It’s HOT here in the desert right now, and about the only thing that will grow well in your garden are weeds. As this is unacceptable to most of us, the least amount of weeds in your garden the better off you are. Here is an inexpensive way to control weeds.
Most products on the market are not organic and contain harmful chemical residue. Vinegar is acetic in nature and will kill most simple weeds. For most applications you should use a 5% concentration meaning 95% water and 5% vinegar. You can use a stronger mixture of 15, 20, and 25% concentrations. All vinegar causes weeds to turn brown within 24 hours.
I tried vinegar on my weeds and the results were as follows.
- Weaker concentrations (5-10%) worked well on young, more tender weeds.
- Stronger concentrations (15-20%) were more effective on mature weeds.
Vinegar is not labeled for use as a pesticide, so county extension agents aren’t able to recommend its use, but homeowners can experiment. Household vinegar works well on young weeds. Repeated applications improve its effectiveness.
Now is the right time to make sure your weeds don’t grow and spread in your garden before fall. The old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” goes for your garden as well. The best method of application is to dilute the vinegar with water and use a spray bottle and apply directly to the weed. White vinegar seems to work better than cider vinegar.
- Spray it directly on the foliage and try for total saturation without too much run off.
- Don’t apply if rain is expected, since water breaks down the acetic acid.
- Avoid spraying an herbicide on windy days to prevent it from drifting onto plants you don’t want to kill.
So remember to avoid using poisonous, harmful sprays and try herbicides instead. There is an alternative to keeping your garden organic and healthful. Most vinegars are distilled from apples and grapes which originate from plant sources. Try it and you might find more uses than I did. Vinegar is considered organic.
Have a great August. Fall is right around the corner!
Till next month,
Farmer Darrell signing off.
This is a great recommendation. I also recently learned that white vinegar is a great way to clean your veggies before sticking them in the fridge. It works better than cleansers created for the same thing. Just do two to one water/vinegar in the sink and them rinse them off before sticking them in the fridge.
I have enjoyed reading about your trials and tribulations with your garden. I am at a higher altitude in AZ but have similar issues. I also use white vinegar for bermuda grass control when it is growing in the sidewalk cracks and driveway, etc.