Organic weed killer/preventer? (lawns, leaf, plants, animals)

[thedwightguy]

What little weed preventative I've used depends on the EFFICACY of use at an exact time.
I.E. pod clover. We pulled that stuff by hand for three years. But a prof. (Green Drop) came in late April and again in three weeks, and he NAILED it.

I've been "bequeathed" from dear departed Jim enough chemicals (incl. tree treatments) to fight Vietnam all over again. Reading the instructions, most are a waste of time if they're not applied, and re applied, as per the exact instructions.

Now that I'm at 3,000 feet and dealing with glacial till (rock dust) and little else, I'm on a three years plan to carbon up my ground (barley and oats), peat moss, and for the first two years I'm growing pretty much greens and flowers. Even though I have seeds from 2,000 feet the sunroom is still their preferred place for now.

Next year, MANURE from the ranch. Can't wait. But weeds are opportunists. If you ground is not in balance for what you're growing they'll be there. I'd look at my ground and ask why.

[Melchisedec]

Originally Posted by nobodysbusiness

Please don't ever use Roundup, unless you hate the planet and want to kill it.

For weeds: Mixture of Epsom salts, white vinegar and biodegradable dishwashing detergent.

(1st sentence)

I consider RoundUp to be very safe.

It only kills living plants and does not affect the soil as weeds/grasses not emerged are not affected by RoundUp.

[WouldLoveTo]

Originally Posted by Cambium

As much as many of us hate it, it's just the best thing to use. Just use Roundup Kills weeds Not Grass spray. All you have to do is wait a day for it to dry and its safe for pets to walk on (Not eat grass though). Make sure there's no heavy rains so it doesn't run off into the sewers. It works, Its fast, and Its not expensive.

Can I hire you to pull mine every week? No time for that. In fact, look what happens when you have no time.

I was going to suggest boiling hot water, which will kill weeds, but obviously grass too. lol. I saw salt does as well but again...grass too. I found my best and only option is the RoundUp stuff. (Ortho not as great)

So I was actually envisioning the weed killer portion of a 4 step program, the type you put in a spreader.

But this would work if I am desperate. (which I am pretty much).

My cats don't go out but I obviously don't want to track anything inside to them either. ps - I thought Ortho was owned by Roundup (Monsanto) but maybe not? There are so many articles on lawsuits it's hard to find what I was looking for on that.

Originally Posted by phaelon56

Salt and vinegar kill the active growth but are not absorbed into the weed's root system. The weds WILL grow back -

I actually thought salt would kill everything for quite awhile. I'd read in places it could be forever. But I did it on the sidewalk cracks and they came back in a month. I'm going to try it again but I'm not holding my breath anymore.

Originally Posted by nobodysbusiness

Please don't ever use Roundup, unless you hate the planet and want to kill it.

For weeds: Mixture of Epsom salts, white vinegar and biodegradable dishwashing detergent.

Where can you buy Epsom salts (i.e. what corner of the store are they hiding in?). I haven't found them in the store or small-town hardware store yet.


I think some of you don't realize that Creeping Charlie is a low spreading ground cover? It can be raked up but anything left behind just grows right back, and quickly. I rake it constantly but it's getting really old and I'd like to put my energy into other things. It also grows back quickly enough that new grass has a hard time re-establishing once I've cleared an area.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Melchisedec

How in the world can RoundUp kill weeds but not grass?

They have a product that is a selective weed killer for lawns, similar to Weed B Gon. Vinegar will kill the grass, you have to be careful using it there.

[villageidiot1]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Borax for killing Creeping Charlie. I tried it once and had limited success but I've read will it builds up in the soil and will kill other plants so I wouldn't use it more than once or twice.

I had an extensive battle with Creeping Charlie last summer at a house we were trying to sell. I ordered numerous products online that said they worked on this weed. What I learned is there are only two chemicals that kill Creeping Charlie. they are triclopyr and dicamba. The problem I had last summer with using these weed killers is I was using it at the worst time of the year and they were not very effective. The best times to control Creeping Charlie are in mid to late spring, early June, and in early fall, from late August through the end of September. Some people think you should spray it right around the time the first frost is expected, or right after the first frost.You will probably need to make repeat applications to control Creeping Charlie. In fact, it may take you a full season or more to control it completely.

I don't recommend raking, which will likely only spread the weed. A non-bagging mower will chop Charlie into tiny bits and throw them back out into your lawn where each tiny bit has a chance to set roots, grow and eventually overtake your lawn.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo

So I was actually envisioning the weed killer portion of a 4 step program, the type you put in a spreader.

But this would work if I am desperate. (which I am pretty much).

My cats don't go out but I obviously don't want to track anything inside to them either. ps - I thought Ortho was owned by Roundup (Monsanto) but maybe not? There are so many articles on lawsuits it's hard to find what I was looking for on that.




