If you garden at all, you more than likely deal with weeds. And it seems that when you see one, they multiply overnight and there are more the next time you turn around! I don’t like chemicals (nor spending money) to get rid of them. Here are ten ways to help eliminate these pesky plants!
Other gardening tips and ideas:
HOW TO KILL WEEDS NATURALLY
1. Use Boiling Water
This is a method you do not want to use when your kids are around, as you do not want them to get burned. If you pour boiling water on the weeds it will scald and kill them. You don’t even need to make a fresh pot of boiling water, just empty the one from your corn on the cob, potatoes or other items directly onto the weeds!
2. Shake the Salt
Use rock salt (yes – the stuff you use on your slick driveway in the winter). Pour this into crevices to stop weeds from growing. Just be careful as it will make the area barren (so you don’t want it to get onto areas where you want grass and other plants.
3. Use Vinegar
Make a mixture of one part water and one part vinegar and pour it into a spray bottle. Spray the weeds and within a few days they will be dead. This is a really good one to use on dandelions.
4. Use Dish Soap
This one will also help to eliminate your weeds. You can mix equal parts dish soap and and water in a spray bottle. Douse the weeds with the mixture.
5. Burn Them
Well, don’t actually set them on fire, but if you slightly torch them, that can make them die quickly!
6. Plant ground cover
When plants are in groups, they are all competing for the nutrients and water from the soil. If you have more healthy plants (or those you want) than weeds, they can actually choke out the weeds by “stealing” the water and nutrients to grow, thereby causing them to die.
7. Use alcohol
Mix 1 – 5 tablespoons of alcohol with about 4 cups of water into a spray bottle. Spray the weeds with the mixture to kill them naturally.
8. Block the sunlight
Without sunlight, they can not grow and they will die. Place newspaper or other items, such as empty coffee or tin cans, over them. Within a few days they will choke from lack of sunshine and die.
9. Get Your Hand Dirty and Pull Them
This is really the simplest method. You simply pull the weed out of the ground. OK, well, this isn’t always simple, but it is an easy way to get rid of weeds quickly. Make sure you try to get the entire root out, or it will grow again.
Either pull them out when the ground is wet (after it rains), or water them slightly and that will make pulling them out simpler. You can also use a screwdriver, small knife or trowel to help you loosen the root so you can pull it out.
10. Use corn meal gluten
Use corn meal gluten to prevent weeds from growing. What is great is that this not only stops weeds from sprouting, but also breaks down into nitrogen which will fertilize your lawn and garden!
It won’t kill existing plants, but will stop new ones from growing. This won’t kill existing weeds, but will stop new ones from sprouting.
There you go! Simple things you can do to kill weeds – without chemicals!!
