, but back ordered the applicator itself. Seems like it would have made better sense to hold the whole order until they had it complete. So maybe I will need instructions to make my own applicator.

Jack

[Bud41]

Jack
I have been using 32% Liquid N fertilizer as a herbicide for over 20 years.
Applied full strength with a back-pack and a shielded wand, it kills almost everything contacted.
Bud

[JackE]

South Louisiana - gotta be the Bud I know! Long time no see. I refer to the book you sent me nearly everyday. I'd be lost without that book - guess I need to get a new one - it's a 2008 edition.

I have more than doubled my irrigated acreage since I last talked to you on Dave's and now have a pressurized system to the new area - running sprinklers there now but I may buy the laying implement and go to plastic and drip tape next year. Have a few medical problems now - I'll be 75 in May.

Never thought of using fertilizer like that. It makes sense. I've spilled full strength fertilizer on grass and there's always a brown spot for quite awhile. Boy, that would solve a lot of problems - low cost, no crop rotation problems, no damage from residues, etc.

But how do you keep from burning shallow tomato roots? Using an adjustable nozzle cranked-down to a fine mist with a check valve to avoid dripping? I always have trouble controlling the output when I spot-treat individual weeds close to the plants. I have two shields for the hand wand - one 9 x 2 inches for a fan nozzle which works great for running the row middles when the plants get too big to use the tractor sprayer -- and a smaller "cup" with an adjustable nozzle for close-up spot work. But the cup always applies too much, no matter how quick on the trigger I am. I've killed a lot of plants that way in the past.

The Peters soluble we use is only 20%. Do you just dissolve ammonium nitrate in water or what? We also have some 46% N (urea) on hand. Or do you use a product that's already in liquid form?

Jack

[Bud41]

Jack
The 32% N comes as a liquid. It is a standard liquid fertilizer commonly used on corn around here. I have not tried wetting the urea....might work.
I have never had any problem with burning.....you are using such a small amount
of material and not drenching the plants or surrounding area.
E-mail your address to mygarden@startelco.net and I will try to get you a current
handbook.
Bud

[JackE]

Bud -- I talked to our other growers about using high N liquid fertilizer as a spot herbicide. You have always given me good advice and we would like to try it. But we don't have access to the product, and
dissolving granular urea in water doesn't seem like a good way to go -our "coffee shop chemist" say you have to heat it or it will recrystallize.

The guy who grows the sweet corn for our project said you are probably using UAN-32, which is a bulk product and not available locally (pine tree country - no farming). He said he would be using it instead of straight urea if he could get it in small quantities without driving 200 miles.

Making my own by cooking volatile urea and ammonium nitrate sounds like a good way to blow myself up! :-).

Jack

[JackE]

Carol:

Got the wiper, assembled it and filled it. It will go inside the CRW cage just fine with that 45 degree arm. As long as the spikes are pushed all the way in, it fits nicely right at ground level and you could swing a wide arc witout touching a small tomato plant. But there was another problem - the rope wick must stay out of the dirt or it gets plugged-up. We would be treating very small, individual plants with the wick right in the dirt all the time. Won't work that way. But it will be a handy tool to have - and my wife is eyeing it for use around her flowers.

We NEVER let weeds get big, NEVER. We try to zap them as seedlings, but at least under 6" high. Once one lets those rascals get big, he's pretty much up that proverbial creek without a paddle.

Jack

[Wi-sunflower]

Jack,

I wouldn't worry too much about it being in the dirt. Mine didn't plug up. It gets dirty / muddy. But you can always wash it off and it should be good to go again.

Unless the wicks they use are different from what I have that is.

Carol

[JackE]

It's a piece of white rope, Carol.

I planted a cage (we haven't put-in the toms yet -2 more weeks) in freshly tilled sandy loam, with a few small weeds inside, just to try it. It stopped flowing completely when it got dirty - one sweep, dry as a bone. I turned the cap to get maximum air, held it upright for a bit, and it gradually got damp-looking again -not long, maybe only 15 seconds, but too long when you're actually working with it. It would be a very slow, tedious process, waiting for it to get wet again after every weed.

It worked REAL good on thickly matted, low weeds that covered the ground and also on some taller weeds - but it just doesn't like to be dragged through soft dirt. It will definitely be useful under the electric fence when the wind is blowing or when I don't want to crank-up the sprayer. It didn't cost much and I know my wife can use it in her flower garden. When she saw it she told me to order one for her!

We'll play with it some more under real life conditions. I doubt if it will solve the cage problem, but I'll let our volunteer ladies play around with it. You're supposed to use a 33% solution - VERY strong; that would be one part 41% (generic) glyphosate to two parts water. Whew! that's darn near straight stuff! I just used plain water for my test. We can't use glyphosate around tomatoes - learned that lesson the hard way. We have other chemicals that are labelled for tomatoes - and horribly expensive! :-)

I'm glad I bought it - couldn't take the wife out for lunch for what it cost - and I wouldn't have been able to sleep until I tried one LOL

Jack