Any Home remedies to kill weeds? (flowers, growing, grass, mower)
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I have what is called a garden railroad and it has been taken over by a small short 2-3 inch tall weed? with tiny white flowers on it. I don't know what it is and don't know how to post a photo.
Pulling them out is a pain so I would like to spray something along the tracks that won't hurt brass and plastic that will kill the little buggers. I like them elsewhere on the layout but not growing on the tracks.
Would a water mixture of bleach work or maybe vinegar from a spray bottle? I don't want ot use roundup or ground clear since my pups play in the area and those seem to spread and kill anything around it.
Any ideas of what to use?
Thanks
I have what is called a garden railroad and it has been taken over by a small short 2-3 inch tall weed? with tiny white flowers on it. I don't know what it is and don't know how to post a photo.
Pulling them out is a pain so I would like to spray something along the tracks that won't hurt brass and plastic that will kill the little buggers. I like them elsewhere on the layout but not growing on the tracks.
Would a water mixture of bleach work or maybe vinegar from a spray bottle? I don't want ot use roundup or ground clear since my pups play in the area and those seem to spread and kill anything around it.
Any ideas of what to use?
Thanks
[quote=NJDevil;29058636]They do mention this on the site - I just took an organic gardening class and they said white vinegar works just like round-up. Don't dilute it.[/QUOTE
Nope, it does not work like Roundup. Vinegar dries out the topgrowth and fries it, but it does not get transported down into the roots for a thorough kill like Roundup. This is verified by a homamade-weed-killer website:
"Pour white vinegar into a clean spray bottle, and spray it directly on the leaves of weeds. This will dry out the moisture in the weed's leaves and kill it. There is some debate about whether this kills the roots and as such really kills the plants, so you will want to pull the weed out once the vinegar does its work. Since vinegar can change the pH of soil, it's not a good idea to spray it directly on the soil."
There are a couple of good reasons not to use vinegar right there in the paragraph about using it! If you have to pull the weed after the foliage has died in order to get at the roots, what's the point of spraying it with vinegar? It's easier to pull when the topgrowth is alive!
Vinegar is not a good thing to put in your soil, and any homemade weed killer that calls for salt -- DON'T! Salt is one of the last things you want to put in your soil.
I have what is called a garden railroad and it has been taken over by a small short 2-3 inch tall weed? with tiny white flowers on it. I don't know what it is and don't know how to post a photo.
Like the attachment?
Showed up for the first time, possibly, this year throughout our neighborhood after living here for more than 20 years.
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Last edited by sullyguy; 04-11-2013 at 10:40 AM..
Reason: Added "How To"...
What makes you think bleach is safer for your pets than RoundUp?
Bleach has no place in the garden -- not ever. I'll spray a diluted bleach solution on my garden tools, but that's it. What I have discovered with homemade weed killers is this: they are amateur science experiments that can go wrong from a safety aspect and also an effectiveness aspect. I will pour boiling water between patio pavers, but that's as far as I go with homemade remedies, which can get very expensive and not really do the job they promise to. If you do not kill the root, you usually do not kill the weed, and homemade concoctions just don't kill the root unless you drench the soil with them -- and then you have messed up your soil.
I use regular dish soap and white vinegar and spray the various weeds around the yard. This mixture is adequate. You might try liquid corn gluten meal to help prevent weeds from growing. I used the dry version and am going to try this liquid verson next week. I ordered it yesterday. The dry version works pretty well, but you have to put it down in March before the weeds start to come out. About 6 weeks ago I added 100 lbs of soybean meal to my yard and it really helped getting a much thicker green grass growing which help control the weeds. I hate yard work. Such a waste of time fighting weeds and bugs.
I use regular dish soap and white vinegar and spray the various weeds around the yard. This mixture is adequate. You might try liquid corn gluten meal to help prevent weeds from growing. I used the dry version and am going to try this liquid verson next week. I ordered it yesterday. The dry version works pretty well, but you have to put it down in March before the weeds start to come out. About 6 weeks ago I added 100 lbs of soybean meal to my yard and it really helped getting a much thicker green grass growing which help control the weeds. I hate yard work. Such a waste of time fighting weeds and bugs.
I used corn gluten meal for several years a decade ago. It gives so-so results, and it does not prevent broadleaf weeds like dandelions from coming up. It is also pretty hard to find at an affordable price unless you get it at a feed store. We lived on a half-acre lot and I remember paying $300 to do my March application of it one year. That's ridiculous. Extension agents don't even recommend it.
To the OP; is there any chance you could just mow your weeds? Persistent mowing will get rid of many weeds that count on flowers higher than the cut of your mower. Perhaps you cannot fit the mower in your garden space? If you cannot; try a weed eater. The string weed eaters will quickly remove everything down to the soil. They will not remove the roots – but continually cutting the weeds off low will kill the plants.
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