Bye bye big city!
- Thread starter Texas82GP
- Start date
The best stuff I've found is this...
Cheaper and works waaaay better than Roundup. I used to be able to buy it locally but had to get it online last time.
Sorry for the derail but it might come in handy.
Cheaper and works waaaay better than Roundup. I used to be able to buy it locally but had to get it online last time.
Sorry for the derail but it might come in handy.
Roundup sells a "poison ivy" version that will knock out kudzu in a day. Has the yellow cap on it. Pricey? All roundup is pricey. I used to work for Monsanto (eventually purchased by Bayer a couple years ago) so I could get a good deal on the stuff, but any glyphosate will work. Be careful though, that sh*t can be nasty if you use a ton of it. Wear some good PPE to keep it off of you.
Glyphosate is non-discriminate and pretty much kills or severely hamper anything that grows out of the ground, so I wouldn't go crazy with it. The only real difference is the amount of glyphosate salts are in the mix. The regular junk is around 40% glyphosate, the stronger junk is closer to 50%. Just means you'd have to use more of the regular stuff. Just get the cheapest stuff you can find.
Unfortunately, while the roundup did work in my situation, it would take THOUSANDS of dollars worth of that stuff to eradicate the amount of kudzu I was fighting. It wasn't meant for me to go buy a couple gallons and fight fields of the stuff like I had, but I was intent on clearing out a large enough spot so they could start leveling the ground and building. I'd never fought that stuff before. It's a 15 round fight, that I can tell you. But you can win. I had no idea what I was doing with kudzu, but it's either you or it.
THE BEST way I was able to fight the stuff was once the underbrush and extra trees were gone from the property, I had since purchased a new riding lawn mower. So before getting rid of the old one, I used the OLD riding mower to go after the kudzu fields every week, eating up as much as I could. You could get some cows or goats. They'll tear that sh*t up and keep it eaten down where it won't grow. But cowpies and goats on your vehicles make that a not so hot idea anyway.
The kudzu bulbs (looks kinda like shriveled sweet potatoes) get numerous as the stuff spreads. Cut the vine and keep it cut, and leaves can't sprout. Bulbs will eventually die. That's the idea. And going back over the areas from the previous week. The sh*t won't die with just one cutting. Went through 3 sets of blades, too. Don't try to cut too much at once or the vines will wrap up around the mower blades. Ask me how I know. Prepare for the long battle and don't try and win it in a week.
Only good thing about kudzu is it smells sorta like grapes when the flowers bloom on it. But that's it. The seed pods contain seeds, and the nodes along the ground root and form clones of the mother pod, which allows this thing to be a super-spreader. Unchecked, you will lose your property to kudzu in a short time.
I even rented a monster roto-tiller trying to tear that sh*t up from the ground. Wanted to make a garden out there anyway. It was a fight, and that stuff did not want to die, but you have to keep at it. Eventually, I chased that sh*t out of the areas I reclaimed. It didn't take long to get a good clearing, but still had smaller groups of hangers-on weeds to deal with. I ended up clearing about 2 acres of kudzu by myself. Now it's just lawn.
Say no to this:
Glyphosate is non-discriminate and pretty much kills or severely hamper anything that grows out of the ground, so I wouldn't go crazy with it. The only real difference is the amount of glyphosate salts are in the mix. The regular junk is around 40% glyphosate, the stronger junk is closer to 50%. Just means you'd have to use more of the regular stuff. Just get the cheapest stuff you can find.
Unfortunately, while the roundup did work in my situation, it would take THOUSANDS of dollars worth of that stuff to eradicate the amount of kudzu I was fighting. It wasn't meant for me to go buy a couple gallons and fight fields of the stuff like I had, but I was intent on clearing out a large enough spot so they could start leveling the ground and building. I'd never fought that stuff before. It's a 15 round fight, that I can tell you. But you can win. I had no idea what I was doing with kudzu, but it's either you or it.
THE BEST way I was able to fight the stuff was once the underbrush and extra trees were gone from the property, I had since purchased a new riding lawn mower. So before getting rid of the old one, I used the OLD riding mower to go after the kudzu fields every week, eating up as much as I could. You could get some cows or goats. They'll tear that sh*t up and keep it eaten down where it won't grow. But cowpies and goats on your vehicles make that a not so hot idea anyway.
The kudzu bulbs (looks kinda like shriveled sweet potatoes) get numerous as the stuff spreads. Cut the vine and keep it cut, and leaves can't sprout. Bulbs will eventually die. That's the idea. And going back over the areas from the previous week. The sh*t won't die with just one cutting. Went through 3 sets of blades, too. Don't try to cut too much at once or the vines will wrap up around the mower blades. Ask me how I know. Prepare for the long battle and don't try and win it in a week.
Only good thing about kudzu is it smells sorta like grapes when the flowers bloom on it. But that's it. The seed pods contain seeds, and the nodes along the ground root and form clones of the mother pod, which allows this thing to be a super-spreader. Unchecked, you will lose your property to kudzu in a short time.
I even rented a monster roto-tiller trying to tear that sh*t up from the ground. Wanted to make a garden out there anyway. It was a fight, and that stuff did not want to die, but you have to keep at it. Eventually, I chased that sh*t out of the areas I reclaimed. It didn't take long to get a good clearing, but still had smaller groups of hangers-on weeds to deal with. I ended up clearing about 2 acres of kudzu by myself. Now it's just lawn.
