Vinegar is an excellent weed killer
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For those who want a "green" solution to weeds that actually works I can confirm that white pickling vinegar (7% acetic acid) makes an amazing plant killer. Spray it on any leaf you want to kill on a hot sunny day and within 10 minutes it's starting to turn brown and shortly afterwards the leaves are completely dead (none took longer than overnight). It works by stripping off the waxy coating on leaves that prevents them from dehydrating too quickly. No need for expensive or potentially dangerous chemicals, just make sure it's at least 7% acetic acid (stronger would be better but not as available but "Pickling" vinegar is usually at least 7%) and put it in a cheap plastic spray bottle and you have a plant killer. It will kill almost any leaf you spray it on depending on how waxy they are some will be more resistant (that's why 20% would be even better) but it works great on dandelions, thistles, grass etc etc. For dandelions just spray the leaves and the center of the flower. Dandelions and others with a long tap root will need a subsequent application because it won't kill the root, just all the leaves, but as long as the leaves are dead the root will die in pretty short order. I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in battery powered sprayer to do large areas conveniently (I have a lot of gravel trails in the back of our property that I want to keep vegetation free), the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while. There are commercial formulations based on vinegar now and they contain surfactants to make the liquid spread more evenly on the leaf and not bead up, I'm going to experiment with that as well, maybe dish soap or citrus based organic cleaners. Kinda makes you wonder why there are so many complex alternatives like Roundup when plain old vinegar works so well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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For those who want a "green" solution to weeds that actually works I can confirm that white pickling vinegar (7% acetic acid) makes an amazing plant killer. Spray it on any leaf you want to kill on a hot sunny day and within 10 minutes it's starting to turn brown and shortly afterwards the leaves are completely dead (none took longer than overnight). It works by stripping off the waxy coating on leaves that prevents them from dehydrating too quickly. No need for expensive or potentially dangerous chemicals, just make sure it's at least 7% acetic acid (stronger would be better but not as available but "Pickling" vinegar is usually at least 7%) and put it in a cheap plastic spray bottle and you have a plant killer. It will kill almost any leaf you spray it on depending on how waxy they are some will be more resistant (that's why 20% would be even better) but it works great on dandelions, thistles, grass etc etc. For dandelions just spray the leaves and the center of the flower. Dandelions and others with a long tap root will need a subsequent application because it won't kill the root, just all the leaves, but as long as the leaves are dead the root will die in pretty short order. I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in battery powered sprayer to do large areas conveniently (I have a lot of gravel trails in the back of our property that I want to keep vegetation free), the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while. There are commercial formulations based on vinegar now and they contain surfactants to make the liquid spread more evenly on the leaf and not bead up, I'm going to experiment with that as well, maybe dish soap or citrus based organic cleaners. Kinda makes you wonder why there are so many complex alternatives like Roundup when plain old vinegar works so well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
Good idea, John. Although I just let my dog pee on them. :)
Chris Meech I am Canadian. [heard in a local bar] In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. [Yogi Berra]
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For those who want a "green" solution to weeds that actually works I can confirm that white pickling vinegar (7% acetic acid) makes an amazing plant killer. Spray it on any leaf you want to kill on a hot sunny day and within 10 minutes it's starting to turn brown and shortly afterwards the leaves are completely dead (none took longer than overnight). It works by stripping off the waxy coating on leaves that prevents them from dehydrating too quickly. No need for expensive or potentially dangerous chemicals, just make sure it's at least 7% acetic acid (stronger would be better but not as available but "Pickling" vinegar is usually at least 7%) and put it in a cheap plastic spray bottle and you have a plant killer. It will kill almost any leaf you spray it on depending on how waxy they are some will be more resistant (that's why 20% would be even better) but it works great on dandelions, thistles, grass etc etc. For dandelions just spray the leaves and the center of the flower. Dandelions and others with a long tap root will need a subsequent application because it won't kill the root, just all the leaves, but as long as the leaves are dead the root will die in pretty short order. I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in battery powered sprayer to do large areas conveniently (I have a lot of gravel trails in the back of our property that I want to keep vegetation free), the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while. There are commercial formulations based on vinegar now and they contain surfactants to make the liquid spread more evenly on the leaf and not bead up, I'm going to experiment with that as well, maybe dish soap or citrus based organic cleaners. Kinda makes you wonder why there are so many complex alternatives like Roundup when plain old vinegar works so well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
b/c I doubt vinegar would kill things like couch grass.
