A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 how to make a weed dobber. for us old folks

i ran across this thought i would share with you all.The tool that I am going to tell you about is for using herbicides such as RoundUp. The biggest mistakes that people make when using non-selective herbicides like RoundUp is over spray getting the herbicide on plants that they did not intend to spray, and over applying the product. If you spray to the point of run off, you are applying way too much.

The weed dabber is a tool used for spot treating weeds without getting the herbicide on other plants.

Start by going to your hardware store and buying a piece of 1- ½” PVC pipe. You only need a piece 30” long, but they might make you buy a 10' section. It's pretty cheap though. You'll need a plastic PVC cap for one end of the pipe, and on the other end you'll need an adapter to convert the PVC pipe to a standard pipe thread. You'll have to let the clerk at the hardware store help you find the best combination of fittings to use. What you need to do is to get the PVC pipe reduced down to a male garden hose type fitting. Hardware stores sell brass fittings that convert standard pipe thread to the same thread used on garden hoses.

Probably what you'll end up with is an adapter that will convert the 1-½” PVC to 3/4” male pipe. Then an adapter to convert the 3/4” male pipe to a male garden house fitting. They also make a cap that you can install on the end of a garden hose, you'll need one of those. This cap must have a rubber garden hose washer in it so it seals properly.

The PVC fittings have to be glued on so you'll have to pick up some PVC pipe glue and cleaner. You have to use the cleaner to remove the film and gloss from the PVC pipe and fittings before you glue them. Once you have them cleaned, just apply a coating of glue to both the pipe and the fitting, slide the fitting on and twist it at the same time. Hold the fitting tight for 60 seconds and it will be glued tightly.

Cut a piece of pipe 30” long and glue the pipe cap on one end, and the PVC to pipe thread adapter on the other end. Apply a small amount of pipe dope or Teflon tape to the threads of the adapter, and screw the male garden house fitting onto the adapter. Screw the garden hose cap to the male garden hose fitting.

Now back to the end of the pipe that you glued the pipe cap to. Drill a very small hole right in the middle of the pipe cap. You might have to experiment a little with the size of the hole you need, but make sure you start with a very small hole. I'd start with 1/16”. Cut a piece of regular household sponge in a square about 1-½” square. What you are going to do is place this sponge over the small hole you drilled in the pipe cap, and secure it there by covering it with a piece of light weight screen or mesh cloth. Maybe even a piece of an onion bag. You can secure the mesh to the PVC pipe with a hose clamp, or electrical tape.

Remove the garden hose cap from the other end of the PVC pipe, and fill the pipe with pre-mixed (ready to use) RoundUp. Replace the garden hose cap and you have yourself a weed dabber. The RoundUp will seep out the hole in the end of pipe cap and be absorbed by the sponge. As long as the garden hose cap is tight the vacuum in the pipe will keep the herbicide from running out too fast. Once the sponge is damp, you can start dabbing weeds. Remember, you only want the weeds damp and not dripping wet. As long as you are leaving some RoundUp on the weeds as you dab them, the herbicide should kill them.

Depending on the temperatures, it could take a week or so before you can see the effects of the herbicide. If the sponge gets too dry you can loosen the cap a little to release the vacuum and more herbicide will be released onto the sponge. Or you can simply turn the tool upside down and that should let some air into the chamber, thus releasing the vacuum. As always, read the label and follow the directions on the herbicide package.

Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most
interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com and sign up for his
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Hey Mike,nice to meetcha.

As an organic gardener.You are givin' me the willies dude.
Your advice on using the roundup is really great.
If you are gonna use it,gackkkk,at least don't spread it to other living things.

Hey ,I have a recipe for you if you want it.
All natural.It will kill anything .Even poison ivy.

Now lets talk compost(plant food).

Gidd ee up microherd.

i have a lot of acerage to care for thats why i use roundup.i use it sparingly.iam in a wheel chair so i do what i can the easyest way for me.its not for evryone but it gets the job done for me.sorry abought the willys duckie i am just trying to pass some imfo to others that might be in bad health but still enjoy the out doors.post the recipie i will try it thanks.your friend in gardening.mike57

I like round up, but I only use it on areas I can not get to with the weed eatter or the mower and I try most of the time to just let it grow and die by it's self, but sometimes you just have to.

If it's a place I think my dog or the cats might get into I use vinger.

Hey garden palies,
I'm sorry if I sounded preachy,that really was not my intention.Here is the recipe.

Poison Ivy Vegetation Killer
1 cup salt
8 drops liquid detergent
1 gallon vinegar

Combine the salt and vinegar in a pan and heat to dissolve the salt. Cool the vinegar, add the detergent, and pour some of the liquid into a large spray bottle. Spray the vegetation. (You can also just pour the mixture onto the weeds.) Refill the spray bottle as necessary. Note that this formula will kill all the vegetation, so make sure that you are only spraying the plants you want to kill. If you need to use a lot of this spray, avoid spraying it near wells, as the salt can leach into your water supply.

duckie

Thanks for the recipe, Duckie!

hay thanks duckie i will try that.guess it will work in the weed dobber to. thanks for the imfo cant wait to try it. guess i am never to old to learn new thing lol.was just wondering if the salt will kill my flowers?if used in the flower beds?i use the dobber to help keep me from haveing to weed my flower beds so often.it makes it much easyer and pinpoints what i whont to kill.thanks again your friend in gardening.mike57 happy holidays to you all.

Thanks for the recipe duckie! Do you think it will work on blackberry vines?

I don't think we're allowed to use Round Up in Ontario - just as well, cause I don't want to do it.

But your idea with the pipes is very good.

I have a friend who uses straight vinegar to get those stray bits of wild growth out of her cobblestone.

That might be a good idea for weeds. Thing is, I like most weeds - weeds are only things that grow where you don't want them.

If they're intrusive, just move them to a place all on their own.

I realize everybody doesn't have the same kind of gardening space - ours is a large lot on which the apartment building my husband looks after is situated. It's like a park - pines, old ones, as well a maples (mostly manitoba scrub). There's around 50 wild plants coming up everywhere - I go over 'em and if I like 'em, I move them to another spot. Things that crawl on the ground and inhibit grass are things that I put in a slope just to fill in. If I like the look of it, that is. If something looks awful, well I don't keep it.

Some people actually like dandelions and plants whole plots with them. I don't really care for 'em that much.

I like stuff like bugleweed, goutweed . . . that stuff that looks like wee ferns when it's coming up. I think it's ragweed - hee hee! Keeps the creditors off the doorstep, eh?