Last year I put three name brand weed killers against each other. I was tired of forgetting which weed killer did a good job and ending up with half bottles of multiple different kinds. For the record, Spectracide did the best job on the weeds for us. However, someone commented that as a dad I should use more natural methods to control weeds.
This year, just in time for Earth Day we’re going to tackle our weeds naturally. One is white vinegar (with just a dash of dish soap) and the other is boiling hot water.
Boiling Hot Water
Unsuspecting, happy, green weeds
This is what the area normally looks like.
Crispy weeds that boiling water killed
This is the area 24 hours after we poured boiling hot water on it.
It kills the weeds quickly, but the dangers of carrying a kettle full of hot water, in addition to the energy needed to do this would not make Captain Planet happy. Factor in the cost, energy and time needed to kill weeds and doing an area of any size just isn’t feasible.
White Vinegar
Last year we started cleaning most things inside the house with white vinegar. Add a little dish soap to it, pour it in a spray bottle and it’s supposed to kill weeds. Most of the organic boards I visited said that white vinegar really works, but takes a couple applications. However, factor in that a gallon of white vinegar costs less than two dollars and if it works, this method is worthwhile.
Happy green weeds
This is what the area normally looks like
White vinegar to kill weeds
24 hours after it was sprayed most of the green in the weeds is gone and the area is brittle to touch. One downside to using white vinegar to control weeds is that it kills on contact. Be very careful about spraying anything near an area that you don’t want to kill.
This year we’re not buying a chemical to control the weeds and it’s unknown if white vinegar will effectively kill them. The test area will be checked again in a couple days and we’ll report back just in time for Earth Day.
