DIY (ie. cheap!!) alternative to weedkiller

penguingirl

Our garden is still a work in progress. So far we've ripped out all the old ivy/ ridiculous lleylandi and dead/ ugly plants. So now we have bare flowerbeds that we are looking to plant up some and grass over the rest, but they need levelling first. All of this takes ages and is very weather dependent, plus we are both very busy with work. Result is that my bare flowerbeds keep getting weed explosions!! Weedkiller helps, but it is expensive.

Anyone know of any homemade concoctions that will do the job? We will want stuff to grow in the flowerbeds at some point so can't be anything too toxic/ long lasting. I'll post this is the gardening forum too, but thought you thrifters might be more creative.

Greenqueen_2

weeds (just like any other plant) need light to grow. You could try covering the soil with an old carpet offcut or similar.

Mojisola

penguingirl wrote: »

Result is that my bare flowerbeds keep getting weed explosions!! Weedkiller helps, but it is expensive.

All those seed are in the ground - every time you get an explosion of growth, you're getting rid of seeds that would otherwise grow after you'd planted up your new beds - it's a good thing!

If the weather isn't dry enough just to hoe them off, you might enjoy using a flame gun on them - there are little ones that work off a gas cannister or bigger paraffin ones if you have a big garden.

hilstep2000

Boiling Water!

penguingirl

Thanks for the ideas.

I like that idea of carpet, although currently we have flowerbeds around the entire perimeter of our backgarden so it is approximately 25-30m worth (which is why we need some of it grassing over as it is out of proportion with the size of house/garden). I might have a look around and see if I could find something to cover them up with.

Flaming them sounds an amazing idea Not sure whether OH will let me play though (wait until he's out?!!)

Boiling water is definitely worth a go. I've also just been reading up about using vinegar, and someone suggested heating it for maximum effect.

Mojisola

Do you have a hoe? As long as you catch the weeds while they are small, that's the tool that's stood the test of time.

A few minutes a day, working your way round the garden will keep the weeds down and give you some exercise as well. If work means your gardening is restricted to the weekends, you'd still be able to get round the beds in a short time.
https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/basics/how-to-hoe-effectively/157.html

Don't bother about weeding where you will be putting lawn - ask on your local Freegle/Freecycle site for old carpets to cover the ground - you need hessian backed ones.

Butterfly_Brain

I use wet newspaper, there is no getting through that.

System

I use a bleach spray on the weeds at the side of my house and vegetable oil on shrubs with a big thick trunk.

smileygill

I believe vinegar works too.

mrsscattercushion

I second use of a hoe, as overtime you will reduce the weeds' re-growth....failing that, what I sometimes use at the allotment is black membrane/weed protector stuff....got 2 large rolls in Home bargains this week, just needs securing into place and weeds shouldn't regrow...you can also cut in to insert new plants without removing the rest, until the plants/shrubs establishes.

[Deleted User]

My late ma-in-law swore by ordinary household salt to kill off the weeds and she had just under an acre which was cultivated and she grew virtually all her own fruit and veg and also kept chickens and a pig in the sty at the bottom of her garden.Where her garden used to be is now a small estate of houses with a cul-de-sac running through it.I bet she would be spinning in her grave if she saw it now.She raised her sons on a widows pension of 8/- a week and grew everything she could She was an amazing lady whom I held in the greatest esteem . She made me look like a spendthrift and I can really do OS'ing fairly well.She also cleaned her teeth with salt and died at 84 in her own bed with all of her 'marbles' and teeth She didn't have a filling in her head, as being broke and widowed in 1937 dentists along with doctors came way down the list of essentials.Her large plot of runner beans paid for her rates yearly as she would sell them to a local greengrocer all of her crop.She used soot and ash as fertiliser as well and nothing was every wasted.You name it she grew it bottled it and utilised everything that she could in her garden.Even thistles were collected and used after steeping in a bucket as fertiliser.Her own brand of sloe-gin could fly an aircraft it was so strong :):)