Dye for weed killer

Anthonyk2010

Does anyone know the name of the dye that golf courses use when spraying weed killer so they know where they have sprayed?

prospect

Don't know the name, but a landscaper I know told me it was shockingly expensive.

I tried to thing of a cheapy alternative, but couldn't.

F-all help to you, but thats all I know.

Dizzyblonde

This may sound silly, but maybe you could try putting food dye in with it? Unless of course you're covering a huge amount of land...

johngalway

I am in the same predicament on my farm. I have creeping thistles to spray. I bought blue and red food dye in (evil) Tesco's but don't yet have the weather conditions to try them out! I think the blue dye was 69c a bottle (very small, don't have it to hand for the exact ml), and the red was a bit more than that. May or may not work, but being a food ingredient it's not going to do any harm.

Anthonyk2010

Ya have heard about the food colouring idea and I might try it on a small scale first on the back lawn.

Alun

johngalway wrote: »

I am in the same predicament on my farm. I have creeping thistles to spray. I bought blue and red food dye in (evil) Tesco's but don't yet have the weather conditions to try them out! I think the blue dye was 69c a bottle (very small, don't have it to hand for the exact ml), and the red was a bit more than that. May or may not work, but being a food ingredient it's not going to do any harm.

If you want to use food dye then you can get red food dye in powder form in large-ish quantities sometimes in the larger Asian food shops. They use it in Indian restaurants to colour tandoori chicken amongst other things. Might not be too easy to find in rural Connemara though

One other thought .. the stuff they put on rams bellies to check if the ewes have been mated, could you use that, or would it be too thick and gloopy and clog up the sprayer?

Anthonyk2010

Just in my local Kerry agri store. They can order it, 30e for litre and a litre would do 10 knap sacks. A bit pricey

johngalway

Alun wrote: »

If you want to use food dye then you can get red food dye in powder form in large-ish quantities sometimes in the larger Asian food shops. They use it in Indian restaurants to colour tandoori chicken amongst other things. Might not be too easy to find in rural Connemara though

One other thought .. the stuff they put on rams bellies to check if the ewes have been mated, could you use that, or would it be too thick and gloopy and clog up the sprayer?

I'm not sure about the raddle Alun, I have some here somewhere, going to use it this Autumn for the first time. It's usually mixed with oil into a paste then painted onto the rams chest. May be too gloopy for a sprayer but as I say I've no experience of it.

Am in Galway city once a week at least so I'll look up the Asian shops and see what they have, thanks for the tip

mr l

Marksman about €30 per 1 litre, 2.5mls to 1 litre of water it says on the bottle but i put a drop extra in for good measure. I got it in an agri store last year and still have loads left. Great stuff, very affective.:)

Anthonyk2010

mr l wrote: »

Marksman about €30 per 1 litre, 2.5mls to 1 litre of water it says on the bottle but i put a drop extra in for good measure. I got it in an agri store last year and still have loads left. Great stuff, very affective.:)

what colour does it leave on the grass?
and how long does it stay on the grass?

mr l

The one i have is blue. First time i used it the weather was very dry and it stayed visible for about 4-5 days. Second time, it rained the next day for a couple of hours and there was no trace afterwards. I mainly use it on my brick driveway and its not "very" obvious once it dries in.

Anthonyk2010

mr l wrote: »

The one i have is blue. First time i used it the weather was very dry and it stayed visible for about 4-5 days. Second time, it rained the next day for a couple of hours and there was no trace afterwards. I mainly use it on my brick driveway and its not "very" obvious once it dries in.

Could you give me the full name on the bottle, i'd like to see if i can get it on line.
Thanks

mr l

http://www.nad.ie/docs/sections/Spray%20Pattern%20Indicators.pdf

Same stuff.

Anthonyk2010

mr l wrote: »

http://www.nad.ie/docs/sections/Spray%20Pattern%20Indicators.pdf

Same stuff.

Thanks that fantastic.

countrywoman

Excellent idea about the food colouring. Im going to try it. Thanks!

johngalway

Just an update.

I've tried red and blue food dye.

First few nettles and creeping thistles I sprayed I was using an Aldi/Lidl 5 litre sprayer. The colour was noticeable, but to be honest I relied more on seeing "wetness" around the plant, than peeling my eyes for colour. It looks great going on, when it's a little foamy, but dries quickly. While it leaves the plant a slightly different colour I don't think I'll be buying any more.

I tried more today in a 16 litre backpack sprayer, same difference really. Plants with dried/dead leaves will show it a lot quicker, as it'll discolour them more and for longer than the vibrant green of the growing creeping thistle or nettle.

Anthonyk2010

johngalway wrote: »

Just an update.

I've tried red and blue food dye.

First few nettles and creeping thistles I sprayed I was using an Aldi/Lidl 5 litre sprayer. The colour was noticeable, but to be honest I relied more on seeing "wetness" around the plant, than peeling my eyes for colour. It looks great going on, when it's a little foamy, but dries quickly. While it leaves the plant a slightly different colour I don't think I'll be buying any more.

I tried more today in a 16 litre backpack sprayer, same difference really. Plants with dried/dead leaves will show it a lot quicker, as it'll discolour them more and for longer than the vibrant green of the growing creeping thistle or nettle.

Thanks for letting us know what happened. Sounds like a dead duck.

jezko

countrywoman wrote: »

Excellent idea about the food colouring. Im going to try it. Thanks!

Something I have learnt the hard way.... Mixing chemicals that are not stable together / not suitable of being mixed in a sprayer and blocking all the Nozzles and pump...
BEWARE its a pain to clean and sprayers can be expensive to replace..
Also could create a Gas or dangerous chemical... unlikely but not impossible

if in doubt if stable or not, mix some in a container if it appears to go lumpy don't use it in a sprayer :-)