I am trying to cut down on some of my roto tilling. I am trying to come up with a chemical plan for the weeds in my sweet corn. Years ago I used to just buy 2 4 d and Atrazine and problems were solved. Well in Indiana, now you have to be certified to apply chemicals on the ground. Test cost 100 dollars a try, 25 a year to keep it up. Well that seems like a lot of trouble and money for a couple acres of sweet corn, that I'm going to give away. Has anyone got any suggestions??? Any easy ways to keep the weeds down in corn. My best attempt without chemicals was when I first got a little 4 cycle Honda tiller. It would get right next to the plants/rows without any harm, and would go as fast as I could walk. Made quick work of little weeds. Well the bottom end went out of that little tiller 2 years ago. I bought an Earthquake little 2 cycle tiller from Lowe's and it is a piece of junk. Won't start 3/4s of the time, and then it does not run as good as that Honda. I'm going to attempt to fix that Honda this spring, have it on a piece of cardboard in the house now in fact. I hate to have to buy a new Honda again, as they are 300 or so in price. A lot of money for 2 years use, then out goes the bottom end. I don't think they thought people would use them on 2 - 4 acre garden plots. But when they are running, they are the slickest thing out. 22 pounds of weed kill-en power. lol So lets get a discussion going on weed control.
In Illinois 2,4,D is not a restricted use pesticide. You might check that out. Still might beable to use it. One other product is called preen it is sold at most garden centers. It is good to keep grass killed. It is a trifluron. Same thing as farmers call treflan. On sweet corn you would have to plant it then apply the preen between the rows and water it in a little or rake it in shallow and then a little water to activate it. read the label just to make sure. Other than that mechanical weeding is about the only other thing. You could use ground cover such as mulch or straw or whatever else between the rows.the black filter fabric might work also. Just a thought. I hope this helps.
We have 2-4-d here, but it just controls broadleafs. That Treflan comes in 30lb bags at the COOP. I'm thinking of trying it. They have Roundup ready corn, but not Roundup sweet corn.
Round up readies aren't for human consumption unless something has changed. Same thing with the soybeans. You have to be careful with corn. I use 2-4D. It is a broadleaf killer thats why it wont kill corn. Corn is a blade or grass. You got to be careful around corn. I use Post everywhere in the garden except corn. Corn is 2-4D. What that primarily does is in one part of the garden you can safely kill grass and not the vegetable plants. In the corn you can safely kill broadleafs and not the corn. Still puts you weeding but alot less of it.:big_smile: I would go ahead and get the application license just so I could buy the good stuff for home and garden.
Stuff that you can use on field corn will kill sweet corn grave yard dead. So be careful. AS just because it can be used on field corn does not mean it will work on all kinds. Also better to not have chemicals on the corn. That is what turned Bryan's hair Grey and took DeerHunters hair off his head. Pete
The only place you can find Post is at a fertilizer /chemical house. Its a regulated herbicide requiring an applicator's license. Let me tell ya about the good ol days. We use to gas plant beds like tobacco plant beds. I think the gas is bromide and its still used to gas entire fields. Back before the big CFC hoopla you could buy the small cans of gas just like you could R12. It had a screw on hose type deal and you ran the hose up under the plastic on the plant bed. Eventually when this amateur application method was outlawed or whatever it was the application hose attachments became scarce unless you had one to hold on to. If you didnt, well you broke the ground on your garden plot, put the plastic over it, and sealed it all up with a few cans of this gas under the plastic. Grab the .22, shoot the cans through the plastic and slap a piece of duct tape over the bullet hole in the plastic. Dont matter whats in that soil, it's dead. couple weeks later prep it for planting and plant. If it popped a weed or grass it came to be there inbetween the time you pulled off the plastic and planted.
Methyl Bromide is what your talking about worked around it for over 30 yrs. Can't see it or smell it. They have used it on houses also. Cover the whole house in plastic and fill it with gas. Kills all the bugs.
I think it will kill about anything Mark. Deadly to humans. Got to be careful with it. I saw a pump head blow a plug one day that was running 200 psi. Under pressure it is a liquid. Saw a stream about 1/2" around shoot for about 75'.
