I am not big on the poisons. I do not want to add anything bad to my soil that may harm animals or my plants. I do have lots of weeds though. Does anyone know of any natural way to get rid of them other than picking each and every one out? Aaron
Are the weeds in places you wish to keep as they are? Lawn, border or such? If it's the lawn I really don't know any other method than either picking them out or burning them away with a burner that eileen posted about. Link: http://www.gardenstew.com/viewtopic.php?t=8526&highlight=electronic+burner If you have serious weed trouble in you borders or in places where you would like to make a border, you might consider suffocating the weeds by putting wet newspapers on top of them, or covering the whole area with black plastic and leave it to roast for a couple of years. When I make new borders, I like to spread wet newspaper on top of the soil. It's important that the papers overlap, like roof shingles, so no light will come down to allow the weeds to find a way through. I cover the newspapers either with bought soil or bark chips, depending on what kind of border I'm making. The newspapers will rot away after two-three years, but will hopefully have managed to kill off all root weed. You still have to nip the wind blown weed seeds that are sprouting, but it's much easier to deal with than old, tough weeds.
Thank you. I have heard of the newspaper method before. Unfortunately They are right in the middle of the yard.
if you use vinegar it's best to find a pickling vinegar. It is much stronger than the off the shelf type. Here's another good recipe to use. Makes a quart Pour 4-ounces of lemon juice concentrate in a 1-quart spray bottle. Fill it to the top with white vinegar. Shake well and spray on the weeds. This is good for spot-weeding. It will kill dandelions and Creeping Jenny, although if the plants are big ones, it may take more than one dose. This is really good to spray between cracks in a sidewalk. Safe around kids, pets etc. But be Careful, This is basically two forms of acid so if you really soak the ground, nothing will grow for several months. G'luck to ya.
Vinegar will also kill the surrounding grass the best solution i found was a weed hound weed puller. They sell them at Home Depot and it works really well.
The vinegar to use for killing weeds is 20% you can find it at Home Depot, Lowes or other garden centers. The pickling vinegar is standard grocery store vinegar which is only 5% and the weeds will laugh at you for trying to take them out with it I have one of those weed burners too and plan on giving it a good work out when I can get back outside after all this rain.
We you have serious weed trouble in you borders or in places where you would like to make a border, you might consider suffocating the weeds by putting wet newspapers on top of them, or covering the whole area with black plastic and leave it to roast for a couple of years.
One other thought if you only have a small infestation is good old boiling water. Fill the kettle and when it's boiling, just go out and pour it on the weeds. They simply cook to death, and smell like something for dinner. Works great for cracks in pavement especially as it gets that root you can't reach yourself, but can be cumbersome if you have too many to deal with. I've had limited success with the vinegar/lemon juice solution but it is useful tender weeds seedlings that are coming up in batches. I fill my backpack sprayer with two jugs of vinegar and a bottle or two of lemon juice and go spraying. Older, tougher weeds often survive it but the seedlings usually don't. The ph of your soil should revert to normal in 3-4 days.
We just ordered a fertilizer with weed killer and it is all organic. It was from Gardens Alive and it is the first time we will be using it. I asked a few questions and this is the reply I got. I have 2 dogs that chew on things they find in the grass and their toys are all over the lawn...here is what they said.. Our product Wow Supreme should not make the urine spots any worse, as it is 100% organic, and slow release, and has a neutral pH. Because it is 100% organic, and composed of plant and animal by- products, it will not harm your pets regardless of how much they consume. I did wonder what they mean by animal by products..but I know they use corn glutten for the weeds.
Do like Santa, and hoe hoe hoe. sorry but that's the advice i was given, seems to work, when i put it to practice. The next line is, if you come up with a way to get rid of weeds, put it on the market. Actually, hoing irises would cause a lot of damage, since their roots are mostly at the top of the ground. So you have to pull them, but irises don't care about weeds much. There's a few other plants like that, like tomatoes, but few weeds can stand up against those. Just go out every few days, and pull them before they pull you.