Say no to this:
Roundup sells a "poison ivy" version that will knock out kudzu in a day. Has the yellow cap on it. Pricey? All roundup is pricey. I used to work for Monsanto (eventually purchased by Bayer a couple years ago) so I could get a good deal on the stuff, but any glyphosate will work. Be careful though, that sh*t can be nasty if you use a ton of it. Wear some good PPE to keep it off of you.
Glyphosate is non-discriminate and pretty much kills or severely hamper anything that grows out of the ground, so I wouldn't go crazy with it. The only real difference is the amount of glyphosate salts are in the mix. The regular junk is around 40% glyphosate, the stronger junk is closer to 50%. Just means you'd have to use more of the regular stuff. Just get the cheapest stuff you can find.
Unfortunately, while the roundup did work in my situation, it would take THOUSANDS of dollars worth of that stuff to eradicate the amount of kudzu I was fighting. It wasn't meant for me to go buy a couple gallons and fight fields of the stuff like I had, but I was intent on clearing out a large enough spot so they could start leveling the ground and building. I'd never fought that stuff before. It's a 15 round fight, that I can tell you. But you can win. I had no idea what I was doing with kudzu, but it's either you or it.
THE BEST way I was able to fight the stuff was once the underbrush and extra trees were gone from the property, I had since purchased a new riding lawn mower. So before getting rid of the old one, I used the OLD riding mower to go after the kudzu fields every week, eating up as much as I could. You could get some cows or goats. They'll tear that sh*t up and keep it eaten down where it won't grow. But cowpies and goats on your vehicles make that a not so hot idea anyway.
The kudzu bulbs (looks kinda like shriveled sweet potatoes) get numerous as the stuff spreads. Cut the vine and keep it cut, and leaves can't sprout. Bulbs will eventually die. That's the idea. And going back over the areas from the previous week. The sh*t won't die with just one cutting. Went through 3 sets of blades, too. Don't try to cut too much at once or the vines will wrap up around the mower blades. Ask me how I know. Prepare for the long battle and don't try and win it in a week.
Only good thing about kudzu is it smells sorta like grapes when the flowers bloom on it. But that's it. The seed pods contain seeds, and the nodes along the ground root and form clones of the mother pod, which allows this thing to be a super-spreader. Unchecked, you will lose your property to kudzu in a short time.
I even rented a monster roto-tiller trying to tear that sh*t up from the ground. Wanted to make a garden out there anyway. It was a fight, and that stuff did not want to die, but you have to keep at it. Eventually, I chased that sh*t out of the areas I reclaimed. It didn't take long to get a good clearing, but still had smaller groups of hangers-on weeds to deal with. I ended up clearing about 2 acres of kudzu by myself. Now it's just lawn.
Say no to this:
What's wrong with that? It's just an old Frod and a cheeseball FWD Dodge....
I think that may be the Kroger parking lot. They just parked the cars there this morning, and now look at it.
There is some progress to report. We're pre-approved on the loan to buy the lot. The plans for the suspension bridge have been approved so the plat should be recorded soon and we anticipate closing on the land next month.
My brother, sister-in-law and niece met with the Architect earlier this week. They came home with a dozen floor plans out of the 200 or so they sifted through. That evening, after I got home from work we collectively came up with the one we liked best. We want to make some changes to it though so they will be meeting with the Architect again sometime next week.
Once we close on the lot I'll be looking to get the underbrushing done, hopefully before the roads are in and then I'll get one of our crews from work to go out with me and do the survey work. Then I'll look at tightening up the conceptual site plan, which I'm preparing.
My brother and I are in savings mode. We're planning to buy the metal building kit for the shop cash. We'll roll the slab, erection of the building, insulating it and electrical into the construction loan for the house.
My sister-in-law's cousin is a custom home builder and he'll be our General Contractor. So far so good, but there's a long long way to go. I'm not sure how fast this will all go. My sister-in-law and my niece want to be in over there for Thanksgiving next year, which I don't think will happen. Anyway, I guess that's it for now. Thanks for checking in.
My brother, sister-in-law and niece met with the Architect earlier this week. They came home with a dozen floor plans out of the 200 or so they sifted through. That evening, after I got home from work we collectively came up with the one we liked best. We want to make some changes to it though so they will be meeting with the Architect again sometime next week.
Once we close on the lot I'll be looking to get the underbrushing done, hopefully before the roads are in and then I'll get one of our crews from work to go out with me and do the survey work. Then I'll look at tightening up the conceptual site plan, which I'm preparing.
My brother and I are in savings mode. We're planning to buy the metal building kit for the shop cash. We'll roll the slab, erection of the building, insulating it and electrical into the construction loan for the house.
My sister-in-law's cousin is a custom home builder and he'll be our General Contractor. So far so good, but there's a long long way to go. I'm not sure how fast this will all go. My sister-in-law and my niece want to be in over there for Thanksgiving next year, which I don't think will happen. Anyway, I guess that's it for now. Thanks for checking in.
I like that you guys are paying cash for the shop kit. You might consider doing the electrical work yourselves if that's allowed. Takes a little time but it'll save a TON of money. Plus you guys will have everything exactly how you want it.
Probably safe to add 50% to the build schedule. My house went 4 months over and my 10 day polebarn went 2 months. No doubt other guys have experienced the same. Texas and Idaho are getting such an influx of refugees that there aren't enough subcontractors to go around. Everything takes longer and materials are really expensive.
Probably safe to add 50% to the build schedule. My house went 4 months over and my 10 day polebarn went 2 months. No doubt other guys have experienced the same. Texas and Idaho are getting such an influx of refugees that there aren't enough subcontractors to go around. Everything takes longer and materials are really expensive.