Christian Graus Please read this if you don't understand the answer I've given you. If you're still stuck, ask me for more information.
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For those who want a "green" solution to weeds that actually works I can confirm that white pickling vinegar (7% acetic acid) makes an amazing plant killer. Spray it on any leaf you want to kill on a hot sunny day and within 10 minutes it's starting to turn brown and shortly afterwards the leaves are completely dead (none took longer than overnight). It works by stripping off the waxy coating on leaves that prevents them from dehydrating too quickly. No need for expensive or potentially dangerous chemicals, just make sure it's at least 7% acetic acid (stronger would be better but not as available but "Pickling" vinegar is usually at least 7%) and put it in a cheap plastic spray bottle and you have a plant killer. It will kill almost any leaf you spray it on depending on how waxy they are some will be more resistant (that's why 20% would be even better) but it works great on dandelions, thistles, grass etc etc. For dandelions just spray the leaves and the center of the flower. Dandelions and others with a long tap root will need a subsequent application because it won't kill the root, just all the leaves, but as long as the leaves are dead the root will die in pretty short order. I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in battery powered sprayer to do large areas conveniently (I have a lot of gravel trails in the back of our property that I want to keep vegetation free), the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while. There are commercial formulations based on vinegar now and they contain surfactants to make the liquid spread more evenly on the leaf and not bead up, I'm going to experiment with that as well, maybe dish soap or citrus based organic cleaners. Kinda makes you wonder why there are so many complex alternatives like Roundup when plain old vinegar works so well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
Hmm, thanks for the tip - i can't wait to try it on anything that survived the propane torch last Friday. :D
John C wrote:
I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in batter sprayer to do large areas conveniently, the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while.
Er, why not just use a plain ol' pump sprayer[^]? :~
Citizen 20.1.01
'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master - that's all.'
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For those who want a "green" solution to weeds that actually works I can confirm that white pickling vinegar (7% acetic acid) makes an amazing plant killer. Spray it on any leaf you want to kill on a hot sunny day and within 10 minutes it's starting to turn brown and shortly afterwards the leaves are completely dead (none took longer than overnight). It works by stripping off the waxy coating on leaves that prevents them from dehydrating too quickly. No need for expensive or potentially dangerous chemicals, just make sure it's at least 7% acetic acid (stronger would be better but not as available but "Pickling" vinegar is usually at least 7%) and put it in a cheap plastic spray bottle and you have a plant killer. It will kill almost any leaf you spray it on depending on how waxy they are some will be more resistant (that's why 20% would be even better) but it works great on dandelions, thistles, grass etc etc. For dandelions just spray the leaves and the center of the flower. Dandelions and others with a long tap root will need a subsequent application because it won't kill the root, just all the leaves, but as long as the leaves are dead the root will die in pretty short order. I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in battery powered sprayer to do large areas conveniently (I have a lot of gravel trails in the back of our property that I want to keep vegetation free), the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while. There are commercial formulations based on vinegar now and they contain surfactants to make the liquid spread more evenly on the leaf and not bead up, I'm going to experiment with that as well, maybe dish soap or citrus based organic cleaners. Kinda makes you wonder why there are so many complex alternatives like Roundup when plain old vinegar works so well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
more info and formula variations [^]
Steve
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Hmm, thanks for the tip - i can't wait to try it on anything that survived the propane torch last Friday. :D
John C wrote:
I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in batter sprayer to do large areas conveniently, the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while.
Er, why not just use a plain ol' pump sprayer[^]? :~
Citizen 20.1.01
'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master - that's all.'