I actually thought salt would kill everything for quite awhile. I'd read in places it could be forever. But I did it on the sidewalk cracks and they came back in a month. I'm going to try it again but I'm not holding my breath anymore.




Where can you buy Epsom salts (i.e. what corner of the store are they hiding in?). I haven't found them in the store or small-town hardware store yet.


I think some of you don't realize that Creeping Charlie is a low spreading ground cover? It can be raked up but anything left behind just grows right back, and quickly. I rake it constantly but it's getting really old and I'd like to put my energy into other things. It also grows back quickly enough that new grass has a hard time re-establishing once I've cleared an area.

Look in the drugstore, or the pharmacy section of the supermarket. Epsom salts are used as a treatment both internally and externally, in fact a pharmacist must be on duty when it's being manufactured.

[kitty61]

Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo

Can anyone suggest a decent organic weed killer/preventative? I used to use Gardens Alive WOW but reading reviews, they have changed to pellets which apparently do not come out of spreaders well. And it's $$$$$$$$$$

I have a ton of creeping charlie that has come over from the neighbors. I rake it and have reseeded but it keeps coming back. I also had areas that were covered up that I've now cleaned but there are larger weeds in there. As much as I don't want to use a killer/fertilizer I'm getting fed up enough that I think I need to do so for a couple of years.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (No, I don't have 2+ hours/day to hand pull for probably another 20 years.)

It would need to be as pet-friendly as possible too

Creeping charlie roots are rhizomes and are resistant to most weed removers. Even if you kill the creeping charlie in your yard it still lives in your neighbor's yard and will spread from there again. You need to dig a "break" between the mama plant and your yard and install a root barrier. It takes some effort but about the only thing that seems to work with rhizome rooted plants when you cannot destroy the entire network all at once.

[Melchisedec]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

They have a product that is a selective weed killer for lawns, similar to Weed B Gon. Vinegar will kill the grass, you have to be careful using it there.

Then it can't be RoundUp as RoundUp is a trademark herbicide that kills any green living plant unless that plant is a GMO and resistant to RoundUp.

[ukrkoz]

Originally Posted by phaelon56

Salt and vinegar kill the active growth but are not absorbed into the weed's root system. The weds WILL grow back -

Nope. Salt kills for good. I started using salt granules and saturated salt solution+liquid soap, and it kills for good. Just like toxin called round Up. Also, vegetation will return after Round up treatment, it's all over their cans. Now, with thick salt layer, you are good for about a year.

I buy salt at local farm supply, Dell's. 50lb bag of "water softener" is $5. It's more expensive at Home Depot. Also, for those who decide to try, HD has two kinds - blue and yellow. You want blue bags, salt is in smaller granules. Yellow is very large granules and they do not work as well. They, though, can be used make saturated salt solution, then to be sprayed via hand or back pack psrayer. Just make sure to flush them with water, or salt will crystallize and plug them.

[villageidiot1]

Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo

So I was actually envisioning the weed killer portion of a 4 step program, the type you put in a spreader.

But this would work if I am desperate. (which I am pretty much).

My cats don't go out but I obviously don't want to track anything inside to them either. ps - I thought Ortho was owned by Roundup (Monsanto) but maybe not? There are so many articles on lawsuits it's hard to find what I was looking for on that.

I think some of you don't realize that Creeping Charlie is a low spreading ground cover? It can be raked up but anything left behind just grows right back, and quickly. I rake it constantly but it's getting really old and I'd like to put my energy into other things. It also grows back quickly enough that new grass has a hard time re-establishing once I've cleared an area.

I highly recommend getting a sprayer and mixing weed killer yourself. That way you can selectively spray the weeds. I recommend adding a surfactant (https://www.amazon.com/Southern-Ag-S.../dp/B004XDHRCE) to the mixture to make it stick to the weeds better. I will never use weed and feed products again. They are designed to be applied to wet grass only, which is a pain. If the granules do not stick to a wet weed, the product doesn't work.

Monsanto was recently purchased by Bayer. Ortho is a brand of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company.

As I mentioned earlier, raking Creeping Charlie will not remove the roots. I will use a thatch rake once it is dead.

Originally Posted by kitty61

Creeping charlie roots are rhizomes and are resistant to most weed removers. Even if you kill the creeping charlie in your yard it still lives in your neighbor's yard and will spread from there again. You need to dig a "break" between the mama plant and your yard and install a root barrier. It takes some effort but about the only thing that seems to work with rhizome rooted plants when you cannot destroy the entire network all at once.

Yes, Creeping Charlie is resistant to most weed killers and must be applied at the right time of the year to be effective. The root barrier seems like a lot of work. I would do it if my neighbor had Zoysia grass, which will take over your yard. I would simply spray the edge of my property several times a year with the suggested weed killer.