# Weedy questions



## Wisconsin (Oct 12, 2016)

I'm at year two of 60 vines planted. This year we had a late frost that stunted about 60% and killed two vines. I'm growing varieties that should be good for my region - Prairie Star, St Pepin, La Crescent. 

My brilliant idea for weed control using grass cuttings as mulch turned out to be not so brilliant. I read that mulching in my area is not good because of potential winter kill problems. Therefore this year I was determined to control manually. After falling behind this summer, I had to play catch up with weeding which averaged about 3-5 hours per row. This is not something I want to have to do again.

Questions.

1. Anyone use Rely 280? In reading seems to be better alternative over round-up.
2. Anyone have luck with small tiller - I was thinking mantis type (the tiller I have today is way to large to use around vines). Any suggestions?
3. What about edging to cut rhizomes? Anyone have a method that works (besides a hand spade).

Glenn.


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## salcoco (Oct 12, 2016)

the best to use is round up.just spray on calm days.

rototiller will work adjacent to row, just watch depth as roots can be near the surface.

We used to rototill about 12 inches each side and then spray about the 4 inches width or less left under the vines. one spray in late fall, one in early spring when vines are dormant and once in mid to late summer should do it.


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## GreginND (Oct 12, 2016)

Actually, Rely is a better solution than roundup. Roundup is a systemic herbicide meaning if it hits any green parts of your vines, it will be taken up into the system. Rely only kills what it contacts and is not taken up systemically. Thus, if you do happen to hit some lower leaves, it will not hurt the rest of the plant. 

Tilling is a good option if you can get it done. It is all around safer for the vines. 

I have 250 gallons of Prairie Star in the tank that just finished fermenting. I love the lemon zest and pear notes this grape provides. La Crescent is one of my all time favorite white grapes. Unfortunately the La Crescent I was supposed to get this year is still hanging in the grower's vineyard rotting. He couldn't get them picked in time for me.


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## TonyR (Oct 12, 2016)

Weeding sucks, i have and still use grass clippings betweens my vines. Early spring i spray ortho ground clear concentrate that kills all summer, well it doesn't last all summer but it lastes longer than normal roundup. As far as grass clippings, just move them a way from the stocks of the vines in the fall so the mice are not under cover to eat them. When you spray just make sure that the vines are still dormant.


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## Johny99 (Oct 12, 2016)

You can mulch all summer then clean it away to let the frost flow for the winter, a lot of work. Caseron works well, although I'd wait for the third or fourth leaf just to be safe.


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## hounddawg (Oct 13, 2016)

first off i know i'm just an old country hillbilly, but a 2 foot chicken wire fence run around you perimeter and put weedier geese, in the hills here we use this method for years upon years, buy the smallest geese you can get,, except if your vines are higher up, then i use white emblem geese the biggest geese which eat more grass an weeds and are white, so now an then you end up with goose an dressing,,, 
Dawg 







Wisconsin said:


> I'm at year two of 60 vines planted. This year we had a late frost that stunted about 60% and killed two vines. I'm growing varieties that should be good for my region - Prairie Star, St Pepin, La Crescent.
> 
> My brilliant idea for weed control using grass cuttings as mulch turned out to be not so brilliant. I read that mulching in my area is not good because of potential winter kill problems. Therefore this year I was determined to control manually. After falling behind this summer, I had to play catch up with weeding which averaged about 3-5 hours per row. This is not something I want to have to do again.
> 
> ...


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## Johnd (Oct 13, 2016)

hounddawg said:


> first off i know i'm just an old country hillbilly, but a 2 foot chicken wire fence run around you perimeter and put weedier geese, in the hills here we use this method for years upon years, buy the smallest geese you can get,, except if your vines are higher up, then i use white emblem geese the biggest geese which eat more grass an weeds and are white, so now an then you end up with goose an dressing,,,
> Dawg



And they will keep the deer out as well.....