Shog9 wrote:
i can't wait to try it on anything that survived the propane torch last Friday
You haven't been playing with the neighbours dog again have you? :rolleyes: It's only just grown the fur back after the time you attempted to light the fire with it.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Good idea, John. Although I just let my dog pee on them. :)
Chris Meech I am Canadian. [heard in a local bar] In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. [Yogi Berra]
I'd need a *lot* of dogs; we have probably a kilometer or more of gravelled trails we've built on our property and the weeds and grass love to grow on it, we considered everything, I don't want to use RoundUp because it's expensive and I don't like using anything I can't eat around the house if I can help it, a torch works but is a fire hazard in the summer, salt would work but would spread into the sides and kill the plants along the edges etc, I stumbled across the vinegar thing and it sounded too simple but it worked amazingly well. I still find it amazing in this day and age that simple stuff like this is still not widely known about and they are hawking expensive chemicals at the garden center to do the same thing you can get cheaply at the grocery store.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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For those who want a "green" solution to weeds that actually works I can confirm that white pickling vinegar (7% acetic acid) makes an amazing plant killer. Spray it on any leaf you want to kill on a hot sunny day and within 10 minutes it's starting to turn brown and shortly afterwards the leaves are completely dead (none took longer than overnight). It works by stripping off the waxy coating on leaves that prevents them from dehydrating too quickly. No need for expensive or potentially dangerous chemicals, just make sure it's at least 7% acetic acid (stronger would be better but not as available but "Pickling" vinegar is usually at least 7%) and put it in a cheap plastic spray bottle and you have a plant killer. It will kill almost any leaf you spray it on depending on how waxy they are some will be more resistant (that's why 20% would be even better) but it works great on dandelions, thistles, grass etc etc. For dandelions just spray the leaves and the center of the flower. Dandelions and others with a long tap root will need a subsequent application because it won't kill the root, just all the leaves, but as long as the leaves are dead the root will die in pretty short order. I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in battery powered sprayer to do large areas conveniently (I have a lot of gravel trails in the back of our property that I want to keep vegetation free), the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while. There are commercial formulations based on vinegar now and they contain surfactants to make the liquid spread more evenly on the leaf and not bead up, I'm going to experiment with that as well, maybe dish soap or citrus based organic cleaners. Kinda makes you wonder why there are so many complex alternatives like Roundup when plain old vinegar works so well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
For long tap roots, an effective and safe method is to make a cut in the top of the root, exposing the "inside" of the the root, and pour some ordinary table salt on top, followed by a few drops of water. Effective, and just like the vinegar, a good solution if you have animals or small children around, when dedicated herbicides are a no-no.
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Shog9 wrote:
i can't wait to try it on anything that survived the propane torch last Friday
You haven't been playing with the neighbours dog again have you? :rolleyes: It's only just grown the fur back after the time you attempted to light the fire with it.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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b/c I doubt vinegar would kill things like couch grass.
Christian Graus Please read this if you don't understand the answer I've given you. If you're still stuck, ask me for more information.
Worth a try, I googled couch grass and it seems to be different in that it has a tap root like dandelions so might need repeated treatments. In a university study they used 20% acetic acid and it was 90% effective.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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Hmm, thanks for the tip - i can't wait to try it on anything that survived the propane torch last Friday. :D
John C wrote:
I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in batter sprayer to do large areas conveniently, the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while.
Er, why not just use a plain ol' pump sprayer[^]? :~
Citizen 20.1.01
'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master - that's all.'
Shog9 wrote:
i can't wait to try it on anything that survived the propane torch last Friday.
Ironically that's the reason why I found out about vinegar, I was searching for a weed torch, we have a *lot* of gravel trails to keep weed free but I was a bit worried about setting the place on fire, it's back in some heavy treed and jungly area.
Shog9 wrote:
Er, why not just use a plain ol' pump sprayer[^]?
You have a point. :) I was kinda psyched to tear into the swiffer and it does make a cool noise with it's battery and all but that would make far more sense. Cheers!
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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more info and formula variations [^]
Steve
Cool! Three things he neglected to mention: 5% is a little weak: in the university tests they used 20% but I've tried 7% the strongest I could get and it works well, some plants are not outright killed by losing all their leaves but they can't survive without any leaves for very long so when they grow back you just spray it again, it *will* die eventually, the PH change caused by the vinegar is negligable if you are just spraying the leaves with a hand spray; if you are broad spraying everywhere then it will go down but in that same university test they found vinegar doesn't have a lasting effect and the ph went back to pre spray levels in a few weeks to a year in the most heavily dosed areas.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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For long tap roots, an effective and safe method is to make a cut in the top of the root, exposing the "inside" of the the root, and pour some ordinary table salt on top, followed by a few drops of water. Effective, and just like the vinegar, a good solution if you have animals or small children around, when dedicated herbicides are a no-no.
