Ok, so probably you’ve been going organic in your garden for awhile, or you’re getting interested in it but don’t really know specifics. For example, you have a nutgrass problem and you know Round-Up is effective but your friends are telling you not to use it (that’s because they’re good friends). So I’m here to help you kick your Round-Up addiction, and contrary to popular addiction rhetoric, you are not powerless to Round-Up’s influence even though your weed problem is unmanageable! Here’s a good organic weed-killer recipe to get you going on the path to organic freedom:
Organic Weed Killer
Pickling vinegar (not regular white or malt vinegar) with 7% acetic acid
Dishing washing liquid
Mix the above ingredients in a spray bottle at a ratio of 1 teaspoon dish washing liquid to 1 gallon of vinegar.
*Note: Although organic, this mixture is still a non-selective herbicide, which means that whatever you spray it on will die. So this is a great spray for those pesky weeds in sidewalk cracks or rock gardens, but be super careful if you choose to use it in your landscape beds or lawn. Get up very close to the weed and spray it slowly and in a controlled manner and you should be fine.
There are many organic weed control methods out there–let me know what you’ve tried/what works, what doesn’t work! I know many people who have used this vinegar solution with great results, so I feel confident in passing it along to you all. So get out there and make today the first day of the rest of your Round-Up -free gardening life! You can do it!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Jenny…Interested on how well this mixture does against unwanted Bermuda grass? I hate using the old Round-Up, and I have tried more organic approaches, but they all really struggled with the total eradication of this particularly stubborn grass with insanely deep roots. My horrible but effective method is now to “paint” undiluted super concentrated (undiluted) Round-Up onto the grass with a household broom from a bucket (it saves the back)…just to make termination a sure thing! Or it “Will Be Back!”(Arnold)
I am so bad, but hey, so is the tenacious nature of this grass. Desperate measures and all that!
I use poison against rats too, after a rather nasty experience with a “humane” electric mouse-trap. I will spare you the gross details:-) Some things just have to be swiftly dealt with.
ESP.
Do you think this would work on dandelions? My yard was just last year or the year before sprayed by the previous owners with conventional weedkiller & most of my neighbors still use theirs. My yard this year, however, has not been sprayed as we don’t wish to use non-organic methods, and the dandelions in the past less than 2 weeks have taken over. Thank you!
Hey Polish Mama! It’ll work on dandelions, just be careful to not allow the spray to get on your surrounding grass or plants. Get up really close and spray at point blank range, and choose a day that’s not too windy! Let me know how it goes–and good for you for bucking the conventional weedkiller!
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for the recipe, I appreciate it. Two of the crews that work on my project tried organic solutions for ivy and poison ivy but they did not work effectively. Usually the ivy is on large hillsides and we do a grow and kill period over 3 or 4 months during demo and prep phase.
Poison ivy is tough to control as well. Not sure if they used your recipe, I’ll ask.
Shirley
It’s a shame to kill dandelions when they are so nutritious and good to eat. Great for salads, boiled or sauteed greens. Google it.
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