Grandma’s Vinegar Weed killer
I was about the job of eradicating the weeds in my lawn using a chemical weed killer when my neighbor came over and suggested that I use an organic vinegar weed killer. This sounded a little hokey to me so I just smiled and went on with my business. Is there any value in using vinegar and will it last?
Bonnie, Fargo, North Dakota
In your grandma’s day, there were no harsh chemical weed killers, therefore organic products were used by grandma Vinegar is a natural product, usually derived from grain, apples or grapes. It is distilled through a fermentation process. The vinegar you buy is typically labeled at 5% acidity. This means it contains 5% acetic acid, the active ingredient.
Acetic acid is what makes vinegar a weed killer and will kill most vegetation because it draws all the moisture out of the leaf. It is fast. Spraying full strength vinegar on a plant in full sun will often result in a withered, brown plant in only a few hours, for sensitive weeds, or by the next day in tougher plants.
The recipe that I consider the most effective solution is 1/8 soap, 1/2 vinegar and 3/8 water. Pour into a spray bottle and mist those weeds on a windless day. The soap helps the vinegar cling to the foliage, and the top of the plant will soon begin to die.
There are a wide range of formulas that gardeners have devised over the years; some are too weak and probably wouldn’t work, while others were too wacky to even try.
Try several of the recipes until you find the one that works best on your particular pesky weed. I sprayed weeds with full strength vinegar; with full strength vinegar plus soap; and with soap and water only, just for comparison. I discovered that the various weeds required a little different treatment to eradicate so you will have to do your own experimenting.
VINEGAR———–SALT———SOAP——WATER——OTHER
1 gallon 1 cup 1 tbsp none none
1 gallon 1 cup 1 shot warm none
1 gallon 1 lb. 1 tbsp none none
1 gallon none 1 tsp none orange oil
4 cups 1/4 cup 2/3 quart none none
2 parts none 1 part 2 parts none
1 tbsp none 1 tsp 1 gal., hot none
1 tbsp 1 tsp none 1 qt., hot 1 tbsp gin
1 oz none none none none
1 gallon none 1 oz none none
The best applicator is a small sprayer- 1 ½ quart size, that pumps up pressure because it puts out a smaller, softer spray pattern than my larger tank sprayer. It allowed me to confine the spray to the desired area protecting my lawn and the tender vegetation that I desire to keep.
Category: Outdoor
