Cover the area with cardboard or a thick layer of newspaper which will smother the grass. That's all i do anymore. :)

I dig the grass out by hand. This also gives me a chance to till it thoroughly and add any manure or compost and get an idea of what the soil structure is like in that area (which might influence what I plant there). Also then it's dug up to put in the lawn edging. It's hard work but I seem to be doing it all the time as I accumulate more plants! :0

Roundup is active for an average of 35 days after application (although it varies depending on microbial activity in the soil). After it decomposes, it does not leave any harmful substances. It is not as environmentally unfriendly as people seem to assume, especially when used in small quantities in a backyard setting. That said, I almost never use it.

I use Roundup. I have a healthy respect for any chemical, use it cautiously and protect myself properly. Never spray in wind or even a breeze, and don't walk thru it after it's applied. Don't wear shorts and a tank top - long pants, long sleeves, socks & shoes. Rubber gloves, of course. The only thing I don't use is a mask although I do have one, I just hate the mask. It's a good idea to shower and change clothes immediately after.

For years I dug up sod - ugghh. A couple of years ago I put in a largish shrub bed, so I sprayed the grass with roundup, waited about 10 days then just dug holes where I wanted the shrubs to be. After that I spread a mulch over the then dead grass.

This year I have to kill the grass under the new bird feeding area, but I'm worried about the birds that forage in the grass under the feeders. I'm hoping if I spread plastic overtop the grass after the roundup is applied that the birds will stay away from the ground area for a few days.

There are different kinds of roundup. I just bought Weathermax Roundup which takes minutes for the plant to absorb. Whereas, the roundup you buy in the store, say, Home Depot or places like that, you are not to get the plant wet for something like a week or 10 days after application.

I like roundup and use a lot of it on my acreage to kill grass and dandelions in the garden, flowerbeds and along the fence line, etc.

Spray roundup, leave it for a week, till and you are ready to plant. I have never had any problems with plants that I have placed in an area where roundup had been just used. Apparently some plants (do not remember which ones) as they are dying, give off something that can effect new plants planted in the same spot. I never worry about it. I do not recall any recently transplanted plants showing any ill effects in the new beds.

I like the idea that 'pudge' did...spray, wait, dig individual holes, plant shrubs, mulch the whole area...done.

Brenda

The back of the Round up bottle that you would get from Home Depot, for example, says:
* Wait 3 days for lawn seed or sod planting
* Wait 1 day for flower, shrub or tree planting
* Wait 3 days for vegetable or fruit planting
* Wait 1-3 days for garden plot preparation

It's not that Round Up disappears so quickly. It doesn't. It is that once it comes in contact with soil, the chemical bonds so tightly to soil particles that plants cannot absorb it anymore. The product is rendered inert, with respect to plants, even though the chemical is still there. That is why it is important to use clean water when mixing Round up. Dirty water will contain lots of particles that Round up will bond to, and the product won't work as intended.

Rick

Brenda, I don't know if this is the same one you buy, but the one that I buy is made from Green Cross, Super Concentrate, Rain-Proof in 2 hours (rain or watering two hours after application will not wash away effectiveness).

Sharon

Sharon,

I buy mine at a agricultural supply place and the roundup I use is called Roundup WeatherMax with Transorb Technology. I buy it in the 10 litre container and when I go to use it I mix 135 ml to 1 litre of water.

Brenda

Brenda, do you know if this weathermax roundup available in Edmonton? Can I buy it in any garden Centre?
Thanks
Ella

I just came in from Roundup-ing my beds. I have soooo much quackgrass encroaching and also something new to me this year...Looks like a brush or the end of a pine branch...its everywhere.
The Roundup I have comes in a gallon container and it has a small hoze with a nozzle attached. On the nozzle is a handle that you pull and it fills with the chemical...you then can choose either a foam or a stream spray method of application. The foam is great so you can see where you have applied it, it also makes it heavier (if that makes sense) so it doesn't blow around like the stream.
I use it along the edge of the bed, since I haven't gotten any type of edging in yet (another project for this year..add it to the list!)I need to keep the grass out of the beds.