Natural weed killer

king size mars bar

With all the s... with round up going on I got to wondering is there a eco friendly weed killer I could buy or make for spraying on weeds? O and can it be not cancer causing also. Any suggestions folks?

Roen

In terms of a one for one replacement I haven't found anything.

A salt and vinegar mix with a bit of washing up liquid will do the trick for smaller areas but if you're covering a couple of thousand square meters it's out with the knapsack sprayer.

For that type application I'm not sure would I risk the innards of a good sprayer. I might be unnecessarily worried as the chemicals I do use from time to time may be corrosive too.

Could use an X300 or other burner, but would you consider burning paraffin/gas environmentally friendly?

I guess managing the area and not letting weeds get a foot hold in the first place is ideal. Planting desirable species to out compete your weeds, mulching or weed barriers work too.

Pulling by hand and hoeing for small areas might work for periodic upkeep once the brunt of the work was done either chemically or by other means.

Too many variables though. Depends on area to be treated, what's growing there in terms of weed species and even what you consider a weed. Or if you want to selectively kill weeds in amongst desirable species or don't mind nuking an entire area.

There's plenty of knowledgeable folk here that night be able to fill you in. I'm only going on what I've learned in the past few years.

magicbastarder

as Roen mentions, it depends on the weeds and where they are.
the way i garden, the only weeds i really tackle on a consistent basis are weeds in the driveway, which i hit every week or two with a gas torch, but this won't kill roots.

Xodar

Roen wrote: »

In terms of a one for one replacement I haven't found anything.

A salt and vinegar mix with a bit of washing up liquid will do the trick for smaller areas but if you're covering a couple of thousand square meters it's out with the knapsack sprayer.

For that type application I'm not sure would I risk the innards of a good sprayer. I might be unnecessarily worried as the chemicals I do use from time to time may be corrosive too.

Could use an X300 or other burner, but would you consider burning paraffin/gas environmentally friendly?

I guess managing the area and not letting weeds get a foot hold in the first place is ideal. Planting desirable species to out compete your weeds, mulching or weed barriers work too.

Pulling by hand and hoeing for small areas might work for periodic upkeep once the brunt of the work was done either chemically or by other means.

Too many variables though. Depends on area to be treated, what's growing there in terms of weed species and even what you consider a weed. Or if you want to selectively kill weeds in amongst desirable species or don't mind nuking an entire area.

There's plenty of knowledgeable folk here that night be able to fill you in. I'm only going on what I've learned in the past few years.

Any chance of some more info on the salt/vinegar/liquid mix.

I have 4m2 that I'm preparing for tiling and would like to treat the weeds/wild grass in a way that's safe for my animals.

Thanks.

Reckless Abandonment

Knotweed is going to love this ban. I'm all for natural ways to deal with weeds. But certain weeds are going to be very hard to control without it.

Markcheese

Xodar wrote: »

Any chance of some more info on the salt/vinegar/liquid mix.

I have 4m2 that I'm preparing for tiling and would like to treat the weeds/wild grass in a way that's safe for my animals.

Thanks.

Anything particularly awkward (like docks) just pull out by hand, then Cut the grass down really short (scalp it),

Then turn it over with the fork.. You can pick out any tap roots or scutch as you turn it over,

magicbastarder

Reckless Abandonment wrote: »

Knotweed is going to love this ban.

the one in austria?

it's funny, glyphosate is probably one of the more innocuous of herbicides in terms of long term damage. it's just that it's so ubiquitous that it's on the radar.

Roen

Xodar wrote: »

Any chance of some more info on the salt/vinegar/liquid mix.

I have 4m2 that I'm preparing for tiling and would like to treat the weeds/wild grass in a way that's safe for my animals.

Thanks.

It's basically this. https://moralfibres.co.uk/homemade-weedkiller-recipe/
No idea if that will kill roots.
4x4m is fairly small. Decent effort up front and then a weekend hoe and gather and you're on your way.

auspicious

Gluten cornmeal prevents seed germination I hear. Haven't gotten 'round to using it.

king size mars bar

Thanks for all the replies, parts of the garden have gotten over run and I'm going to strim these, will defo try that vinegar mix.

blackbox

magicbastarder wrote: »

the one in austria?

it's funny, glyphosate is probably one of the more innocuous of herbicides in terms of long term damage. it's just that it's so ubiquitous that it's on the radar.

Yes, I'd be concerned about the long term effects of salt. At least glyphosphate decays reasonably quickly. It has been tested and approved as a weedkiller - salt and vinegar and washing up liquid have not.

looksee

I reckon you will do more damage with salt than some weedkillers. Of course if you are putting slabs down it may not matter, but don't assume that just because you can eat something it will not have unexpected consequences for something else.

JPA

Where would a person get 5 litre containers of vinegar?

New Home

Catering suppliers.

Spanish Eyes

For small areas, boiling water works.

Salt is good on bricks and driveways, but not on cultivated areas.

Spanish Eyes

OK, let's just let it all run riot.

I witnessed a council guy with a knapsack spraying the verges yesterday. Bet it was Glyphosate.

New Home

They're going around the town and all the estates on quad bikes with big tanks of weedkiller, here. And yes, that's the council.

magicbastarder

looksee wrote: »

I reckon you will do more damage with salt than some weedkillers.

i can't remember where i read it, but i read that some seaside plants are making inroads (pun unintended) along motorways due to the buildup of salt along the embankments.

Lumen

Glyphosate has only been around since the mid seventies.

How were weeds controlled for the thousands of years of
human civilisation before that?

uck51js9zml2yt

Lumen wrote: »

Glyphosate has only been around since the mid seventies.

How were weeds controlled for the thousands of years of
human civilisation before that?

A few thousand years before glycophospate, 2 things called hands were created. They work fairly well most of the time.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Ramona Thankful Scallop wrote: »

A few thousand years before glycophospate, 2 things called hands were created. They work fairly well most of the time.

I have a had a few people comment on the lack of weeds in the lawn over the past number of years.

"What do you use?" "Spray or granular?" Etc.


They look at me like I have two heads when I say I took every weed out by hand over a period of two years. A half acre of grass without clover, buttercup, daisy, dandelion etc.
Same goes for the vegetable garden, flower beds and shrubberies, & pathways: Weeded by hand.


The wild flower and 'wilderness' area, plus the woodland more or less look after themselves.

snor

JPA wrote: »

Where would a person get 5 litre containers of vinegar?

I buy 5x5L containers on Amazon. Polish shops sell the 5L containers also I believe but gave not checked myself.

snor

JPA wrote: »

Where would a person get 5 litre containers of vinegar?

I buy 5x5L containers on Amazon. Polish shops sell the 5L containers also I Belgrave but gave not checked myself.