7 Ways to Kill Weeds Naturally
Want to avoid chemicals to kill weeds? Here are
7 ways to stop weeds with weapons you already have around your house.
Difficulty: Easy
1. Newspaper. A carpet of newspaper, which blocks sunlight and oxygen from reaching the soil, will smother weeds and prevent new ones. Spread newspaper in 10-sheet layers, wet the sheets to help hold them down, and cover with an inch or two of mulch. If weeds begin to grow in the mulch, add more layers, making a mulch-newspaper lasagna, which eventually will decompose and nourish the soil.
2. Old shower curtains and carpet samples. Spread in garden paths or between rows. Cover with mulch.
3. Corn gluten meal. This corn by-product stops seeds from growing into weeds. Since the meal prevents germination, use it around established plants and after seedlings and transplants have taken hold. After harvest, spread the meal to prevent late-season weeds.
4. Vinegar. The acetic acid in 5% vinegar sucks the life out of plant leaves. It’s most destructive to young plants with immature roots, though it just rolls off weeds with waxy leaves, like pennywort or thistle. You might need a stronger vinegar solution (20%) for tough weeds.
Cover your other plants when spraying with vinegar so it doesn’t kill them too. Keep your spray on target by removing the bottom from a 2-liter plastic soda bottle and placing it over the weed. Then spray vinegar into the mouth of the bottle so there’s no splatter.
5. Vodka. We don’t know
if vodka makes weeds fall down dead or drunk, but 1 ounce mixed with 2
cups of water and a couple of drops of dish soap will dry out weeds that
live in the sun. Doesn’t work that well on shade-loving weeds. Protect
your good plants, because vodka will dry them out, too.
6. Soap.
The oil in soap can break down waxy or hairy weed surfaces, making them
vulnerable to desiccants like vinegar. So add a few drops of liquid dish
detergent to vinegar or vodka sprays to help the leaves hold the
solution. The soap also makes leaves shiny, helping you keep track of
what you’ve sprayed.
7. Boiling water. After you’ve made yourself a
cup of tea, take the kettle outside and pour the boiling water on weeds
to scale and kill them. But don’t burn yourself! This is a good way to
whack driveway and walkway weeds, because the boiling water runs off
impervious surfaces and cools before it reaches border plants. It might
take several treatments for weeds with long roots, like dandelions. And
if you have a lot of weeds, this might be more legwork than it’s worth.
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