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 »  Home  »  garden  »  Earth friendly weed killer
Earth friendly weed killer
By Green Living Tips | Published  12/21/2008 | garden
Weed killing the earth friendly way
Instead of using really nasty chemicals to rid your garden of noxious weeds, where possible just try using water.

Yes, water :)

The trick is to boil it first of course. This is particularly effective for use on weeds in the expansion joints on driveways and paths.

Other greener options for killing weeds (depending on the type)

- Neat white vinegar is good as an earth friendly broad leaf weed killer. Vinegar is most effective when applied on a sunny.

- A strong saline (salt) solution can be used on gravel driveways and where weeds have sprung up between cracks or joins in pavers. It's probably best not to use this in open areas where other plants are close by as repeated applications can cause the salt to leach over a wider area. It's for this reason that salt is also a good way to prevent weeds from growing again.

- Lemon juice is also said to be highly effective in killing weeds of all types and it will break down very quickly.

There are also quite a few "green" commercial products around, but if you do need to buy "mainstream" commercial chemical preparations, I recommend glyphosate - it's probably the lesser of the evils in terms of popular herbicides.

Sold under hundreds of different brand names, glyphosate supposedly breaks down very quickly, although the video "The World According To Monsanto" challenges that claim. 

Glyphosate is also very cheap. A $4 bottle of generic branded glyphosate is just as effective as a $10 bottle of popular brand name weed killer containing glyphosate (which will remain nameless) if the concentrations are the same - and you get to deprive Monsanto of some profits in the process.

It can take up to 7 days after application before the weed starts to turn brown, particularly if it's a large one. Glyphosate should be applied when there's no chance of rain within 6 hours of application.

To further reduce environmental risks, only use the amount as directed on the bottle - using more won't kill the weeds any faster or more effectively. Also invest in a hand pump sprayer - the money you outlay on the sprayer will be offset by the reduction of glyphosate you'll need to use if, for example, you use a watering can to apply it. Less chemical - less collateral damage on the environment and less damage to your wallet also. By using it sparingly, you'll also reduce the risks of weeds building up resistance.

As always, prevention is better than cure. One of the best ways to prevent weeds from growing is to use mulch, which has the added benefit of providing nutrients to plants and saving water in your garden.

Have an earth friendly week killer tip you'd like to share? Please add it using the form below :)

 
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Michael Bloch
Green Living Tips.com
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Comments
  • Comment #1 (Posted by anita)

    Hope the suggestions work - I don't like using the Ortho products like Roundup
     
  • Comment #2 (Posted by Jannie)

    I use old natural fiber blankets or carpets (not the "plastic backed" ones) to spread over my veg plot for the winter, or if a plot is to be left fallow leave the cover on for as long as needed. At the end of their useful life I just add to the bottom of the compost heap.
     
  • Comment #3 (Posted by shelby )

    hi myu name is shelby and another enviromental friendly weed killer is 3/4 of a spray bottle with vinegasr and the rest water then add 2 tbsp of dishsoap.
     
  • Comment #4 (Posted by Andria)

    Vinegar is the number one weed killing method that I use. I pour it in one of those large spray bottles with the hose and flow adjuster from Home Depot or Lowes. The key is to spraying the weeds first thing in the morning on a sunny day. This dries them up and they disappear.
     
  • Comment #5 (Posted by Peggy )

    Hi, Michael,
    Any advice on how to eradicate pampas grass? It's a nonnative threatens to take over a hillside meadow area. We live in northern coastal California.
     
  • Comment #6 (Posted by Margaret)

    Will the vinegar only kill the broadleaf weeds in grass or will it affect the grass?
     
  • Comment #7 (Posted by Dale)

    I have found boiling water does work well, but I end up using a lot! so I only do it in the wet season. I will have to try the vinegar. Not sure on the salt...? Has anyone got ideas for nut grass? we put down carpet, with a portable (temporary) swimming pool on top, and the nut grass has grown through the pool...
     
  • Comment #8 (Posted by Alex St.)

    I was wondering if any one has tried to mix salt, lemon juice and white vinegar together? to me, it sounds like it may work. only one turn down. i live in Canada and we are covered by snow and ice right now, so if anybody from the other side of the world, you know, e-mail me! and tell me the results. Please. We want to spray about 200 feet for Raspberry Bushes. only, we want to go green.
     
  • Comment #9 (Posted by Weed Killer Caleb)

    Also something about the lemon juice weed control method.. It isn't very affordable and is a kind of pain in the butt weed killer to use. It's messy, gets everything sticky, and at such high concentrations your eye have the same affect on them as if the lemons were onions
     
  • Comment #10 (Posted by Salina)

    Can anyone give an answer to comment #6, about vinegar killing just weeds, or does it kill the grass too? I'd like to know also.
     
  • Comment #11 (Posted by Kent)

    Attention Kaleb and Salina. Check this site out for the answere to comment 6, '..does the vinegar affect the grass or just the weeds'. Basically the answer is yes, it will harm the grass.

    Kent.
     
  • Comment #12 (Posted by Kent)

    Sorry, spelled Kaleb wrong shoud be Caleb. As well forgot to list the web site. Here it is:
    http://landscaping.about.com/od/weedsdiseases/qt/vinegar_weeds.htm

    Reviewer, please correct.

    Thank you

    Kent.
     
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