Weed "Flamethrower"

[villagefarang]

I too hire a local gentleman with his noisy brushcutter.

I doubt burning would do a better job, apart from smoking up the area it looks terrible and the worst weeds seem to grow back from the roots which only poisoning gets rid of.

Do you know there are plants that need fire for their seeds to germinate?

I'm not sure there are any in Thailand though.

What happened to the guy who said he knew where we lived?

[BuckarooBanzai]

Probably a good choice for limited weed control. Also for killing off Eucalyptus regrowth.

Works by boiling the cell structure within the leaf - no need to incinerate to achieve a weed kill

Most effective on young plants - established or hardy perennials will require more than one treatment

Ideal for weed control on patios, driveways, car parks, paddocks (ragwort) etc

If your handy you could probably build one yourself with regulator from Big C etc. a valve and some tubing and using a head off a standard torch.

[pomchop]

I too hire a local gentleman with his noisy brushcutter.

I doubt burning would do a better job, apart from smoking up the area it looks terrible and the worst weeds seem to grow back from the roots which only poisoning gets rid of.

Do you know there are plants that need fire for their seeds to germinate?

I'm not sure there are any in Thailand though.

there are several species of pine trees that need fire to cause the cones to pop open and spread the seeds...not sure if they have them in Thailand or not....but fire does generally clear out a lot of old underbrush/small trees/etc and give other plants a chance to grow....yellowstone park in usa used to try and put out all the forest fires but finally learned that it really was more healthy for the plants and animals to just let nature take it's course...

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/chapter1.pdf

i have been told by thais near my house that if they did not burn off all the underbrush every year or so that they would be taking a chance that too much of it accumulates and then it could turn into a very hard to control forest fire...no idea if true or just an excuse to burn it all each year which seems to be the norm...one reason i take a nice long vacation to a no smoke area starting around march every year...

[sceadugenga]

"Burning off" is common in Australia and often carried out in early summer by Country Fire Service officers to reduce fuel for bush/wild fires later in the season.

The smoke doesn't seem to hang around like it does in Thailand though, maybe the sky is a lot higher up.

[BuckarooBanzai]

i have been told by thais near my house that if they did not burn off all the underbrush every year or so that they would be taking a chance that too much of it accumulates and then it could turn into a very hard to control forest fire...no idea if true or just an excuse to burn it all each year which seems to be the norm...one reason i take a nice long vacation to a no smoke area starting around march every year...

Rice fields and cassava should be plowed under but some still insist on burning.

Eucalyptus and sugar cane are burned off just after harvest as these will regrow and plowing would be destructive to the crop. Eucalyptus leaves are a definite fire hazard as they contain a lot of oil and there are a lot of leaves left after the wood is harvested. I absolutely hate burning but do not know of an alternative for the last two crops unless you just wait for decomposition which can take awhile. I personally wait for decomposition.

Fire scares the hell out of me and I do not know if the typical Thai farmer has an equal respect for the danger of things getting out of hand.

[apetley]

Of course the flamethrower the OP mentions may not be quite this big.

I want one!!!!

[Morakot]

My big city neighbors at work.(Being facetious)

Thank you for posting this! Not the best "sustainable farming" practice, I take it.

[BuckarooBanzai]

I think this is some ones avatar but seemed like this might do the job.

[Morakot]

Village Farang and I both live in the country on large pieces of land.

I lived in the country (bush) in Australia all my life and never once saw flamethrowers used as weed control.

the shittiest way of weed control are herbicides.

I really wonder what weed needs to be "controlled" in this way. If you torch any area with this you end up with "nothing". I've seen some folk using this type of torch to clean their paved garden path, carefully removing their garden gnomes during the process. Nice! How I like gnomes on concrete!

[AjarnP]

We are not talking about WWII Allied forces flame throwers here for goodness sake. I understand that both Scea and VF live in the country as I do on 12 Rai. I spent the day hacking back the triffids yesterday only to see them sprouting again this morning in the rain. I managed a total of about three quarters of a rai is all.

Fortunately I have about four rai now under cultivated grass but oooops... I just realized.. I use a gasoline powered mower with a seat. I guess that's a no-no too huh?

It was just an innocent question...honest!!!

[villagefarang]

Don’t apologize, this is the most fun we have had on this forum for months.

[Morakot]

We are not talking about WWII Allied forces flame throwers here for goodness sake. I understand that both Scea and VF live in the country as I do on 12 Rai. I spent the day hacking back the triffids yesterday only to see them sprouting again this morning in the rain. I managed a total of about three quarters of a rai is all.

Fortunately I have about four rai now under cultivated grass but oooops... I just realized.. I use a gasoline powered mower with a seat. I guess that's a no-no too huh?

It was just an innocent question...honest!!!

We would be delighted to see some nice Before and After photos of the triffids!

[AjarnP]

I think they've eaten the wife. I'll get pics after I find her again.

[jubby]

Don’t apologize, this is the most fun we have had on this forum for months.

Honestly !?

More Tea with that Pie Vicar ?

Edited August 20, 2012 by jubby

[villagefarang]

When I hear a couple of soi dogs baying at whatever I am not inclined to join in, if anyone knows what I mean. I prefer to hangout with the grownups.

Edited August 20, 2012 by villagefarang

[mumbojumbo]

One would hope they are in short supply and difficult to acquire.

