Alternative to Sodium Chlorate

[markwm]

I have a large site, awaiting building works starting. I've been trying to keep the weeds and grass under control last couple of years.

Previously, I used sodium chloride weeder from wilkinsons, it was cheap and did the trick but now I understand it's been banned and the other weedkillers I've tried(ground clear etc) don't stop grass and weeds growing in the soil.

Is there anything similar I can buy to sodium chloride that doesn't cost too much?

or any other advice?

 

[Thermo]

use a systemic weedkiller such as roundup, much better and more effective. it gets drawn down into the roots and kills then off

 

[Deluks]

Once you've applied it and the stuff starts to die back, cover the ground with a heavy duty landscaping fabric and weigh it down, this will help keep the ground vegetation free.

 

[chapeau]

Back in the good olde days you would also be able to use Ammonium sulphamate. Remarkably safe if you weren't a plant, lasted in the soil long enough to kill anything that might be there today, then broke down in the soil to form fertiliser to feed what you might want to plant in a month or two time.

Almost perfect for what you want you might say, and indeed it was, so with that in mind, our unelected EU leaders decided that on 22 November 2007 it was not appropriate to sell to kill weeds, and on 22 May 2008 it became a criminal offence to have it in your shed if you were going to put it on yer weeds.

However

You can use it to put out fires, make plastic, and get your compost heap going. Still on sale in fact, auction site anybody ?

If you put it on the wasteground you describe then you are a very very naughty boy.