Weeds/Grass and Flower Beds

[Holloway Lawns]

Ok just wondering what is the best way to keep a flower bed free of weeds and grass with the lowest cost in mind and beside's pulling them all the time? Also does mulch keep ground cover from spreding? Thanks for your help on this.:confused:

[Premo Services]

You will need to kill the weeds with roundup, or pull em out :( , and if you are licenced to apply chemicals, then put a premergence herbicide to keep the weeds from comming back.
I have found that a product called preen works good for some weeds, and it is in a granular form.

Mulching will not keep ground cover from spreading. Shortly after putting the mulch down, the ground cover will be comming back.

[Avery]

We use Ronstar pre-emergeant. Works well and does not root prune like some other brands.

[Premo Services]

Originally posted by Avery
We use Ronstar pre-emergeant. Works well and does not root prune like some other brands.

Avery, What does root prune mean.

[Avery]

Mow money....Root pruning is where the root zone of a beneficial plant is harmed /killed by a chemical. Most pre-emergeants will root prune somewhat. Ronstar will not. We apply it to newly installed sod without any harmful effects. The stuff is not cheap but is does a better job than any product we have tried.

[lawrence stone]

Before you go out and buy any herbicide and apply it on any lawn other than your own and are not licensed and insured can you afford to get caught?

Just one complaint to the state Ag dept and they will be all over you.

If you kill off a homeowners trees and shrubs you will be pretty much history in the green industry.

Even though you might have business insurance it's worthless for it does not have a pesticide endorsement.

Lawrence Stone®, Your point can be made without the insults. - Ray

[Fantasy Lawns]

wellll .... I may not open like that ....but point made ..... and true ..... around here it is a $5k ...NO Warning ...this is a better area to sub out to a qualified n licensed Spray Service ..even Round Up you need at least a license (3 years tax returns....500k insurance ...8 hr class ...test .....$$ ...continued 4 hr learning per year)

like it or not ......these type of regulations are the ONLY defense a Full Professional Service has against just ANY One going out .....you will have much better peace of mind (and more than likely better Results) to sub out the work

BUT if you are licensed to spray you should have a good idea of what to use ;->

[Avery]

I am a licensed applicator Stone. Have been for years and years. Also, several of my employees are licensed also, even though they are not required to be. Also carry general liability insurance to the tune of 2.5 million. As for my nose...it does get a little snotty now and then. Allergies catching up to me in my old age.

[lawrence stone]

Originally posted by Avery
I am a licensed applicator Stone. Have been for years and years. Also, several of my employees are licensed also, even though they are not required to be. Also carry general liability insurance to the tune of 2.5 million. As for my nose...it does get a little snotty now and then. Allergies catching up to me in my old age.

So in the state of NC you can just put a guy in a spray truck without any formal instruction? Does not the state have to test your employee in the interest of public safety?

[Avery]

Stone, Yes I can put a guy in a truck, yes I give them instructions on what to do and how to do it. No the state does not require them to be tested. They work under my license. Does not take a genius to be able to read and follow labels on containers. Your state may have different regulations. I do not profess to know the laws in any state other than my own.

Like you I also have little tolerance of unlicensed/uninsured LCO operators. I will however give answers to reasonable questions posted on this board. I was under the assumption that it was designed for that purpose. The majority of the posters here seem to be new guys with little knowldege of the industry, but at least they are trying to learn. Why not help them out?

Last but not least....I have no use for flammers. :cool:

[lawrence stone]

Originally posted by Avery
Stone, Yes I can put a guy in a truck, yes I give them instructions on what to do and how to do it. No the state does not require them to be tested.


Now that's scary. Does NC have an annual state car or truck inspection? I know some states don't inspect cars. Most of the heaps on the road then have front suspension issues, bald tires and a rusted thru mufflers.

[powerreel]

That State Inspection is such a scam. In NJ they do that there, if your rig doesn't pass smog you have to bribe the local garage- it's so East Coast.
It really isn't hard to train guys to apply and if you mix and load a tank and have shown them calibration it isn't a big deal to not be standing over them all the time.
Surflan works pretty good applied to weeded beds and can be mixed with Round Up do bring on the pre & post punch.

[Avery]

Yes Stone, we have state inspections. The State of NC is very tough on their highway safety. DMV is always pulling one of my trucks to make sure they are not overweight. Fines for that get kinda stiff.

We are not a bunch of renegades with backpacks like you may think. Licensed operations are very careful and constantly checked by the pesticide inspector. I would not risk my business for a second on someone I was unsure would be cautious in how they applied pesticide. The State just uses common sense and realizes that contractors cannot always license every employee.