[NAFEX] Tordon
Idell Weydemeyer
iwgarden at earthlink.net
Sun Nov 14 12:10:33 EST 2010
I think it is important to be very careful with Tordon. Tordon is toxic to
fish and gets in the water table (check the Dow chemical website) -- it also
is very persistent in the soil--supposedly for at least 7 years so used when
spraying knapweed--seeds of which last 7 years in the soil. In Montana, you
cannot spray Tordon without an applicators license. (Tordon is a restricted
use herbicide to be applied by licensed applicators--from the Montana State
University website) It is said to kill trees nearby if not done carefully
(many areas have sandy soil so Tordon moves though). I have sprayed large
areas of knapweed and Canada thistle for years using Curtail--(which also
has some problems) but I will not use Tordon.
Perhaps the cattails will die with just dilute Roundup painted on them --
Roundup is said to be the least toxic of many herbicides but supposedly it
is the inert ingredients that can cause many problem.
Idell in N CA and in N Montana
_____
From: nafex-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Jwlehman at aol.com
Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2010 7:52 AM
To: nafex at lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] stump dissolver
In a message dated 11/14/2010 8:51:31 AM Eastern Standard Time,
jerrydana5 at aol.com writes:
1. I have a stump from a Sassafras tree I cut down in the middle of the
yard. Does anybody know of something I can put on it to "dissolve" or make
the stump soft so I can chop it out?
Sassafras is a soft wood and I'd recommend cutting it off at ground level,
take an electric drill and drill holes in it maybe 1/2 x 6 inches deep
spread some decaying vegetative matter in the holes to help seed it with
fungus. In a very few short years you'll have a hole in the ground where
the rotten stump was, in the meantime as it is at ground level you can mow
over it, drive over it and you won't know it's there until there is a hole
in the ground where the rotten stump was.
2. I have a couple of shrubs which in my garden I've been cutting back in
hopes of killing them and it hasn't worked. The roots are very deep and I
cannot dig them out. Is there something I can put on them to kill them? I
eventually want to use the soil so don't want to put anything on it that
will render the soil useless.
Yes, the root system will send up many shoots and you will have little
sassafras trees trying to grow everywhere. Tordon (carried by farm stores)
which can be purchased in small containers works very well. Simply cut the
shoots off again at ground level put a few drops of Tordon on the cutoff
portion and the roots will draw it in and then be killed. Although I have
not tested it thoroughly but in some cases I have used Roundup diluted with
50% water and then applied to the stump of cut off trees and shrubs and it
seems to work. When you apply this to the top you will notice that in a
matter of a few seconds it is drawn into the stump. Apply it several more
times that a good dose of it will be sucked up into the root system. No
need to apply so liberally that it runs down the sides as it is absorbed by
the phloem exposed on the top then carried to the roots. This must be
applied immediately after cutting off. If you wait for a short period of
time the surface cells dry up and will not absorb the chemical.
I have a new six acre pond and the cattail clumps are getting established
around the pond's edge. About three weeks ago as a test I went to about six
of those clumps cut off several of the stalks about 3 inches above the
ground and applied a mixture of about 25% Tordon, 25% Roundup and 50% water.
One clump had about two dozen cattail stalks and I cut off maybe six
scattered throughout the clump them applied the mixture. All of the clumps
or clusters that I treated are dying whereas untreated clusters are still
very green and alive. Next spring I intend to treat all of the clusters as I
don't want the pond's banks lined with cattails.
One word of caution on the Tordon container. It comes with a funky little
cap you pull up then turn the container over and apply the liquid to the cut
off stump. It is the poorest designed applicator I've ever seen as it
leaks, leaks and leaks and more and runs down the side of the container
exposing it to your hand. My cynical guess is Tordon likes it because you
waste so much and they sell more chemical. They have been selling it in the
same container for years. I wear heavy rubber gloves when I'm applying it.
Jerry
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/private/nafex/attachments/20101114/30b53ecb/attachment.html
More information about the nafex
mailing list