By Peter Roos
Holistic Approach to Weed Control
Last month we introduced a natural pest control method, using food grade Diatomaceous Earth to control ants, fleas and roaches. (March 2022 page 57). We can also make another dent in the poisons used in our yards. I have been seeing landscapers with backpack sprayers bearing ‘Roundup’ logos lazily spraying weeds small enough to be pulled out by the roots. With prescription drugs, fertilizer, poisons and weed killers showing up in oceans and drinking water, it is up to all of us coastal residents to limit our use of poisonous chemicals and to find other ways to sustain our gardens, lawns, and landscapes. There are other ways to control weeds.
The best method is to pull weeds out by hand including the roots. If they are out of control, you can pull the biggest ones and spray the rest with a non-polluting spray of vinegar, Dawn dish soap, and, if you want nothing to grow there, salt.
A gallon of vinegar, a teaspoon of dish soap and a cup of salt (table or Epsom) makes an effective method of weed control. If you want other things to grow there, skip the salt. You can get stronger vinegar (up to 45% industrial strength), which is way more effective than household strength (5%).
You can spray the weeds using the same sprayer you would have used for the poison. If the sprayer has any metal parts, clean and spray clear water before storage to prevent rusting of metal parts from the acidic vinegar. You should see the difference in a day or two. Feel free to reapply.
There is also a tool made to torch weeds using a can of propane as fuel. If you are tempted to try this flame thrower approach, be very careful to avoid starting fires. Raking dead leaves away from the live weeds is a good first step. We use the tank from our barbeque, which we move around the yard bungeed to a hand truck to avoid any heavy lifting.