Anyone have a favorite recipe for killing weeds?

StacyLou
StacyLou Posts: 89 ✭✭
edited September 2018 in The Homestead: DIY
I just watched someone at my Co-op do this with clove oil and vinegar and wondered the same thing. It was on my list of things to look into. Great post.

Comments

  • ettacass24
    ettacass24 Posts: 18
    edited September 2018
    I always use vinegar. Depending on how thick the weeds are determines how much water I add.  Do it on a hot day and it works better.
  • anectarine1
    anectarine1 Posts: 27 ✭✭✭

    Has anyone felt with blackberry invasions? I cut down about an acre of vines in the spring and they have all grown back. Looking for a way to deal with them without toxic poisons.

  • Alison
    Alison Posts: 179 ✭✭✭

    Flame torch.

    Cut things down as much as possible and then torch it....

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Warning: Torching weeds is what started the Brian Head fire a year ago. It is important to check with local fire department before burning weeds. In my area that could mean burning thousands of acres by accident.

  • Karin
    Karin Posts: 272 ✭✭✭

    I like to use boiling water, but of course they always grow back!! Haven't used vinegar yet, but I will try it, thanks to those who mentioned it. My neighbour told me her mother used to pour the salty water off boiling the corned beef over the weeds and that killed them.

  • pamelamackenzie
    pamelamackenzie Posts: 143 ✭✭✭

    If everything in an area is weeds, cardboard can work. Boiling water works well if there is nothing nearby you might accidentally kill roots of.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    You have to be careful with both salt & with vinegar as both can damage your soil over time.

    I found that with boiling water, that the weed revives after a time.

    Depending on your weedy area (veg garden vs. perennial bed), you could plant a cover crop & till it under. You can either do this to part of your garden at a time or take a year to do this to your whole garden. Clover is good. Rye contains a natural component that will suppress weeds. Most likely it will do that to any other plant in that year as well.

  • DeeperEating
    DeeperEating Posts: 63 ✭✭✭

    I am very interested in the vinegar method for weeks that are growing between some stones in the front of our house (we have a lot of kombucha vinegar from a neglected batch). Do you dilute the vinegar or just use it straight?

  • drpclarke
    drpclarke Posts: 53 ✭✭✭

    I have been tarping areas that has a lot of weeds. I found an advertisement business in Charlotte that will sell me old billboard signs (14x50)for a reasonable fee. I will let the sun kill my weeds. My biggest problem is Bermuda grass. It is a constant struggle.

  • dimck421
    dimck421 Posts: 203 ✭✭✭

    I had a blackberry issue, but kept them cut back. Now, they seem to have died.


    For general week kill, I too use the vinegar, Dawn, Epsom salts weed treat. I usually pick a very try hot time to spray. This way, the unwanted intruders are quite thirsty and welcome my potion. Most weed, I simply friend, as they seem to have a purpose.