Spent today sparying the fencelines and the grass under the apple trees with roundup.
This will greatly help to keep the fences easy to maintain and since the apple tree root system is so close to the surface, reducing the competition will help the trees to grow better.
Roundup is actually one of the most benign herbicides out there -- it is a simple Phosphate and Glycerine soap which has the fortuitous ability to (from How Stuff Works):
Glyphosate-based herbicides all work on the same biochemical principle -- they inhibit a specific enzyme that plants need in order to grow. The specific enzyme is called EPSP synthase. Without that enzyme, plants are unable to produce other proteins essential to growth, so they yellow and die over the course of several days or weeks. A majority of plants use this same enzyme, so almost all plants succumb to Roundup.It is also one of the more benign herbicides environmentally -- breaks down after a few days exposure to the elements.
I once talked to a tox person at my company who told me that you'd sooner drown in Round Up than be affected by the toxicity of it. And the breaking up of it when it hits the ground is an added plus.
thanks for the info - I always thought it was poisonous
Sometimes I really envy your ability to work out in the real world. It sounds great, really.