Organic weed killer?
I love sitting out on my patio. What I don’t like is staring at the weeds poking up between the stones. Last month, I spent a weekend weeding and two weeks later it looks as if I had never pulled a single one. I’ve thought about using a chemical herbicide—heck, I even fantasized about agent orange—but as a dedicated organic gardener that is a line I cannot cross. For years I have heard whispers about using vinegar as a weed killer. If true, that would be the answer—an organic weed killer.
The research is pretty conclusive—the active ingredient in vinegar is acetic acid, and at high distillations (20 percent) vinegar is nearly 100 percent effective on broadleaf weeds. But my bottle in the cupboard is only 5 percent distilled. What to do?
A little more online research lead me to a product called “Burnout II,” the active ingredient being 20 percent vinegar. I sprayed some on a test patch of weeds, took the hound for a walk, and when I came back, well, you can see from the picture above that it worked. Though it claims to be pet friendly, I would not let my dog into the yard while I was actively spraying. And wear your gloves and goggles, kids, because you are dealing with a strong concentration of acid, even if it is a salad-dressing staple.
My quest for pure 20 percent distilled vinegar is not over, but in the meantime, I have a patio to spray.
