well I got to play with the new toy today.... sprayed the quinchlorac that has been sittin here a month now, plus some Weed-b-gon for good measure (which is mostly 2,4-D and this particular batch is at least 25 years old, trying to use it up, found it sitting in parents' garage-- how long has it been since you could buy ORTHO stuff in a metal, gallon can? The price sticker is from a now defunct store, even) plus some bug-b-gon (another ortho product I forgot that I had sitting on MY shelf, hopefully it'll deal with all the ant hills in my side yard) and some MSO (methylated seed oil) for good measure- this last is a "surfactant" (helps the rest stick to the plant foliage instead of just running off into the ground) 10 hours later I can still smell the 2,4-D when I go outside....
I have sprayed my yard many times over the years, by different methods (Hudson pump up can, hose end sprayer,) but the Quin says not to apply that way, for some reason?
Figures, after 2 failed wild goose chases on separate days after work this past week, each 50 miles from home in opposite directions, I broke down and decided to buy a new unit, (finding one on sale plus having a couple of gift cards to help pay for it) today, I took a couple hours away from the bathroom remodel to go 50 miles the other way from home, to a yearly threshermens show, and there it is... a good sprayer unit for what I was wanting to spend in the 1st place..... no, I don't now own 2 of them, like has happened with so many things over the years.....
"had to" go to the show this year, since I missed last year on account of it being called off at the last moment it could have been, on account of soggy fields/ last year at this time was quite rainy, quite opposite of this year...… and when I dropped the wife off at work, she even said for me to go to the show and hold off on the bathroom tearout since I discovered and fixed the root of our issue yesterday... good thing it was only our "1/2 bath".... and not the main full bathroom..... nother story.
but... I have discovered 1 thing, and I find the same rule of thumb works when painting, where a given quantity of paint NEVER goes as far as the label states... whether I go by label directions, or whether I "Tim Taylor" a job and "wing it" knowing I am spraying overkill amounts (or applying fertilizer via drop spreader, where I am most likely to put on how much "I think" a job needs rather than setting the spreader as the bag states)
I know my square footage of my green space.... at least what I would have, if it was a bare lot without a house, a shed, a 30x36 garage and 2 driveways taking away from the green..... I guessed at the amount of space taken up by said buildings, and concrete/gravel, and I thought I guessed "low," meaning that I allowed for more space still green than I really have..... then, added a bit of mixed water/pesticide for "fudge factor" purposes, thinking that I would "for sure" have leftover material, but no.... still ran out of solution before I ran out of grass to apply it to....
I figured 8 gallons of solution would be about right, so I mixed 10 gallons in the sprayer.... ran out, guessed at about another 6 gallons of solution measured out and mixed exactly by label directions.... and had "just" enough.
Every time I spray or spread fertilizer/ pesticide, or paint, I wind up having to use 1-1/2 to 2x the amount of material as is claimed for the area that I have to deal with.... when I am dealing with grass seed, it winds up being about double again, what is called for. (so 3 to 4 times what is called for) No matter how hard I try to do that job "by the book".
I did read somewhere, as I was getting ready to mix the 1st batch of solution for the yard that the amount of water used to carry the rest, isn't as important as the amount of product applied with that water to a given amount oft ground... I would think that if I would have used my original amount of chemical, and just watered it down further to be able to get their recommended amount of product to the square footage I have to cover that "watered down" would not be as effective...….
and yes I did spray "just water" as directed by the sprayer instructions over concrete, to judge speed and coverage before I added the chemical to the tank....
now to see if this works, without the whole yard keeling over dead, here at the house.... not like it would be the 1st time this year, the lack of rain until these last 10 days or so, had previously taken care of that, mostly.... except for the weeds.
then I get to take it out to my parents' cottage by the river, where I can use up some more of that old Weed b gon along with some highly concentrated Roundup that a buddy of mine was able to get me from his work at a co-op nearby... I'd rather spray poison ivy than to attack it with a weed eater..... unlike my brothers it doesn't seem to bother me but there was a time when they too, could walk barefoot and in cutoff shorts thru it and not be effected.... now all you gotta do to either is to mention "poison ivy" and they are one itchy rash from head to toe.... I can still walk thru it barefoot and in shorts (or I could last time I tried) but I don't want to take that chance.... I mowed out there last weekend and so far, I didn't break out. lotsa exposed tree roots out there that only kill mowers.... I just don't like the process of cleaning and flushing the tank and lines, for the next time I don't want a total kill...… I remember that from my days at the co op when they did the switchout from corn solution mix, to soybean mix....
