'Accidentally' Put Weedkiller on Earth...

Hi there,
I have let our garden get a bit of a mess of late, so at the weekend, I popped to B&Q and got myself some weedkiller. I went out into the garden and filled an old watering can with a solution of this, and went a bit crazy.

Unfortunately, before I gave it any thought, I had doused the weeds inside the little 'container' of earth at the end of our garden, in which I was considering planting some strawberries or such.

Have I contaminated this earth and if so, how long will the earth be unusable?

Thanks.

 

Hi,

It partly depends on exactly which product you used ? some are more persistent than others.

If its a pure Glyphosate they say the soils safe after 14 days, but many killers are a mix of several chemicals, you need to read the label and instructions; also view the manufacturers site for more info.

 

It was this one -- Roundup Fast Action Ready to Use Weed Killer 1L | Departments | DIY at B&Q

 

Whatever the weedkiller is ...glyphosate is theoretically neutralised in the soil....you need to remove it joh98.mac.

I would not plant anything edible there for this year. There will be residues remaining in the soil that may not affect plants but not worth the risk on your strawberries.

Why not buy yourself a cheap container or two and put your strawberries in the affected area but place them there?

 

Strawberries absorb everything......I would not want my loved ones eating from possibly tainted ground joh98.mac
Put into containers for this season then move them into the soil in the autumn

 

I use a weed killer based on pelargonic acid which is found in geraniums the only other ingredient is maleic acid and so far its doing a great job