Sandykk, if the weeds are deep rooted, then digging is the only sure way to go - just be CERTAIN to get all the root, or resign yourself to more digging for the resprouted plant - eventually it will be weakened and die. Vinegar can kill off the top growth - since it isn't systemic, it won't kill off well established roots and may have to be repeated, but eventually the weed will be weakened and die. If you decide to spray with vinegar, the ordinary household stuff will work - pickling vinegar, if you can get it, is a little stronger - you don't HAVE to look for the horticultural strength, which at 20-30% is a very strong acid, and should be treated with extreme caution. Mix a little pure soap (NOT detergent) in the sprayer with the straight vinegar, to make it stick to leaves better. Use it on a still, sunny day, when the temperature will be over 65F - the hotter and sunnier the better. Wash it off - AT ONCE - from anything it hits that you want to keep. While it will slightly acidify the soil/mulch it hits, this will wear off in a short time. Corn gluten meal will prevent new seeds from sprouting for 4-8 weeks, and then act as a light fertilizer. It will have NO effect on seeds that sprouted earlier nor on established plants. It is only newly sprouted roots that it inhibits. It works best scratched into the soil, although lightly scattered across the surface will also do. Applying it under mulch would also be effective. You can use ordinary corn meal or cracked corn, but the gluten levels are lower so the pre-emergent effect is less - they act more, and sooner, as a fertilizer.

You may want to ask this on the Organic Lawn Care forum but I'll take a stab at it from what I know. There are a couple of ways to kill weeds without chemicals. If you want to completely kill everything in an area, you can water the area well, then cover it with clear plastic on a fairly hot sunny day. I think the sunlight is more important than the temperature. Basically, this acts sort of like a magnifying glass and bakes everything under the plastic. You can also spot spray with vinegar. I think it works best if you buy horticultural vinegar, but I'm not sure whether it's readily available. Regular vinegar can work, also, but not as well. Be careful with it, because it's like an organic version of Round Up and kills everything. The stronger stuff can also burn your skin. For weeds with a taproot, you can use a Weed Hound (available at most big box stores). Once you get the grass growing, cultural practices can usually keep the weeds mostly at bay. Let the grass grow long. I set my mower at its highest setting except when I'm scalping in preparation for overseeding. Water deeply and infrequently. The goal is about an inch of water a week all in one watering. I usually end up watering twice a week, but I'm hoping I'll get enough native grass in the lawn to cut back to every other week. Mulch mow. Mulch mowing won't really help keep the weeds out, but it's good for the lawn. Letting the grass grow higher helps keep the ground shaded so the seeds can't sprout. Seeds need frequent water, so letting the surface of the soil dry completely will stop them from germinating.

Use boiling water to control weeds. Boiling water will kill any plant growth it touches. It is very inexpensive and simple to use. It is superb for killing annual weeds and can control and/or kill perennial weeds. It is a popular non-toxic means for killing weeds growing in cracks and driveways. "How do I use boiling water to kill weeds?" Simply boil up your kettle, grab the handle using a pot holder and bring it out to your garden. Once you take the kettle off the fire it's water temperature will drop a few degrees and cease to boil in the time it takes you to get out to the garden, but the water will still be extremely hot and will kill the weed growth by scalding it. Slowly and carefully pour the stream of water onto the crown of the weed plant. You can make this easier and more effective by cutting off the top growth of the plant before you dowse it with the kettle water. Pour the water from a low height of just a few inches above the plant crown to avoid any splashing. "Will some plants still resprout?" Some perennial plants with long taproots (such as dandelion) may resprout from the lower root area if it has not been scalded. In a lawn you can remove the top growth and dig a hole above the root....manually remove some of the root if possible. Pour the kettle water into the hole and it will seep down and kill whatever sections of the weed root it can reach. Refill the hole with soil and sow some grass seed right away so there is no bare spot where airborne weed seeds can take hold. If a weed resprouts in a sidewalk crack or driveway repeat the boiling water treatment. Each time the weed resprouts the growth will be smaller and weaker and the most stubborn perennial weeds will eventually die, usually after two or three treatments. "Does the boiling water also kill the biota in the soil?" Boiling water will kill whatever biota it touches, however, because the stream of kettle water is carefully and slowly poured onto a small area this effect is reduced. New biota will quickly return to the area within a few days. "What precautions should I take when using boiling water to kill weeds?" *Use a pot holder or hotmitt to hold the kettle handle to prevent burning your hand from the kettle's heat. *Pour the kettle water slowly and from a close height of a few inches above the plant crown to avoid splashing. *Wear long pants and closed-toe shoes. Shorts and sandals can't protect your skin if you accidentally splash the kettle water. Trudi

Hi Steve-I am in Upstate NY and have had great success with 1. various Johnathan Green organic products & following a specific application schedule provided by the regional sales rep 2. Cornmeal and molasses 3. Gardens Alive Iron X for spot week control 4. Garden's Alive Moss Aside for moss and mildew. 5. Gabriel Labs Burnout when necessary 6. Vinegar when necessary. It took me a while (around 5 years) to get things under control from the previous owner as the lawn was forced via chemical treatments vs naturally supported via organic products. I am happy to report that my lawn is now thick and lush but I still handle weeds with spot spraying with Iron X or Burn Out or straight vinegar, especially on these vine like weeds that come out from the forever wild on the back of my property. When I first moved in and started this program, doing manual spot weed control was a must even above and beyond the JGreen weed & fert , and now my weeds are fairly minimal. But it was the schedule provided by JGreen that gave me a starting point put me on the path of an effective, targeted program for my specific geography.