[davep]

ive just sprayed some weeds on my lawn with roundup,unfortunately my bottle is *ahem* borrowed from a friends workplace!its a massive industrial size tub and the instruction book has been removed,how long must i leave it before i can cut my grass without wasting my efforts with the roundup? i think i remember from a  previous bottle it took a certain amount of time to soak to the roots.....thank you...
                             
                                             davep

[ziggywigs]

Do you mean Roundup as in glysophate?

Round up is not a selective weedkiller so will kill your grass too ie it kills all vegetation.

Hopefully you've sprayed just the weeds and not the whole lawn.  

Weeds are usually dead within two weeks.

[davep]

yeah,i sprayed it out a bottle of solution i made up!im dumb,but not that dumb!!

[muntjac]

10 days it wil be dead .. you can cut the grass anytime just dont put it in your compost bin or feed it to animals ,stick it in a refuse bag and dispose of ity in the rubbish bin

[davep]

might give it a trim today then,whats the weorst that can happen eh?
  thanks all.......
                 davep

[WG.]

whats the weorst that can happen eh?

Since you asked ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundup  :?

Glyphosate is classed as a moderately toxic herbicide and in EPA toxicity class III. Representative of one side of the debate on toxicity, in a comprehensive scientific review citing hundreds of studies, American scientist Caroline Cox, in Journal of Pesticide Reform v. 108, n.3[7] stated that "Glyphosate containing products are acutely toxic to animals, including humans". She goes on to state that it has conclusively demonstrated adverse effects in "all standards of laboratory toxicology testing" including medium term toxicity, long-term toxicity, genetic damage, reproductive toxicity, and carcinogenicity.[8] & she also questions the neutrality of the American EPA. On the other side a review was conducted in 2000 concluding that "under present and expected conditions of new use, there is no potential for Roundup herbicide to pose a health risk to humans".[9]The EPA, however, clearly states that in "relatively short term exposures" to concentrations in water above its limits (which it currently sets at 0.7 parts per million in water), the short term human effects so far found include congestion of lungs, increased breathing rate, and effects of long term exposures have potential to cause kidney damage and reproductive effects.[10]There is currently no true consensus on the true toxicity of glyphosate products, those that cite a consensus must cite sources that rely almost totally on Monsanto studies or studies they have funded.

   I'm not taking sides here, incidentally, merely providing information.  Personally, I choose not to use the stuff.  For me, all the assurances sound similar to those provided for DDT.

I'd be concerned in your case, davep, that you were using agricultural strength RoundUp and not the pre-diluted product normally sold to gardeners.  Munty, you had some earlier posts on this didn't you?

And, john, I hope this post doesn't qualify me for the organic Taleban?  I did like your description there.  

[muntjac]

yeh and i use the agricultural stuff as well ,its just diluted more in shop bought containers .. i put a couple  egg cups full in a 5 gallon back pack sprayer . only cos im cheap  to much is a waste as it dont take loads to kil them weeds

[Aunt Sally]

Glyphosate has been very useful for me this year.  Two dodgy backs and our new lottie not cultivated for a couple of years  

We've managed to hand dig about half of the allotment so far.  Skimmed and stack all the weeds and turf etc. to rot down for a couple of years.  The rest of the plot we have killed off with glyphosate.  

I looked into the cost of covering it with black polythene instead  :shock: NOT a financial alternative.  

We can just nibble away a little bit each time we are there without it becoming a jungle.

I understand why WG is unsure about using pesticides and herbicides.  In one of my earlier incarnations I worked at Shell Research in Sittingbourne.  I was measuring residual herbicides and pesticides in soils and crops.  So I know the risks and am quite happy to reap their benefits