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San Jose [email protected]

I found this article in my local paper and wanted to pass it on

Gary


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Here at The Dirt, it's Organic Solutions Week. That means stepping away from the Roundup when it comes to weed control. Here are a few simple, effective and inexpensive strategies to get you started. Feel free to add your own!

- Plain ol' vinegar. The supermarket variety, a 5 percent solution, is incredibly cheap. But if you want more firepower, use pickling vinegar, which is a 9 percent solution. Put it in a spray bottle and coat weeds thoroughly on a windless day, being careful not to get vinegar on plants you want to keep. Vinegar is particularly effective on those annoying weeds that sprout between sidewalk cracks. Stubborn customers may need several treatments. Safety tip: Wear eye protection.

- Boiling water. Fire up your teakettle until it sings, then grab it and head for the garden. Get real close to your prey and then pour the super-hot water onto the crown of the weed plant. This is even more effective if you cut off the top growth of the plant before you dowse it. Some weeds with long taproots, such as bindweed, knotweed and dandelion, may make a comeback, but each time the plant will be smaller and weaker. Just fire up the kettle again. Safety tip: Wear long pants and no flip-flops!

6/23/2007 2:06:36 PM

Pataskala,OH

won't vinegar make your soil acidic.

6/23/2007 4:15:52 PM

Santa Cruz, CA

Hi Gary....
I like the vinegar idea. I'm going to try it first on our dirveway weeds and then possibly in the patch only this year, Riley is not even letting a small weed start so we may not need the vinegar. Things tend to go south in the weed department later in the season though and we may give it a try then. Thanks for the ideas. We're growing the 1502 as well!. .... the Santa Cruz Gang- Creek and Son.

6/24/2007 1:40:40 AM

Nashville, TN

Best and longest lasting 'organic weed control' is laying down heavy layers of newspaper/feedbags and coving them with a layer of mulch.... Won't have to spray anything for an entire season!

Also helps to keep soil moisture stable!

6/24/2007 7:28:43 AM

Pocatello ([email protected])

Vinegar works, but it only kills what it touches. That is, it can kill above ground but it doesn't kill the roots. Contrast that with Roundup, which is very stable and safe, which will also kill the roots.

"Just say no" to 2,4-D! I've been reading up on it, and have decided to never use it again, and to convince my neighbors to do the same.

The absolute best, surest, and safest weed control in the patch??? A hula-hoe or stirrup hoe. No mixing, fast, easy, and works every time. I can wipe out 1000 square feet faster than you can spray it (when you factor in all the dealing with chemicals). And I get em instantly, while you have to wait, and continue to stare at dead weeds. ;-)

6/24/2007 10:28:35 PM

Eugene, OR

I can't stand weeds. Having just bought and gave one of those fancy hoes Cliff mentioned a good test run, I have to agree with him 100%. It's amazing how fast you can weed your entire patch and it does one heck of a job. I don't know how I lived without one for this long but I guarantee I won't live without one again!

6/24/2007 10:50:06 PM