Sugar for weed control
althea_gw
18 years ago
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sensibly_og
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Sugar to Kill Dollar Weed
Comments (5)If sugar controlled dollar weed, coastal citizens would be paying about $100 for a five pound bag. I'll bet that the fire ants will looooove it, though. Your article states that sugar is purported to control ANNUAL weeds. Dollar weed is an evergreen perennial....See MoreGoogle Science Project Finalist advocating organic weed control.
Comments (4)pbl, wow, thanks for the link. I spent the last hour reading it and other articles I found in the sidebars. Our young lady from the town next door is competing against some extremely talented teens. Now I need to find when the judging takes place. Rosie, Sugar Hill, GA...See MoreOrganic Weed Controls ~ Vinegar as an Herbicide
Comments (0)Vinegar controls thistle! Vinegar is a penny-wise and environmentally-safe means for killing weeds. It is easy to use and will not harm the environment. Simply place some undiluted household vinegar in a mister/sprayer bottle and spritz weeds to saturate their leaves. Usually within 6 to 48 hours the plant growth will wither and die. Young seedlings less than two weeks old will be killed entirely, older weeds will have their top-growth killed but may still resprout from the roots. "What is vinegar and how it it made?" The word vinegar comes from two Latin words: *vinum* meaning wine and *acer* sour. Vinegar can be naturally made by the decaying of plant parts in anaerobic situations. Acetic acid (often called ethanoic acid) is created by the fermentation of alcohol. Common household vinegar has about a 5% acetic acid concentration and is prepared from grapes (wine), apples (cider), or grains (malt). Fermentation creates vinegar when sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon-dioxide....the alcohol reacts with air and specific bacteria to make vinegar. Concentrated acetic acid created by synthetic processes is not considered organic and is not used by the organic agricultural community. Vinegar (made from plant sources) with high acetic acid concentration created by distillation or freeze-evaporation process is deemed acceptable for organic garden use. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "Will the acetic acid in vinegar harm my soil?" It can temporarily reduce the pH of soil but this effect typically lasts only a couple of days. Acetic acid rapidly breaks down in water and so for the best results do not spray weeds just before a storm. The rains will dilute the vinegar and greatly reduce it's effectiveness. ======================================== "Is there some research data available on this?" The United State Department of Agriculture is currently researching the use of vinegar as an organic herbicide at their research facility in Beltsville, Maryland. Results so far are very promising and have shown that using vinegars with 10, 15, or 20% acetic acid concentrations have had an 80 to 100% kill-rate with many common weeds. Common household vinegar (with a 5% acetic acid concentration) has successfully killed the top-growth of Canada Thistle, one of North America's most noxious and widely spread weeds. However, regrowth from the roots did occur. To achieve the best results in eliminating Canada thistle spray very young plants every couple of weeks with household vinegar (5%). ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "Where can I buy high concentration acetic acid vinegar?" Look for it at Farm Supply Stores. Vinegar sold specifically for Home-Canning purposes also has an acetic acid concentration higher than five percent. ================================================== "Do I need to use high acetic acid concentration vinegar for weed control on my home property? I don't want to use anything that is caustic." Young weeds will be killed by spraying with plain household vinegar (5%), older weeds may require some additional spraying for effective control. Wear protective clothing and eye sheilds while using high concentration vinegars. Skin irritation from contact, lung irritation from fumes, and very severe and permanently damaging eye irritation from splashes are all possible....See MoreWeed control advice
Comments (26)I think I can understand your allergy tete_a_tete. A friend told me she has trouble growing carrots but rejected all my advice about how I grow carrots. Right now I have only a stray weed in the bed that has closely planted carrots and two rows of two different varieties of beets. I probably didn't thin the carrots well enough but we're getting some nice baby carrots and beets right now. My friend planned to use black plastic of some sort to prevent weeds but all I can think of is suffocating the soil. She's only growing for one person so her small garden shouldn't require a lot of weeding. I do use black plastic to kill creeping jenny in the early spring because it only takes a few hours for it to creep into a bed and the winter squash bed gets neglected after the vines die down and squashes have been harvested. Some of my beds were built in 2007 (lasagna method) so I've built up some nice soil. I can see the difference in this dry season between a flower bed that never got a lot of compost and the veggie beds that get a lot. Dry powder in one, nice texture in the other and seems to be holding moisture better. I can understand commercial use of plastic as part of weed control methods but I don't think most home gardeners need to use it much....See Morealthea_gw
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agosparkles04
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agojustaguy2
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKimmsr
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agonandina
15 years agolast modified: 9 years agosharbear50
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agotulsacityfarmer
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agodrakedorosh_comcast_net
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKathleen Norton
4 years agoIrving Ragweed (Austin 8b)
4 years agoladas
last year
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