With spring here, it’s time for us to start tending to our gardens. Though you’ll want to rid your garden of unsightly weeds that can strangle out your other plants, you might not want to douse them with harsh chemicals.
You can keep your plants, your children, and the environment safe by using natural remedies to kill garden weeds. Here are eight of our favorite.
Baking Soda for Crevices
Sprinkle baking soda into the spaces between your pavers and other parts of your patio to prevent weeds, like dandelions, from growing. They won’t like the sodium.
Salt Water Solution
Bring 1 cup of salt and 2 cups of water to a boil. You’ll want to pour this mixture directly onto your weeds to kill them. You can also sprinkle some salt directly on unwanted grass and weeds that pop up.
Vinegar
Fill a spray bottle with some vinegar and spray it directly onto the weeds or grass you want to kill. Spray the root or lowest level of the stem to the top of the weed so you kill the roots and it won’t grow again.
You may have to repeat this every other day until it stops growing, especially if it rains. Also, be careful to protect your other plants from the spray.
Vodka
Another natural weed killer spray uses 1-ounce vodka, some liquid soap, and 2 cups of water. Only make enough of this solution for you to use in one shot.
It’s best to apply this mixture on a sunny day and using it on weeds that grow in direct sunlight. The alcohol will break down the waxy coating on its leaves and will help the sun to dry it out. It won’t work in the shade.
Mulch
Covering your garden with mulch will also prevent weed seeds from growing and coming into contact with soil. It also helps to keep the sunlight out, which will prevent them from sprouting. Mulch does double duty by enriching your soil and keeping it moist.
Newspaper
Wet your soil, then place a layer of newspaper down over your weeds. Wet it once more and cover with some mulch. This keeps out the sunlight so your weeds can’t grow and also provides a warm shelter for earthworms. Bonus points because you’re also recycling.
Weed Torch
If you’re not trying to get down and dirty in your garden, you can always blast weeds with a weed torch. Weed torches work by heating up the water inside the cells of the plant. The water turns to steam and the cells inside the plant explode causing it to die. You don’t have to char your weeds, just let them wilt.
NEVER EVER use this on poison ivy or other poisonous plants because it will release the poison oils into the air and thus into your eyes and lungs.
Cornmeal
Sprinkling your garden with cornmeal will prevent weed seeds from germinating. However, it will also prevent all seeds from growing into plants so you will want to wait to use this trick until all your plants are established and you’ve finished planting your seeds.
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