Yikes, that was a lot of grasses they had. Perhaps in some cases they could plant something else instead (I realize they do need a fair amount of grass for foot traffic).

you ought to read a bit closer.. it says:

after a chemical similar to âÂÂRoundUp,â a weed killer, was accidentally applied to the grass ...

and ...

The âÂÂRoundUpâÂÂ-like chemical sprayed on the grass shouldnâÂÂt cause issues with trying to regrow grass,

if i were RU.. i would sue ...

one of the most blinding irresponsible piece of journalism i have ever seen.. the author ought to have his card taken away .. or her .. whatever ..

the article does NOT even bother to name the actual product... that i saw anyway ... and i read it twice ..

ken

Probably just generic glyphosate or an off-brand, but why wouldn't they just say that?

I've killed lawns on purpose with glyphosate and then reseeded a week later. The dead and dying grass acts as a mulch for the sprouting seed. It's a good way to get rid of unwanted grasses and weeds in the lawn. Broad leaf weed killers only kill broad leaf plants.
It seems someone would really have to go out of their way to mistake glyphosate for fertilizer....or not be able to read labels.
Heads are gonna roll on this one. Probably all ready have.
Mike....

This must have been a liquid fertilizer, this would be the only way to mix up with a "round-up" like product. Liquid fertilizer would very expensive itself. Or maybe I'm not reading it right, something like Tru-Green or Chem-Lawn or whatever it's called now. Surely they are not fertilizing all that land.

'Surely they are not fertilizing all that land' I dunno............I wouldn't bet on that one. Uhm............those folks are supposed to hold chem applicator's licenses, or be under the direct supervision of someone who does. I know, having had one myself, it is DRUMMED into your head to read labels. Expensive and totally unnecessary mistake. Ditto to people who use sprayers for glyphosate and then load them up with a different chemical. Keep your sprayers separate. I once worked with a landscape crew who would 'borrow' my sprayers I would use for foliar applications on touchy ornamentals. I would not take them back.

I find this story fishy. Maybe someone working for the contractor knew that Uncle Ed's sod farm was struggling and could really use a large order.

It does say in the article that the cause was failure to properly rinse the spray tank. In California you must triple rinse all empty product containers before you can legally dispose of them or face big fines if you are caught by the California EPA.

Yes, it talked about rinsing tanks, but was relating to another occurrence and not this one. Yes, one triple rinses before disposing of used containers, but sprayers are reused and why the ones used for herbicides should not be also used for anything else. Sixty acres was not sprayed with backpacks.........it was done by some sort of tractor and that's why it at least suggests to me that the college must do some sort of broadleaf/fertilizer applications routinely. We maintain a lot of turf on our property and made the decision early-on that we would do it without chemicals for the most part, and accept the occasional patches of less desirable grasses and weeds and control them by keeping the turf healthy with proper cultural methods and not chemicals. I think it's time people accept that and give the o/c turf expectations and chemicals up.

"control them by keeping the turf healthy with proper cultural methods and not chemicals. I think it's time people accept that and give the o/c turf expectations and chemicals up."

Exactly, grass for anything institutional except playing fields and children's play areas should be cut at least 4" high. Not to mention most people's lawns. Someone really needs to research whether tick bites are more common on correctly mown grass instead of scalped lawns, which is often the reason given. I'm skeptical for a variety of reasons. Anyhow, my lawn is so healthy now weeds can barely get established and I no longer need to broadcast a selective with my ATV sprayer, I just spot treat as needed. It totally disgusts me to see local municipalities cut medians and whatnot down to 1" or less (lowest setting: "It's gonna have to be cut less if you cut it lowest! Yeehaw!") No, you dipsh-ts, it just means it becomes a big field of crabgrass, dandelions and thistles.

just saw this. this was our University that this happened at. The company laid down new grass. it was a terrible accident and a lot to replace. Looks great now.

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Posted by davidrt28 7 (My Page) on
Mon, May 19, 14 at 9:53

Exactly, grass for anything institutional except playing fields and children's play areas should be cut at least 4" high.
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Yup. Seems most everybody cuts lawns every week whether it's needed or not, and then too low. I've seen brown lawns during wet periods, as they're cut down to nubs.

The worst part of the story is not getting and publishing the name of the company that did this.

Now every firm in the area that does turf maintenance will be suspect.

This is unrelated to pesticides, but the landscaping company that maintains a certain hospital property in my area repeatedly fails to take proper care of plantings, resulting in annuals and shrubs that wilt and die because no one bothers to water them in after they're put in the ground. Really, when there's a dry spell and no significant rain expected for a week or more, it doesn't occur to you to water?
Nothing like a cavalcade of dying vegetation to create that special image for a health care facility.