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## Wisconsin (Oct 13, 2016)

hounddawg said:


> first off i know i'm just an old country hillbilly, but a 2 foot chicken wire fence run around you perimeter and put weedier geese, in the hills here we use this method for years upon years, buy the smallest geese you can get,, except if your vines are higher up, then i use white emblem geese the biggest geese which eat more grass an weeds and are white, so now an then you end up with goose an dressing,,,
> Dawg



Well Dawg you have my attention! I live in the country of hills so I guess technically you could call me a "sort-of" hillbilly (or sordid..). In my dreams at night I was contemplating the type of critters that would leave my vines and keep the deer out possibly scare away the birds. If they ate the weeds and I could eat them... that would be special!

To put up $$ and buy the fence and convince the missus that this is going to work I want to make sure I looked at all the plusses and minuses. 


We have a lot of bald eagles in our area due the many chicken farms... can a goose handle flying critters that have sharp claws?
Is goose pooh as bad to step in as turkey pooh?
Will they keep my wife up at night?

Any other downsides I did not consider?

Glenn.


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## TonyR (Oct 13, 2016)

Remember the old saying. Its as slick as goose s--- We got lots of Canadian Geese in this area. . At least the wild ones have all dark meat that when cooked looks kind of like roast beef. But they take lots of care when cooking, super lean.


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## Wisconsin (Oct 13, 2016)

TonyR said:


> Remember the old saying. Its as slick as goose s--- We got lots of Canadian Geese in this area. . At least the wild ones have all dark meat that when cooked looks kind of like roast beef. But they take lots of care when cooking, super lean.



Well I grew up with free-range turkeys. Those birds leave behind stuff a small dog would be proud of.... I can deal with slick... just not mushy.....


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## hounddawg (Oct 13, 2016)

aS FER WEEDS SPREAD GOAT PELLETS/MANURE ARUND YOU VINYARD DEER HATE THE SMELL OF GOAT MANURE/PELLETS DEYOUND BELIEF. AND WHILE TALKING HELP FULL IF YOU HAVE DEER DOG PUT A RABBITT CAGE OVER THE DEER DOGS PENS THEY WILL STILL HUNT DEER BUT NO MORE RSBBITS
DAWG
SORRY ABOU MY SPELLING YESTERDAY WAS MY BIRTHDAY AND BEINGS I'M OLDR I HANDLE VERY MUC ELSE LOL 





NO,


Johnd said:


> And they will keep the deer out as well.....


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## hounddawg (Oct 24, 2016)

[

only if they are very short legged and not hungry
for deer we go for beer burgers n chilly meat
DAWG







QUOTE=Johnd;624795]And they will keep the deer out as well.....[/QUOTE]


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## treesaver (Dec 14, 2016)

I thought I'd share my stab at weed control. While not perfect, it definitely helped. I have a sawmill down the road aways that saws alot of walnut. He warned that it was not good to put on a garden etc, cause the chemicals in walnut don't get along with some plants. Well I tryed it on a few vines, and the vines wern't bothered in the least. I went back and got a couple trailer loads and put it 6-8 inches deep down the rows about two foot wide. The only weeds that invaded were a few of the woodier weeds which are easy to pull, but it has worked well for me. Also a side effect is loosening up the soil. We have very heavy clay base soil here. You do have to reapply every other year, and some grasses seem imune to it. Good luck.


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## salcoco (Dec 15, 2016)

be aware that black walnut can be toxic to plants. also without some nitrogen additive, nitrogen in the soil is being used to compost the wood taking away these ntrients from you desired plants.


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## Masbustelo (Dec 15, 2016)

Wood chips on top of the ground won't tie up any nitrogen, as the root zone is not in this area primarily. I.e. The roots don't grow on top of the soil. As the mulch breaks down over the years it will leach into the soil valuable micro nutrients.


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## treesaver (Dec 15, 2016)

All I know is the grapes are doing good, and the weed problem is much better....win win! Thanks for the replys.


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