flame guns in the garden

Hi Islander..it's me again! lol. this is novel...never heard of this kind of weed control much...but then again everything old is new again, right? My dad used this to control weeds, not the blow torch per se, but a yearly burn off in very early spring...when there was enough moisture still in the ground that the fires wouldn't easily escape control... will be interested to hear how this all comes out.
Lori

I would be wondering about all the insects, worms and the like that would get roasted with this flame thrower, I suppose the birds could have roast worm, and even roasted snails. : )

Gail

the area i would be clearing has virtually no worms thanks to the pesky new zealand flat worm. however after clearing I will be covering the area with compost, seaweed and manure etc hoping to stimulate new life into the soil, and if possible reintroduce worms.my main problem with doing the garden is that I have a limited time to spend working in it, due to other work, and when I took it over it was already overgrown with docks, dandelions etc. I dont like chemical weedkillers so i see this as possibly the best way to clear the land.

take care and watch your toes please. I'd agree w you on weedkillers though. And I could never bring myself to cover swathes of my garden with polythene, because it looks so awful.
This weakness means plenty of weeds (this year lots of nettles) for us, but I tell myself the butterflies will be thankful.

Watch out what you do with it, Islander - there was an article in the paper recently about a chappy who was doing this and ended up burning down his neighbour's hedge! I wonder whether his house insurance covers the damage....

That brought a chuckle and a memory, Spritz...I was remembering the year after my Dad died, I did the burning in the back forty and had to call my brother and nephew to help me because the wind had spread my burn out of control..and it was heading for a grove of pine trees!! Whew that was a close one!!

hi islander, lidl were selling them here last yr. let me know how you get on with your one

This type of clearing is fairly common (burn off) here and there are even some plants that require it to germinate. HOWEVER, I will tell you the story of a coworker who tried this on his property in Florida and it got out of his control. He had to call the fire dept. to come and assist him. He had a permit so they could not fine him but they did charge him for the truck, water and labor of the firefighters to put it out. Ended up costing him 4 thousand dollars.

hi eileen Liddles were selling here too but it was the small one for doing individual weeds that they were selling. this flame gun is a much larger affair' run on parrafin and with a much bigger and hotter flame, reaching up to 2000 degrees. after reading the advice here i think i will keep a hose and a few buckets of water handy when i do the job. and restrict how much area i do in any one session. thanks for warnings and advice

always good to err on the side of caution! hope it works for you.

Well suppose theres one thing Islander being where you are you unlikely to start any forest fires.Does sound pretty lethal though so please take care.2000 degrees ? suppose thats one way of warming the community!

Not wishing to throw cold water on this solution
but if the weeds are deep rooted will the torch kill them? There are some very pernicious weeds, like bindweed, whose roots can be very deep and will regrow from the tiniest live portion remaining in the soil.

it doesn't really matter if the treatment is not 100% effective in killing the weed roots first time round it will certainly weaken them sufficiently to let me take control of the area and i think once the top growth is gone then before the area gets planted a good digging will enable me to clear the worst of the roots thats left. i read in the enviromentalist mag that this was the best way to deal with these weeds. another idea was that after burning to use landscape material for a few weeks to suppress any new growth. the temperature should be sufficient to kill off the worst stuff like nettles and couch grass completely, and dock roots would be fairly simple to dig out after. i dont have bindweed here, in fact i have never seen it in orkney .
the other advantages of burning are that it sterilizes the soil and kills off the weed seeds that are lying dormant in the top layers of the soil. when i do the job I will let you all know how successfull or otherwise it is

On the North Shore of Auckland the council employed weed control ( until they were persuaded to resort to the deadly dangerous chemical rubbish again with awesome success
A flameed weed control should kill seeds, and if some insects are killed, well at least the earth they live on or in isnt poisioned forever and you arent risking your health and neighbours health by using chemical rubbish
Does anyone know where I can purchase a flamed weed killer thingy please?
Ph 09 432 8614
Many thanks
Caroline