Sounds like more work and though I see salt mentioned all the time with weeds I think people have forgotten the meaning behind the ancient phrase "salting the earth". Nothing will ever grow again if too much salt is put on some ground. I'm willing to bet that the dandelions that I sprayed and are now appearing dead will make a comeback from their tap root but I bet if I spray the new leaves a few more times there won't be any more life left in it. A taproot can't survive indefinitely without any leaves. I'll find out either way.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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Attempted? You, sir, fail to properly recognize the successful execution of a well-laid plan... :suss: :rolleyes:
Citizen 20.1.01
'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master - that's all.'
Fair play to you sir. It's good to have a goal in life.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Sounds like more work and though I see salt mentioned all the time with weeds I think people have forgotten the meaning behind the ancient phrase "salting the earth". Nothing will ever grow again if too much salt is put on some ground. I'm willing to bet that the dandelions that I sprayed and are now appearing dead will make a comeback from their tap root but I bet if I spray the new leaves a few more times there won't be any more life left in it. A taproot can't survive indefinitely without any leaves. I'll find out either way.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
John C wrote:
Nothing will ever grow again if too much salt is put on some ground.
True, but the trick is to cut the root, and put the salt only on the root. It's the same with any non-specific herbicide - enough of it will kill anything. That's one of the advantages of the proprietary products - they target specific types of plants (lawn weedkillers for example, kill weeds but not grass).
John C wrote:
A taproot can't survive indefinitely without any leaves.
But the seeds can easily lie dormant until next spring... :)
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John C wrote:
Nothing will ever grow again if too much salt is put on some ground.
True, but the trick is to cut the root, and put the salt only on the root. It's the same with any non-specific herbicide - enough of it will kill anything. That's one of the advantages of the proprietary products - they target specific types of plants (lawn weedkillers for example, kill weeds but not grass).
John C wrote:
A taproot can't survive indefinitely without any leaves.
But the seeds can easily lie dormant until next spring... :)
Graham Bradshaw wrote:
It's the same with any non-specific herbicide - enough of it will kill anything
No, it's not the same at all, salt *permanently* ensures nothing will *ever* grow where it's present in enough concentration.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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For those who want a "green" solution to weeds that actually works I can confirm that white pickling vinegar (7% acetic acid) makes an amazing plant killer. Spray it on any leaf you want to kill on a hot sunny day and within 10 minutes it's starting to turn brown and shortly afterwards the leaves are completely dead (none took longer than overnight). It works by stripping off the waxy coating on leaves that prevents them from dehydrating too quickly. No need for expensive or potentially dangerous chemicals, just make sure it's at least 7% acetic acid (stronger would be better but not as available but "Pickling" vinegar is usually at least 7%) and put it in a cheap plastic spray bottle and you have a plant killer. It will kill almost any leaf you spray it on depending on how waxy they are some will be more resistant (that's why 20% would be even better) but it works great on dandelions, thistles, grass etc etc. For dandelions just spray the leaves and the center of the flower. Dandelions and others with a long tap root will need a subsequent application because it won't kill the root, just all the leaves, but as long as the leaves are dead the root will die in pretty short order. I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in battery powered sprayer to do large areas conveniently (I have a lot of gravel trails in the back of our property that I want to keep vegetation free), the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while. There are commercial formulations based on vinegar now and they contain surfactants to make the liquid spread more evenly on the leaf and not bead up, I'm going to experiment with that as well, maybe dish soap or citrus based organic cleaners. Kinda makes you wonder why there are so many complex alternatives like Roundup when plain old vinegar works so well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
John C wrote:
Dandelions and others with a long tap root
I have a good solution for these: a driller with a 3/8 large and long drill. Drill the the root to oblivion. :cool:
Of all forms of sexual aberration, the most unnatural is abstinence.
