1st application

I practiced with the water but not in the meadow. Keeping an even application on uneven ground and with interruptions for milkweed so I fear I put down more herbicide than I should have on the forward patch of black swallow-wort. I changed the formula to the lighter amount for the patch further back (1 oz per quart versus 4 in the front).

In the back it was easier to find a rhythm. I think I put down less much less herbicide. In that part of the meadow, the invasives were not as dense and I like the single shot application. The bittersweet is less mature back there as well.

Now I have the predicament of wanting to do more but not knowing whether the minimum solution will do the trick. I guess I should wait 2 weeks but I would love to keep going. I think I used too much water in the 3 rinses. Next time I will use less. I sprayed a lot more plants — including the poison ivy around the hives — but I don’t know how much herbicide they actually got.

That reminds me that in the front section, I could not avoid hitting a good bit of the wild mint. We will not be able to pick any of that this season so I dug up a clump of a more edible mint from a neighbors garden to plant in the herb garden far from the herbicide action.

I can’t wait to see the results. I do hope the front piece doesn’t become a silent spring!