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Thread: Weed Killer

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
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    Peshtigo,WI
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    Weed Killer

    Anyone use a mixture of vinegar and salt for killing weeds?

    I've been using 1 to 1 1/2 cups of salt per gallon of vinegar and it doesn't quite kill what I want.

    I was thinking of buying some glacial acetic acid and mixing my own vinegar but stronger than 5%.

    Good idea or should I forget about it?
    Confidence: The feeling you experience before you fully understand the situation

  2. #2
    I have heard of it, never used it. Have Round up but don't use it a lot. This year I just kept picking and tossing dandelions. Most references to the salt are pretty old post war things done from chariots!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
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    Wayland, MA
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    3,655
    The Romans salted the fields of Carthage to destroy their ability to grow crops for the next thousand years, so it will probably work. The highway department has done something similar to our beds near the road. I use something safe and less permanently damaging to the soil to kill weeds, like Roundup.

  4. #4
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    Mar 2015
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    SE Michigan
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    I’ve been reducing my use of Round Up and now using Ortho’s Weed B Gon. The Weed B Gon seems to take longer to kill (a few days to see noticeable wilt), but has been effective in eliminating most of my common lawn weeds.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Kansas City
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    Round Up kills everything - weeds and grass. Weed B Gon only kills broadleaf weeds. Dont mix them up (DAMHIK)!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Yes, I use a mixture of white vinegar, epsom salt and Dawn dishwashing soap...there are many recipes out there but most are pretty similar as to the ratios. I honestly just eyeball it when I'm filling and mixing in my hand sprayer. I'm just using regular white vinegar from Costco, even though sourcing higher strength would likely make for an even more effective solution. I augment using this mixture by also using a flame weeder. The combination really works well...I flame first and then hit with the spray.

    The only thing I use commercial chemical weed killer for...and that's very sparingly...is for poison ivy in certain areas. {edit} Oh, any PigWeed. But even RoundUp is challenged by PigWeed.
    Last edited by Jim Becker; 06-01-2020 at 4:34 PM.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    Isn't Weed-B-Gone just 2,4,D? No need to pay extra for a brand name. 2,4,D is much cheaper from a farm supplier, or even Tractor Supply.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    ...I augment using this mixture by also using a flame weeder...
    I just used a flame weeder (Red Dragon???) for the first time, over the weekend. Lots of fun! We have a flagstone walkway area in the front yard that grows lots of weeds between the stones. The sting trimmer creates its own issues by slinging pebbles of decomposed granite all over the place and my wife is 100% anti-Roundup, so it has been an ongoing maintenance issue. Anyhow, the weed torch did a really great job. Not sure I would want to do huge areas with it but for spot weeding, I'm a believer now.

    Erik
    Ex-SCM and Felder rep

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Erik Loza View Post
    I just used a flame weeder (Red Dragon???) for the first time, over the weekend. Lots of fun! We have a flagstone walkway area in the front yard that grows lots of weeds between the stones. The sting trimmer creates its own issues by slinging pebbles of decomposed granite all over the place and my wife is 100% anti-Roundup, so it has been an ongoing maintenance issue. Anyhow, the weed torch did a really great job. Not sure I would want to do huge areas with it but for spot weeding, I'm a believer now.

    Erik
    Don't light the mulch bed on fire....................don't ask how I know.

  10. #10
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    Sep 2009
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    Medina Ohio
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    I found that when you burn them they come back stronger.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
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    Longmont, CO
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    Isn't Weed-B-Gone just 2,4,D? No need to pay extra for a brand name. 2,4,D is much cheaper from a farm supplier, or even Tractor Supply.

    yes. the generics of all of them are much much cheaper at tractor supply.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Citerone View Post
    Don't light the mulch bed on fire....................don't ask how I know.
    LOL, did that already. Turned around and there was a little grass fire in one of the planting beds. Had to run for the hose.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jerome Stanek View Post
    I found that when you burn them they come back stronger.
    Really? Well, I have plenty of propane and like playing with fire...

    Erik
    Ex-SCM and Felder rep

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
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    I just sprayed (from a 1 gallon pump sprayer) Compare-n-save 2-4-d a few days ago and the weeds have started to wilt and brown pretty good. Terrible name, good cheap product just slow to kill.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
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    9,889
    Many people make the roundup mix too strong it should take at least 48 hours to see any effect. Any sooner and you are wasting product and reducing the effectiveness. If it is too strong the plants sense it and shut down before total root kill. They will die back but the tips of the roots may survive and come back next season.
    I do not think the salt mixtures are a good idea in the west. Thousands of acres of cropland has had to be abandoned due to salt build up from irrigation in California. It is not uncommon to have drain tile in the fields to drain used irrigation water out. plants take up the water and leave the sale behind in the ground. See Kesterson reservoir for details.
    Bil lD

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Longmont, CO
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    810
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Day View Post
    I just sprayed (from a 1 gallon pump sprayer) Compare-n-save 2-4-d a few days ago and the weeds have started to wilt and brown pretty good. Terrible name, good cheap product just slow to kill.

    2-4-d is a plant hormone that makes them grow fast in the wrong places. that is why it takes some time. it is slow, but also more selective than most other chemicals.

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