Alot friendlier to the environment than Roundup or Gramoxone.

Used to use one on my mums old allotment back in the UK years ago.

Never seen one in LOS.

And what is wrong with Roundup, i use gallons a year, and no smoke. And it is from such a reputal company- Montsanto. Eventually the weeds come back, but it is a good break in the fight. Now Paraquat is different, i think it is another name for 'agent orange'

[villagefarang]

Don’t apologize, this is the most fun we have had on this forum for months.

Information, comment, opinion, debate, disagreement, images and humor, all in one topic and from a broad spectrum of members. What more could one ask for in a topic?

[apetley]

One would hope they are in short supply and difficult to acquire.

Alot friendlier to the environment than Roundup or Gramoxone.

Used to use one on my mums old allotment back in the UK years ago.

Never seen one in LOS.

And what is wrong with Roundup, i use gallons a year, and no smoke. And it is from such a reputal company- Montsanto. Eventually the weeds come back, but it is a good break in the fight. Now Paraquat is different, i think it is another name for 'agent orange'

Agree that roundup is less damaging than paraquat but it still has it's drawbacks.

Whenever they spray around the village I always find a few dead birds in the following days. I guess they don't know they shouldn't eat something that's been sprayed.

[TongueThaied]

Village Farang and I both live in the country on large pieces of land.

I lived in the country (bush) in Australia all my life and never once saw flamethrowers used as weed control.

the shittiest way of weed control are herbicides.

Sometimes they use the herbicide first and then burn it.

Very effective. I sprayed today and will burn in three weeks. Kill the weeds and the seeds. I don't like herbicides or burning, but if the community EXPECTS you to control your weeds and you want to rise to that expectation, what else are you going to do? My eventual goal is to get all the land into either some sort of production or into aesthetic gardens that are maintained in a healthy and organic manner. Right now, I just don't have the time to deal with it, so I knock them down in the least time consuming manner possible.

[billd766]

We are not talking about WWII Allied forces flame throwers here for goodness sake. I understand that both Scea and VF live in the country as I do on 12 Rai. I spent the day hacking back the triffids yesterday only to see them sprouting again this morning in the rain. I managed a total of about three quarters of a rai is all.

Fortunately I have about four rai now under cultivated grass but oooops... I just realized.. I use a gasoline powered mower with a seat. I guess that's a no-no too huh?

It was just an innocent question...honest!!!

My problem is that I live on a bit of a slope and there are a lot of rocks around plus the ground is not level otherwise I would love a sit on and ride mower.

I have a burn pile of tree bits but it rains most days and is too wet to burn but when it's dry......

[dindong]

I love this smiley.

or this one

Edited August 21, 2012 by dindong

[canuckamuck]

We are not talking about WWII Allied forces flame throwers here for goodness sake. I understand that both Scea and VF live in the country as I do on 12 Rai. I spent the day hacking back the triffids yesterday only to see them sprouting again this morning in the rain. I managed a total of about three quarters of a rai is all.

Fortunately I have about four rai now under cultivated grass but oooops... I just realized.. I use a gasoline powered mower with a seat. I guess that's a no-no too huh?

It was just an innocent question...honest!!!

My problem is that I live on a bit of a slope and there are a lot of rocks around plus the ground is not level otherwise I would love a sit on and ride mower.

I have a burn pile of tree bits but it rains most days and is too wet to burn but when it's dry......

Initially I did not really understand this flamethrower concept. I can now see the appeal of roasting the green vegetation to stop it from growing. Which is not burning it into ashes. But then what do you do with it? You still got to get out that brush cutter and remove the dead stuff. Or do you then burn it for real?

In any case there is no way I could buy one. My father in law would burn have of the valley to the ground with one of those things. Any day you can burn is a good day for him.

[AjarnP]

Billd766

I live on an 8% slope and use a ride on. They are capable of the slope if you get a good one.

[billd766]

Billd766

I live on an 8% slope and use a ride on. They are capable of the slope if you get a good one.

It is not the slope that is the problem but the rocks for me.

The cost of a ride on mower and replacement blades far outweigh the cost of a brush cutter and a Thai worker.

Edited August 22, 2012 by billd766

[tinfoilhat]

I too wasn't aware of such devices being used as a viable weed killer and if we could move on from point scoring on others who doubted the environmental advantages of such equipment I would personally wonder at the safety of it in the hands of overenthusiastic or unskilled users.

Maybe they have been removed from the market for this reason?

I think that is exactly the point VF was making, and I also agree with it. The OP may be a sensible, responsible person, but a lot of people are not and this sounds like in the wrong hands it could be very dangerous.

it doesn't take a weed burner to cause a forest or another dangerous fire.

Agreed, but they already do so well with a Bic.

bics are not ready available in thailand though villa does sometimes stock them.

used carefully, it would seem the singeing of the foliage would be more effective than using vision or roundup (glyphosate) which can wreak havoc on smaller animals especially amphibians and fish and does not kill the seeds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundup_(herbicide) fun stuff, i used to spray it for a living in Canaduh to put myself through university. would not use it on my own land for all the tea in china

Edited August 22, 2012 by tinfoilhat

[KRS1]

...oh great, this year slash and burn season is coming from the farangs.

Who says the farang cannot adapt to his environment.?