We've used it successfully, but only in paths. It makes the garden smell like salad, which is either a plus or a minus depending on your attitudes toward Itallian dressing. The one thing I'd be careful about is how long it persisted. It does break down, but much slower than RoundUp. Since we are using it in places we don't want any plant growing, ever, the more persistent the better. It is also somewhat dangerous stuff to handle, being much stronger than supermarket vinegar.

It's an acetic acid. Yes, drift would be damaging to other plants, too. I am seeing 20% to 30% concentrations on line. Kitchen vinegar is 5% so you're working with four to six times stronger acid when handling it. I imagine it would also help to break down organic material like a compost starter, too. Other than its strength as an acid, there shouldn't really be any down sides to using it carefully. Good luck!

Kim, my compost bin seems to have stalled. Would mixing horticultural vinegar (or household vinegar) help? My roommate put an 18" layer of brown & crispy leaves on top. The only green material we have is kitchen scraps and the occasional rose trimming. I poked holes with a broom handle, but it's just too deep of a brown layer. Thanks!

Hi Holly! There have generally been two types of products available over the years to cause organic material to decompose. One was bacterial and the other acidic. If you've been allowing the bacterial action to digest it and it has now seemed to stall after adding a lot of dry material, it sounds as if it's too dry or too cold. When temperatures begin to fall, bacteria slow down. If the material is too dry, it may not have sufficient nitrogen and/or moisture to keep "cooking". I remember reading years ago in organic literature that a cup of sugar can help jump start the bacterial action. Think about it. What you're "feeding" in the compost pile, in some ways resembles brewing beer or a brandied fruit culture. A little sugar should help feed the flora in the pile. I would also check how moist it is. Bacteria and fungi require heat, moisture and oxygen to do their thing. Does your pile require turning to increase the oxygen within it? Does it seem overly dry because of the brown material? Perhaps it needs a little water to help make the brown layers more available to the bacteria? Has the air temperature and/or amount of sun available to the pile gone down? Is it colder? Perhaps loosely covering the top with a sheet of black plastic may help collect the sun rays, raising the temperature, allowing them to continue their actions? Before I would start dumping horticultural vinegar into it, I would Google it to be sure you wouldn't be damaging the material you plan to use. The vinegar doesn't have any sugar content. When grape juice begins to ferment, the yeast is acting on the sugar to create alcohol. When wine "goes off", the alcohols (carbohydrates) have been used up, leaving acid. I would think, all other variables being constant, it should be more beneficial to pour an inexpensive, higher sugar content wine over the pile and mix it in, or just a bit of sugar water to help feed the bacteria. Read the ingredients of some of the available compost starters and you will find they contain sources of nitrogen and blackstrap molasses as well as "probiotics". A good organic fertilizer meal would supply those. But, I would definitely investigate whether the pile is now too dry or too cold first, before adding anything else.

Thanks, Kim! Mine is a compost bin designed to be in an urban area & not need turning. This is the 2nd time roommate stuffed it with dry leaves. The first time, I poked holes & added water, maybe a gallon. Poked it around (I can't really stir it bcs I am too short) with broom handle & put the lid back on. I lifted the removal door down at the bottom to see if it had ever been making compost. There was material looking "on its way", so I figured it might start cooking again w/water & air holes. Our temps here in NC have been normal & there's no change in amount of sunlight hitting bin. Giving it sugar is something I hadn't thought of, even though I bake sourdough bread & keep starter! Perhaps I can hit the state Farmers' Market at the end of the day & take my bucket around to collect fruit & tomatoes that are being discarded. I am giving the roses their alfalfa tea today; would putting the used hay in the bin help? I usually smear it around the roses, but maybe the compost bin needs it more.

You're welcome, Holly! Absolutely! Almost any wet, green material will help. Alfalfa is marvelous stuff and if it's already soaked, it will add the necessary moisture and "organics" to help get things "cooking". Including the discarded produce, even coffee grounds from the local coffee house, will definitely help. As I earlier mentioned, so will any formulation of organic fertilizer, including some fish emulsion. If heat isn't the issue, and it turns out to be the stuff is just too dried out, "wet garbage" should help do the trick without having to include sugar, which may draw more ants. Being a sourdough "mom" should help give you all the background experience you need for keeping the compost cooking! Good luck!

FYI, I use regular vinegar, full strength, and it works just as well as the agricultural kind at much lower cost. Also, I have planted 2 roses at a fence line that was treated multiple times over the years with vinegar, with no ill effects. The last time I treated this area was about 2 months before planting the roses. So fairly quickly. Roses are doing just fine.