Is Treflan safe for vegetable gardens?
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Is Treflan safe for vegetable gardens?

by James
(Opelika, Alabama)

The man at the seed store told us that treflan is a safe weed killer for vegetable gardens. We bought some but I want a second opinion before I use it.
Thank You,
James Baker

Doug says - let's start at the beginning.

Treflan is produced by Dow and their website says, "Treflan delivers economical pre-emergent, season long control of grassy and broadleaf weeds. It is a selective liquid herbicide for pre-plant soil incorporated weed control in many field crops, vegetables and ornamentals."

This means you put it on before you plant or the perennial crop starts to grow and it will stop weeds all summer long.

Now - let's look a little deeper. All this data is coming from the label or the msds (safety) sheet that has to be included in this product by law. It is not my opinion - I'm quoting.


The label (mandated by law) says, that applicators *must* wear protective clothing including chemical resistant gloves, protective eyewear and long sleeved shirts, pants and protective footwear. You have to invest in safety equipment to use this product (and you want to - see medical conditions below)

If used commercially, there are required safety courses that must be taken.

There are required no-entry periods of 12 hours (in other words, if you put this on your garden, you can't go on your garden for 12 hours afterwards)>

Sound safe yet?

What about how long it stays in the soil. There are some crops that can't be planted there for 12-14 months. So it is persistent - in my books, this clearly means it isn't organic or something I'd want to work with in digging, harvesting or eating plants grown in it.


What about using it on perennial vegetable crops like asparagus? Well, if you miss the exact timing, the crop is not able to be eaten because of residues in the asparagus.

What kind of soil do you have? Coarse, medium or fine soils? The rate of application depends on the kind of soil you have and the crop you're trying to grow. One size does NOT fit all. In other words, one application rate might be OK for one crop on one soil but it has to change for a different crop on the same soil.

What about medical consequences? Well, the label also says that if you have any skin contact with this product you are to "seek medical attention". So get some on your skin from mixing and/or spraying with spray drift and you earn yourself a trip to the emergency department. Ditto for breathing or getting spray drift in eyes (hence the need for goggles)

Is it effective? Well, that depends on the soil, the crop, the timing of application, and the weather (cool temperatures versus hot temperatures). In other words, if applied properly at the recommended rate for the soil and the weather is right - it stops the target plants. Get one of these things off and your results will vary.

Safe yet?

I could go on. Let me point out that all this data is from the label of the product. It is not from any organic website or opinion of mine. And I didn't even go into toxnet at Cornell University (another government research area outlining environmental testing/concerns) I'm simply looking at the hard data that has to be presented as part of the labelling process. And let me tell you that there are organic "opinions" on the web that are not complimentary to this product. :-)

Bottom line (if you haven't guessed it yet) is that this is something I wouldn't want in my garden. Do you want to apply something that is going to be in your soil for at least a year, can't be touched without a trip to the doctor, may poison your plants if used improperly on some crops, and depends on soil conditions and weather for effectiveness?

I use mulch to stop weeds rather than chemicals. Non-chemical, easier to apply, works in all weather and enriches the soil.









Comments for
Is Treflan safe for vegetable gardens?

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Not Treflan? Then what.
by: Anonymous

Thanks Moni. I already put down paper and mulch a while back.. It's helping me to keep up instead of getting behind the 8 ball on the nut grass, or nutsedge..
I appreciate your assistance with this.
control of nutgrass or nutsedge
by: Moni

Anonymous
I assume when you say nutgrass you are refering to a common named weed also called nutsedge. If so, nutsedge, being a sedge will not be controlled my most herbicides that say they control grasses, because a sedge is not a grass.
For control of nutsedge, pull all plants in your garden before they go to seed, then mulch or put down newpaper and then add mulch. Not sure if corn gluten will control germinating sedge seeds or not...you would have to check the label to see if it is listed.
Treflan
by: Anonymous

If not Treflan, then what should be used to kill off Nut Grass and all other weeds in our gardens?
Just curious.
Thanks
good grief
by: Doug

Seems we've brought out the "interesting" folks and ag-teachers defending their turf. The question is whether this stuff (with all its attendant label restrictions) is good for use in the home vegetable garden. I guess some trolls think sarcasm is useful for commentary and at least one ag instructor thinks home gardeners have discs (pulled by tractors) It's either that or they're not really paying attention.

Bottom line - and I'll say it again. It isn't organic - it has label requirements you have to legally meet to use and I'd never recommend it for home garden use. Period.

Treflan
by: Ag Teacher

I have students who use treflan on their putple hulled peas. One of the students is my son. We spray the recommended rate, lightly disc it in, and THEN plant the peas. Treflan will not inhibit the germination of peas. It will, however, kill corn as CORN IS A GRASS.
Treflan? WHAT??
by: Georgia Farmer

Geez, where do you get this stuff??? I've used Treflan for 30 years and I'm still here. I'm 65 now and it hasn't killed me yet. Some may say I smell dead but that's another story. I'm careful not to spill any on me and do not stick my head down in the spray bucket. I try to stay up wind when I'm spraying but have never used a mask. Oh no, you mean my nose might fall off? I don't put it in my iced tea either.

**Edited to remove crop recommendations***

I spray the soil around the plants after they have come up so it will be delivered to the plants base when I apply side dressing (fertilizer).

The best thing to do is ask a farmer and you'll know what crops are affected and what are not.

The labels are rather confusing for a purpose. Dow wants to cover their Southern end of a North bound mule so they put just about everything they can on the label for that reason. Use it, use it correctly and it works.
Treflan
by: Moni

Farmboy
My comment was not to suggest using Treflan on any vegetables, it was to just a comment how the herbicide works. Any product organic or synthetic should not be used unless the crop is listed on the label.
Treflan will prevent most grasses from germinating...nothing prevents all! :-) I didn't mean to infer it stops all germination. Just wanted James to know its mode of action. And, it will prevent some small leafed broadleaf weeds from germinating.
Experience from a farm girl and years working in agriculture(when Treflan was produced by Elanco). :-)
Sorry Moni
by: Farmboy

Sorry moni, but you are wrong in the aspect that it stops the germination of all seeds. it stops the germination of some, and in the case of treflan it's mostly grasses, but it does not stop the germination of all. The active ingredient in treflan is the same as in preen, which is sold in all gardening stores to prevent the growth of grasses in vegetable gardens and flower beds.
Treflan Stops Some Seeds
by: Anonymous

Moni has it correct in that Treflan is registered for some vegetable crops (not all) and that these registered crops (see label for those) will germinate through it.

Others as she rightly points out - will not germinate at all. So you have to make sure you're not applying Treflan in crops that it will kill. Just another reason not to use it on small garden plots.

Thanks Moni for the clarification. :-)
Germination
by: Moni

Besides the few words Doug spoke on this product.......
One other thing to consider is that this product, like many of the soil applied herbicides kill weeds by preventing germination. If you put this on and then plant your vegetable seeds in the garden they will not germinate.....no veggies!

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