I’ve had the itch for a few weeks to get my hands dirty and start planting a few flowers! Spring is so so close, and here in Florida things are already starting to come back to life and bloom including the dreaded spring weeds. I’m totally guilty of ignorance and using chemicals in the past to get rid of my garden weeds, but I realized that not only was I killing them, I was tainting the ground with poison as well and anything I planted died off or grew very unhealthy in those spots. So I turned to a more natural approach and thought I’d share with you 3 killer ways I get rid of weeds naturally!
1. VODKA
Oooooh yeah baby! Add 1 cup of vodka to 6 cups of water in a spray bottle, then add a few drops of dish soap…you know to keep you from spraying this into your mouth 😉 Just kidding…who wants to spray watered down vodka in their mouth?!
This solution works great for weeds that are in direct sunlight. Within a few hours the weeds dry out, and shrivel up to nothing. Just be careful not to spray this on delicate flowers because it will dry them out too!
2. Good ol’ Vinegar
The key to using vinegar to kill weeds is to pour it on the young ones that have immature roots and delicate leaves. It will literally suck the life out of it and within a few days the weed will be brown and dead.
3. Boiled water
We have tea at least once a day in our house, and usually have some hot water left over in the kettle. Instead of dumping it down the drain I like to bring it outside and pour it over a few weeds. The hot water literally burns them up and they’re dead within a few hours!
Next month after we’ve planted a few more things we’ll have mulch delivered. Keeping your mulch at about 4” thickness we’ll help prevent weeds from popping up, and because we use an organic material like wood chips as mulch, it breaks down over time so we have to keep adding layers to it every other year.
Also, in the spots that the weed barrier has been torn or worn, I’ll lay down a thick layer of newspapers before adding more mulch. This will also help keep the weeds at bay this spring-fall!
I’d love to hear your methods for dealing with weeds! They can be tricky little buggers to control, but getting them early on is the key to making sure your garden isn’t overrun with them this year!
Talk to you soon friends, take care!
XO
We need to try these ideas! We have a billion weeds in our yard and I am angry at them!!
Kelly @ View Along the Way recently posted…A million coats later…
What about weeds in the grass?
ugh! I wish I had a great solution to tell you about for that, but it’s one of those things that are so hard to control. I’ve heard epson salt is a great fertilizer for grass (although I haven’t tried it) It makes the lawn super lush and green supposedly. Making sure your grass is thick and fertilized will prevent thin and bare spots which will make it harder for weeds to grow in and take over. Hope that helps!
I am also trying to kill weeds in grass without chemcials. How do you do this without killing grass?
Unfortunately you will lose a little patch of grass with all of these methods. I have yet to find something that won’t get the grass surrounding the weed.
Love these ideas, I’m
Going to try these out!! What about fire ant hills? Florida is so bad, And I know chili powder and bowling water, but I have like 35! That’s a lot of boiling water!
Hey Heather, I’m going to be honest here and tell you that I have tried a few “natural” methods to getting rid of fire ants and they just don’t work that good! My husband is allergic to those little beasts so I have to get rid of the mounds asap when I see them. THE BEST product for that that I have found is a powder by Ortho. It’s in a black plastic bottle and sold at Home Depot. You sprinkle a little bit of it onto the mound and the ants take it back to the queen. The mound is dead within 24 hours! It’s awesome. Good luck 🙂
Try borax. They’ll take it back the queen too and it’s considered natural.
Can i use any brand of vodka to kill weeds
As far as I know…but I wouldn’t go splurging on Grey Goose for the weeds 😉 Use the cheap stuff for sure!
What about gin? I’ve got some real nasty gin I’d be in favor of getting rid of!!
haha 😉 I’m not sure! Try it out, and let me know!
I’ve got some real nasty old vodka sitting in my liquor cabinet….guess who’s going to get some weeds drunk!!! 🙂
about the fire ants , im not sure it will work for them but for the regular little ants i use cornmeal , they cant digest it and it kills them ,give it a shot, might work , worth the try and no pesticides are used .they will haul it back to nest and it will kill them all.
Cream of wheat is good for the ants. I’ve used them all grits,cornmeal and cream of wheat. What ever sit unused for awhile it’s good for those ants.