Eco Friendly Weed Control

I have just wasted an entire day of my life. I completely vegged out on my couch through 4 entire movies. During which I have been totally solo. No one around. It has been awesome.

Don't get me wrong, I miss Ty terribly when he is gone. Even as I write this I am longing for him and his never ending stream of questions. Sonnie Mae has also gone MIA today, and it always seems wrong when she is not around. (I would say her Mom thinks the same thing about her always being here, lol) But this lazy day has been glorious.

Now I'm all jacked up on Mountain Dew and can't go to sleep. So I am beginning to stew on all of the things that I should've or could've done today. Of course I realize there is no use crying over spilled milk. It's just what I do.

In an effort to stop obsessing over the undone housekeeping, here I am writing to you all.

While some may say that I am jumping the gun a little this year, I can't help it. I'm soooo over winter right now. The other evening it was warm enough to make a walk around inspection of the house. During this excursion I saw my daffodils poking up through the ground. I swear it was like a burden was lifted from my shoulders. Seriously. A layer of the winter doldrums just peeled off and floated away. I wish all of my problems could be so easily solved by little yellow blooming flowers.

Just like housekeeping and laundry, weed control is a never ending battle. Every spring I start out gung-ho. I am bound and determined to keep my flower beds and lawn perfectly groomed. I pull those stray weeds fully out by their roots. I mulch. I water and I fertilize. Then I go on vacation.

I'm not sure what really goes on during those 5 or 6 days I'm gone, but when I return my beautiful well -groomed landscape looks shabby and abandoned. It's so disheartening that I struggle through the remainder of the season just doing what has to be done.

Anyway, to get back on topic, I want to share with you my recipe for a non-toxic weed killer. you can use this in your flower beds if you are very careful to ONLY apply it to the obnoxious weed you are trying to rid yourself of. I'm not that careful so I just pull the weeds in my flower beds, but I do use this in areas I don't want anything to grow.

What you need:
Gallon of Apple Cider Vinegar
26 oz. box of Salt
2 Gallon Garden Sprayer

Directions:
Mix both ingredients until salt is dissolved. Pour mixture into garden sprayer. Completely saturate either the ground or the plant itself.
Repeat this process daily until weeds are eradicated.

Just some Info:
Applying on hot sunny days allows the plants to soak the solution up more quickly.

Spraying the plant directly, destroys its protective coating. The plant then dries out all the way to the root. Unfortunately, the root itself is very hardy unless treated several times it will usually survive. Thus in time the weed will re-emerge, and will need to be retreated.

Saturating the ground around the plant lowers the soils ph to a point that it can no longer survive.

Household vinegar, such as apple cider vinegar, contains about 5% acetic acid. The USDA says that for better weed control a stronger acidic content is recommended. You can purchase horticultural vinegar, which contains 20% acetic acid, online. I prefer to stick with the household vinegar because I know it's safe and effective for my needs.

Salt and vinegar can be corrosive or damaging to other surfaces as well. Please use care when applying near concrete or concrete products as the salt will damage these surfaces.

Disclaimer:
The information contained in this blog post is made up entirely of my own experiences and opinions. I can assure you that I am not a scientist, a botanist or any other formally educated person who has studied the effects of vinegar and/or salt on plants or any other living or nonliving thing. This information has been shared based solely on my own personal use of salt and vinegar while defending my home against unwanted plants. I cannot promise or guarantee that even if the information within this article is followed precisely as stated that it will have the same effect on your weeds. I can only confirm that this solution has performed well for me. It may not kill or control your weeds. It may not even wilt them.