I consider myself a reasonable person. I don't kick puppies. I don't drown kittens. I don't beat my significant other. In the garden I try to stay as organic and ecological as possible. I knock aphids off the roses with a stream of water. I brush cabbage moth eggs off of the broccoli before they hatch and become a problem. I pull weeds by hand as I spot them.
But when early spring comes and the weeds outnumber the garden plants, something has to be done. Suddenly it's No More Nice Gardener. On with the rubber gloves. On with the mask. Out comes the RoundUp. Mix up a fresh batch from concentrate. It's time for a Dose of Death. Bye-bye, weeds. See ya never.
I'm a mostly organic gardener. I use very few chemicals in the garden, and RoundUp is one of them. As far as herbicides go, RoundUp is one of the least obnoxious. It biodegrades fairly rapidly. Even so, I use it very judiciously. The things it biodegrades into aren't necessarily great, either, but at least they tend to stay put in the soil and not migrate into the water table.
What RoundUp WILL do: One application of RoundUp will kill most weeds and grasses to which it is applied. It usually takes a week or two for yellowing to begin, so don't get impatient and spray over and over. RoundUp is particularly useful in hard-to-weed spots such as gravel areas or cracks between pavers. It kills plants clear down to the roots, so it is is the most effective product I've used on deep-rooted weeds such as dandelions.
What RoundUp WON'T do: RoundUp is not a pre-emergent, so it will not kill weed seeds (use corn gluten or Cassoron for that). It also isn't as effective against blackberries, ivy, poison-oak, poison-ivy, and other tough shrubs as some stronger herbicides (such as the nasty and totally efficient Crossbow, which is about the only thing that keeps poison-oak under control). Multiple applications of RoundUp may be needed to kill some of these tougher plants down to the roots. RoundUp does not kill moss. I don't know about ferns or horsetails -- I haven't tried it there.
How to use RoundUp safely: Always wear rubber gloves when using garden chemicals. A mask is also recommended. Even a bandanna over your nose and mouth is better than nothing. Read the label carefully before using. Spray on a sunny day in the morning when the air is still to prevent the spray from drifting where you don't want it. Rather than sweeping a large area indiscriminantly, try to aim the spray just where you want it. This lessens the impact on the soil community. To really get precise with the stuff, you can 1) use a sponge to wipe it directly on the leaves of the plants, 2) cut the bottom off of a soda bottle and use it as a shield -- put the open bottom over the plant to be sprayed, and aim the spray through the mouth of the bottle, or 3) buy the foam-type spray, which doesn't drift and stays where you spray it. After spraying, wait two weeks for results. If the plants aren't yellowing by then, spray once more. That'll do it.
How NOT to use RoundUp: Don't saturate the soil with RoundUp. The key to healthy gardens is healthy soil, and overuse of RoundUp and other herbicides/pesticides can devastate the soil community. Don't get impatient for results. Spraying daily because you think the weeds should be dying by now is a waste of money. Don't spray on a windy day. You may kill your garden plants -- and your neighbor's along with them.
Other ways to deal with weeds: I use RoundUp as a last line of defense against weeds. To reduce my dependency on RoundUp, I have many other methods of weed control, including:
-- Mulch. Nature abhores a vacuum, and never so much as when that vacuum is bare soil in your garden. To ecologists, weeds are "pioneer species" -- they are opportunists which thrive on bare, disturbed soil. If you keep your soil covered and don't disturb it, you deprive weeds of opportunities. Even a little much helps, especially if you put a barrier such as landscaping fabric or several layers of newspaper under it.
--Practice plant parenthood. Frustrate weeds by pulling them before they have a chance to reproduce. It's like fitting them with tiny condoms. No weed flowers equals no weed seeds. No weed seeds equals no new generation of weeds.
--Close quarters. If you have good soil which you've enriched with lots of compost and other organic stuff (and you should or you're wasting your time, not to mention lots of money spent on fertilizers when the soil bacteria could be making fertilizer for you), you can pack your plants in much closer than the seed packets recommend. If your veggies and flowers are close enough together that their leaves touch, they shade the soil and give weeds far less opportunity to get a foothold. Books such as Square Foot Gardening and others which describe intensive gardening methods can advise you.
--Flame on! They're expensive, but weed flamers are another solution to weed control on gravel areas, along curbs, and between pavers. I'm hoping to have one someday soon, when I can afford one. They look like a satisfying way to take out one's aggressions: "Mwah, hah, hah, take THAT! Shrivel! Die!"
As I say, I'm usually a reasonable person.
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