Looking for an effective herbicide to clear off the ground at my house- around 2000 square feet. If possible, relatively dog-safe… if not, I’ll work around it. Looking for complete bare-ground, as backyard has become a nuisance (no grass at all, just weeds) and I would like to landscape with rocks and/or small lined ponds.
Same thing as Roundup (glyphosate is its first active ingredient).
Roundup, if you believe Monsanto-Bayer, has a relatively short half-life and becomes safer soon. If you don’t believe them, other scientists outside Monsanto have research showing it contributes to bee deaths and colony collapse disorder, pollutes waterways and kills fish and amphibians, and may contribute to gluten/wheat sensitivity.
It is undoubtedly effective, cheap, and widespread, but it is also part of a greater ecologically destructive paradigm where convenience trumps safe waters and soils.
Goats are a far better choice if someone around you rents them… worth checking.
When you say “rocks”, are you talking big rocks? And if so what will cover the ground between them? If you’re talking gravel or crushed stone you’ll still get weeds. I have fabric under my crushed rock drive and have to spray Roundup every two weeks as stuff takes root in the rock.
I use a home-brewed spray of Spectricide Weed & Grass Killer and a couple of ecologically-sound formulas from Gardens Alive! Kills everything and doesn’t give the planet cancer.