Best herbicide for ground clearing weeds from old arena?

[cardinale]

Vintage arena overgrown with non-woody weeds, mostly grasses but a significant percentage of broadleaf weeds mixed in. Mowed close a couple of weeks ago to knock down the vegetation. A few inches of new growth since then.

My plan to revive this arena is to apply an herbicide to kill everything, then burn/rake off as much vegetation debris as possible before shallow-tilling in the remainder.

What herbicide would work best to kill everything? I have the RM43 Extended Control which is sold as ground clearing (43% glyphosate + imazapyr). Is there something better?

Location is the PNW.

[Simkie]

I use barrier for this, which has the same active ingredients as your extended control stuff.

Every year I say I’m going to use a pre emergent the next spring, and then never get on top of things that early. But that’s an option for you next year, too!

[Foxglove]

I use a Round up type product —same stuff, cheaper, sold by Helena Chemical. I need only apply once and everything dies.

[Mcl1]

Generic glyphosate is very economical and effective, just keep in mind it can take up to two weeks to see the full effect.

[LCDR]

After decades of using glyphosate, I switched last year to Cheetah Pro. Faster results, kills many glyphosate resistant weeds, and most important to me, is less effective on grass.

Use of the term “weed” varies but to me a weed is anything growing in my pastures that is not coastal bermuda grass. Unwanted drift from glyphosate application would pretty predictably kill some of my my nearby desirable pasture grass, and although I see some bermuda yellowing from Cheetah Pro overspray the bermuda grass seems to recover.

But in OP situation, I’d be inclined to go with generic glyphosate in the higher concentration listed for brush control. Then for the glyphosate resistant survivors I’d hit the arena a second time with Cheetah Pro, spot sprayed if possible.

[jvanrens]

@LCDR

After decades of using glyphosate, I switched last year to Cheetah Pro. Faster results, kills many glyphosate resistant weeds, and most important to me, is less effective on grass.

It doesn’t sound like the OP wants grass in the ring either.

[cardinale]

@jvanrens

It doesn’t sound like the OP wants grass in the ring either.

Yeah, it all goes. Fortunately, there’s actually what looks like a decent sand layer underneath the vegetation.

[LCDR]

Read my entire post, and then you will know why I wanted to spare my surrounding pasture grass. I did then recommend a herbicide combination for the OP to kill everything, including any glyphosate-resistant shrubs, weeds, and grasses.

[enjoytheride]

We just used generic round up and drug it a lot. We had to stop frequently to pull out the weeds. Once you get it back to sand dragging weekly keeps the weeds down. I only have to spray the perimeter now. These pictures are my arena on move in day, after a lot of dragging and new sand but after rain (the original arena had packed enough we needed new sand), then when I had the arena expanded.

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[trubandloki]

Wow @enjoytheride, that is quite the transformation.

[enjoytheride]

Thank you! When I want to sell it all and board I look at these pictures.