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For those who want a "green" solution to weeds that actually works I can confirm that white pickling vinegar (7% acetic acid) makes an amazing plant killer. Spray it on any leaf you want to kill on a hot sunny day and within 10 minutes it's starting to turn brown and shortly afterwards the leaves are completely dead (none took longer than overnight). It works by stripping off the waxy coating on leaves that prevents them from dehydrating too quickly. No need for expensive or potentially dangerous chemicals, just make sure it's at least 7% acetic acid (stronger would be better but not as available but "Pickling" vinegar is usually at least 7%) and put it in a cheap plastic spray bottle and you have a plant killer. It will kill almost any leaf you spray it on depending on how waxy they are some will be more resistant (that's why 20% would be even better) but it works great on dandelions, thistles, grass etc etc. For dandelions just spray the leaves and the center of the flower. Dandelions and others with a long tap root will need a subsequent application because it won't kill the root, just all the leaves, but as long as the leaves are dead the root will die in pretty short order. I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in battery powered sprayer to do large areas conveniently (I have a lot of gravel trails in the back of our property that I want to keep vegetation free), the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while. There are commercial formulations based on vinegar now and they contain surfactants to make the liquid spread more evenly on the leaf and not bead up, I'm going to experiment with that as well, maybe dish soap or citrus based organic cleaners. Kinda makes you wonder why there are so many complex alternatives like Roundup when plain old vinegar works so well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
i think i read somewhere that vodka is too...
----------------------------------------------------------- "When I first saw it, I just thought that you really, really enjoyed programming in java." - Leslie Sanford
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For those who want a "green" solution to weeds that actually works I can confirm that white pickling vinegar (7% acetic acid) makes an amazing plant killer. Spray it on any leaf you want to kill on a hot sunny day and within 10 minutes it's starting to turn brown and shortly afterwards the leaves are completely dead (none took longer than overnight). It works by stripping off the waxy coating on leaves that prevents them from dehydrating too quickly. No need for expensive or potentially dangerous chemicals, just make sure it's at least 7% acetic acid (stronger would be better but not as available but "Pickling" vinegar is usually at least 7%) and put it in a cheap plastic spray bottle and you have a plant killer. It will kill almost any leaf you spray it on depending on how waxy they are some will be more resistant (that's why 20% would be even better) but it works great on dandelions, thistles, grass etc etc. For dandelions just spray the leaves and the center of the flower. Dandelions and others with a long tap root will need a subsequent application because it won't kill the root, just all the leaves, but as long as the leaves are dead the root will die in pretty short order. I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in battery powered sprayer to do large areas conveniently (I have a lot of gravel trails in the back of our property that I want to keep vegetation free), the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while. There are commercial formulations based on vinegar now and they contain surfactants to make the liquid spread more evenly on the leaf and not bead up, I'm going to experiment with that as well, maybe dish soap or citrus based organic cleaners. Kinda makes you wonder why there are so many complex alternatives like Roundup when plain old vinegar works so well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
-
For those who want a "green" solution to weeds that actually works I can confirm that white pickling vinegar (7% acetic acid) makes an amazing plant killer. Spray it on any leaf you want to kill on a hot sunny day and within 10 minutes it's starting to turn brown and shortly afterwards the leaves are completely dead (none took longer than overnight). It works by stripping off the waxy coating on leaves that prevents them from dehydrating too quickly. No need for expensive or potentially dangerous chemicals, just make sure it's at least 7% acetic acid (stronger would be better but not as available but "Pickling" vinegar is usually at least 7%) and put it in a cheap plastic spray bottle and you have a plant killer. It will kill almost any leaf you spray it on depending on how waxy they are some will be more resistant (that's why 20% would be even better) but it works great on dandelions, thistles, grass etc etc. For dandelions just spray the leaves and the center of the flower. Dandelions and others with a long tap root will need a subsequent application because it won't kill the root, just all the leaves, but as long as the leaves are dead the root will die in pretty short order. I'm going to hack a Swiffer WetJet mop so I can refill it with vinegar and use it's built in battery powered sprayer to do large areas conveniently (I have a lot of gravel trails in the back of our property that I want to keep vegetation free), the spray bottle gets tiresome after a while. There are commercial formulations based on vinegar now and they contain surfactants to make the liquid spread more evenly on the leaf and not bead up, I'm going to experiment with that as well, maybe dish soap or citrus based organic cleaners. Kinda makes you wonder why there are so many complex alternatives like Roundup when plain old vinegar works so well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson