A Deadly Summer Cocktail ...
... for killing weeds, naturally.
We’re now in the peak outdoor season. That’s when Chuck and I spend half our time making things grow and the other half making things die.
Today I’d like to talk about making things die.
Most of our property is wooded and belongs to birds, deer, racoons, snakes, bears, chipmunks, foxes, squirrels and other critters. So there’s no real yardwork involved there.
But the area around our house is more open, with shrubs and other landscaping strategically planted to minimize erosion. Here, thousands of pine trees sprout from spring through fall, blanketing the ground with their spiky heads. They come up through the cypress mulch, and through pebbles and river rock used as ground cover. The baby trees even grow in our gutters.
A lot of effort goes into getting rid of the pine trees. One year, we hired a company to spray our yard with God-knows-what chemical to kill the saplings. The technician assured us that the chemical was safe, but advised us to keep our dog out of the yard for several days. He added that he would keep the chemical away from areas that would potentially drain into a nearby lake. We nixed the chemical route after that.
Now we make our own weed killer that is less harsh—and much more labor intensive. But, hey.
In a pump sprayer, add: 1 gallon white vinegar, 1 cup salt and 1 tablespoon dish soap. For this to work, allow enough time for the salt to dissolve before spraying it on the weeds. Also, apply it on a bright, sunny day. If your weeds are particularly hardy, use a higher concentration of vinegar than the 5% solution found in household vinegar. Also note that this solution kills all plants—not just weeds. So hand-pick any weeds that are located near shrubs or other plants that could be harmed by the vinegar concoction.
Admittedly, this is a lot of work. And we end up hand-picking a lot of weeds because the spray is probably 60% effective on our pernicious pine tree saplings.
To dodge this herculean task, I have talked to the deer. If they could acquire a taste for pine-tree saplings, it could be a win-win for everyone. Alas, the deer are deaf to my reasoning and insist on eating our “deer-proof” shrubs instead of the weeds.
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Most helpful! We have opted to hand pick weeds out of the rose bed, but it’s very small and only takes 10-15 minutes every week or so. The rest of the yard is on its own…even the pretty dandelion “flowers” that will brighten the yard later this summer.