Carrie: I was saw this recommended by that gardener James who had a show on HGTV. As I recall, he used it on vines he had growing up large trees in a shaded part of his yard, and he insisted that you be very careful to cover all the leaves well with the vinegar. I tried it some years ago on weeds between my patio stones and found it did not work very well. Leaves fell off but the plants did not die. Never tried it in the garden.
Northerner.

I used it once, it has to be very hot and sunny and you have to really soak the weeds.
Regular white vinegar is 5% acid so not as effective for all weeds. There is a company that is making vinegar organic weed killer, they use 20% acid. They are Pharm Solutions. They have a special right now, a gallon is 24.95.
Also, homemade vinegar is usually higher in acid, so I have a gallon of cider that I turned into vinegar, going to try that.
Watch it if your using around wanted plant areas it will foul the soil.

I use it successfully - but I ONLY use it on the weeds that grow along the curbing of the sidewalk so that I don't take ANY chance of killing my plants or grass.

And since it's just vinegar - I let the kiddo loose with a watering can full of it and she can traipse up and down the sidewalk watering the weeds.

The neighbors have asked (they eventually get the courage to ask about my lunatic antics in the garden) and since they see it works and is TONS cheaper than round up - they do it too!

Yes, i did hear it works (being careful not to hit anything other than weeds) but what kind did you use?

I have huge containers of white vinegar (mixes great with baking soda to clean "green") - and am hoping that works.

I've heard of people using apple cider vinegar, but that would be more $$ I imagine, since I don't think that comes in huge containers.

Thanks

Carrie

fgirl21-
I'm interested in your 'successful' recipe/kind, too. I used plain white distilled from WM this weekend...sprayed thoroughly, and the day was about 80...nothing happened. And these were small weeds just starting in the sides of my raised beds.

This morning, a co worker handed me a page from BottomlineSecrets.com magazine for this recipe:

2 Quarts of white Vinegar
1 TSP liquid soap (I assume this is the 'sticking' agent that helps the vinegar stay on the weeds without rolling off)
1/2 C Orange Oil (sold in garden stores evidently?)

I'm eager to try again, but want to know what you use, fgirl.

Thanks!

How about soem boiling water on them if not to many?

Spot treat on them?

ML

Okay - here's what I did - not good but it worked

I, stupidly, poured boiling water on a red ant hill and killed the grass along with the ants...

Sorry, I don't step on caterpillars, etc. but the red ants HAVE to go!

Anyway - boiling water kills!

Carrie (My husband still can't figure out how this patch of brown is in the middle of our lawn... ;0/.. LOL)

Carrie, that grass should grow back. Boiling water will not kill a well establish patch of grass or weed, because by the time the water reaches the complete root system, it isn't boiling any more. Remember also, heat rises. This is why a burnt forest can come back to life rather quickly.

boiling water might work on horizontal surfaces, but the sidewalls of my raised beds are about 45 degrees, so they'd end up washing away, I'm afraid. But good to know for other parts of my yard in the paving.

Thanks, nance - My husband said the same thing, but it's been almost a month now... I don't think I will do that again

Carrie

It's not vinegar, but borax sure did a number on the white violets under my deck last year when we were sprinkling it for fleas... just the stuff you find in the laundry section at WM, very cheap. Took care of the fleas pretty fast, but like I said burnt the violets as well. Now, they are back this year but they are vigorous reseeders. Not sure what would happen if I had actually been *aiming* for them.

I confess that I did nothing special.
Bought a huge gallon of regular white vinegar from BJ's (like Costco & Sam's club) - poured it into the kiddo's watering can and off she went.

That was it - nothing more, nothing less. Killed those weeds with no problem within about a day or two....

I used regular white vinegar (from grocery store) to kill weeds growing around paving stones and in sidewalk cracks. I just pour it straight from the bottle.

No more boiling water for me. I still have a scar on my belly from accidentally spilling some on me while trying to kill my veggie garden weeds before planting out.

-StLGirl

Think the glove method would work? (You know, where you put on rubber gloves with a cotton glove over it, pour vinegar on the glove and run your hand up the weed?) My pretty patch of ditch lilies is infested with some kind of thistle and I am thisclose to resorting to Roundup.

Deb

So what I'm getting then, is: you have to pour this stuff so it goes into the surrounding SOIL and not just surface application like you would do with Round-Up?
It's gotta soak into the soil?

I'm going to break out the Roundup here shortly for a large problem area behind the garage, but tried the boiling water in front last night. It seems to work. How well, I'll know in a week or so. This one huge dandelion growing in a crack for 3 years now was bugging me; I couldn't get down to the large taproot to pull it out. It is lying flat and limp today but may have left enough root to grow back, also some horrid clover we missed when we used weed 'n feed on the lawn. Other assorted weeds where I could pour the water and not get any on my good plants.

I didn't have anything proper by way of metal and was afraid to put it in my plastic sprinkling can(s).

Cost of energy to boil water vs. vinegar. I may try the vinegar, and it's cheap, but don't want to bother with it if this other works.

Rather than use Roundup and glove though which I've been putting off, maybe the vinegar would be just the ticket for that stuff mixed in the garden areas, no the Roundup I will get more the first try. Still, I'd have to be really careful with it as the weeds are crowded in among my expensive plants, best to just pull those if I can.

Thank you for the ideas here though. Never would have thought of boiling water, and it's quick and easy for some spots. Couldn't remember where I put away my teakettle I don't use, finally remembered. I don't dare try to carry too much in one pass or I'm likely to burn myself.