Landscape & Urban Design Issue 25 2017 | Page 82

The War on Weeds - with Water?! occasions, with limited success before opting for Cardley’s hot water solution. Professional gardeners need not to worry about damaging surrounding areas: “The hot water system can be applied accurately and the heat penetrates the root of the weed, killing it in a way that has no negative impact on our water, environment, staff or wildlife.” – Tom Clare, Reserve Manager, WWT Martin Mere. Not only this, but using 100% hot water poses no restrictions in and around public areas and requires no protective clothing or specialist licenses, allowing for community involvement and reduced downtime – a must for those facing rising budget cuts. Until a couple of years ago, the thought of watering weeds would be viewed with raised eyebrows. However watering weeds with boiling water is the latest organic approach to weed killing without using any chemicals. Cardley are the UK and Ireland’s most established herbicide-free weed control providers on the market; offering effective, efficient and ecological weed control in a range of weed killing machines using 100% hot water. Heating the water to an optimum temperature of 98° ensures the cellular structure of the plant is destroyed by thermal energy at low pressure. Weeds are becoming more resistant to traditional herbicides such as glyphosate, which is 82 Landscape & Urban Design why there is a need to consider a more modern and sustainable approach to tackling those troublesome weeds. An increasing amount of industry professionals are opting for a more organic method of weed control, due to the ongoing uncertainty of chemical weed killers with glyphosate being the latest chemical to expire from the market by December 2017 unless if it granted a license extension. Environmentally friendly weed control is nothing new, but getting right technology to be effective and efficient is, with imitation hot steam machines often failing to get to the root of the problem. Likewise, WWT Martin Mere trialled a hot foam weed control machine on several Increased revenue is now obtainable with just one machine, due to Cardley’s machines having the capability to be used for high pressure cleaning of paved areas, street furniture and signs, as well as, chewing gum and some graffiti removal, just by a change of the lance. “We are also benefiting from the machine being dual purpose so we are able to power wash at the same time as we have been weeding. That is reducing time by not having to revisit the area.” – William Spence, Executive Manager – Environmental Services, Shetland Islands Council. Try something new this weed killing season! www.cardley-group.com/cardley-weed-control [email protected] | 01254 707407