White vinegar as weedkiller

-taff

Weeds will always grow somewhere, the seeds get blown in, dropped by birds, carried in by pets...You can't eradicate them completely but in your situation, I'd go burn them. Then, when you're a bit more proficient, you can decide whether you want to let them live or not [ I let dandelions live in the grass or concrete cracks] or let them flower and then hoik out, [I let willowherb flower then hoik before the seeds come]

Some weeds have very shallow roots, like herb robert, a good kick will get those out, some, like dandelions, have deep taproots, so unless you're prepared to dig them out, the only option really is to burn them.

Burning them won't kill some completely though, you'll still have to do it regularly, but it is fun, and you don't need to bend...

henry24

Danien said:

Emmia said:

 I've bumped off weeds on our patio with Jeyes fluid too, it says on the tin it kills plant life, and it does, but like roundup it's a chemical option.

Is there a reason you don't want to use roundup/chemicals?

I have 2 cats, they regularly eat the grassy weeds in the garden. Round up is toxic to them and to the environment generally.

Is it, it's one of the few chemicals that can be sprayed on watercourses and is approved for use to make hay for animals to eat and is also sprayed on most of our cereal crops and oilseeds without any known harm 

Dustyevsky

-taff said:

Monsanto, there's a name to inspire confidence that it's perfectly safe  because my paid for studies say it is, so there, ner ner ner ner ner.

It's a fact, though, that unless you buy organic and pay the premium (or grow your own!) it's quite likely glyphosate entered the production process somewhere.

There is a glyphosate/cancer risk, roughly equivalent to the one from eating processed meats, but as henry24 says that's about known harm. Undiscovered harm may come later, or it may not. Also, exposure to the chemical isn't going to be uniform. There's a big difference between operatives driving a tractor sprayer daily and the consumer eating a non-organic pie!

Am I on the fence here? Probably, but circumstances are important to take into account. Here, with no one growing a food crop, limited mobility, and gaps in hard surfaces being the target, I'd use a chemical that soon breaks down in the environment and reaches the roots. So would most municipal authorities.

Danien

Dustyevsky said:

-taff said:

Monsanto, there's a name to inspire confidence that it's perfectly safe  because my paid for studies say it is, so there, ner ner ner ner ner.

It's a fact, though, that unless you buy organic and pay the premium (or grow your own!) it's quite likely glyphosate entered the production process somewhere.

There is a glyphosate/cancer risk, roughly equivalent to the one from eating processed meats, but as henry24 says that's about known harm. Undiscovered harm may come later, or it may not. Also, exposure to the chemical isn't going to be uniform. There's a big difference between operatives driving a tractor sprayer daily and the consumer eating a non-organic pie!

Am I on the fence here? Probably, but circumstances are important to take into account. Here, with no one growing a food crop, limited mobility, and gaps in hard surfaces being the target, I'd use a chemical that soon breaks down in the environment and reaches the roots. So would most municipal authorities.

The science on the risk of processed meats and meat in general is seriously dodgy, based on large scale epidemiological studies, food frequency questionnaires (usually two over 20 years+) and use of relative risk rather than absolute risk.

I don't trust any Monsanto studies on round up. 

Embarrassed to say that you may be underestimating the weed growth, it's a bit out of control as it's been ignored due to health issues. I'd be worried the flame sticks would cause a large burn and catch the fences and the shed! 

We may be able to get a gardener to come round in a few weeks to tidy any dead weeds and make everything look better, but we do need to kill the weeds down to the root first.

Someone mentioned Weedon- is that effective and how toxic is it? Anything strong smelling the cats won't touch.

Danien

Emmia said:

Danien said:

Green_hopeful said:

Depending on the type of weeds and whether there are plants you want to keep you could strim and then mow the area. Not much survives regular mowing. Vinegar is just an acid so probably no better for the environment than anything else. There is probably  lots of wildlife living in your weeds but mowing will disturb them as well. After all the rain we have had I have had some wonderful luck pulling weeds out. Very satisfying to pull out dandelions and docks with a pop and a whole root. 

I should have said that apart from a border the garden is just patio and concrete. There is only one nice plant we would like to keep in the border.

I would consider strimming as others have suggested, if that might work, but won't the weeds just grow back? Would the area need to be treated afterwards?

I've not heard of flame sticks, I'll have to look that up.

We seriously have no gardening knowledge at all.

Is it that the mortar between slabs is also broken allowing weeds to thrive? Ultimately if that's the case (and you don't fix that) it will be a constant battle against the weeds whether you strim, flamethrow, use weedol, or pull them out.

We're planning on using something that you sweep in between the joints that stops further weed growth once the weeds are gone - a family member suggested it, not sure about the name of it though. 

Farway

Danien said:

Dustyevsky said:

-taff said:

Monsanto, there's a name to inspire confidence that it's perfectly safe  because my paid for studies say it is, so there, ner ner ner ner ner.

It's a fact, though, that unless you buy organic and pay the premium (or grow your own!) it's quite likely glyphosate entered the production process somewhere.

There is a glyphosate/cancer risk, roughly equivalent to the one from eating processed meats, but as henry24 says that's about known harm. Undiscovered harm may come later, or it may not. Also, exposure to the chemical isn't going to be uniform. There's a big difference between operatives driving a tractor sprayer daily and the consumer eating a non-organic pie!

Am I on the fence here? Probably, but circumstances are important to take into account. Here, with no one growing a food crop, limited mobility, and gaps in hard surfaces being the target, I'd use a chemical that soon breaks down in the environment and reaches the roots. So would most municipal authorities.

The science on the risk of processed meats and meat in general is seriously dodgy, based on large scale epidemiological studies, food frequency questionnaires (usually two over 20 years+) and use of relative risk rather than absolute risk.

I don't trust any Monsanto studies on round up. 

Embarrassed to say that you may be underestimating the weed growth, it's a bit out of control as it's been ignored due to health issues. I'd be worried the flame sticks would cause a large burn and catch the fences and the shed! 

We may be able to get a gardener to come round in a few weeks to tidy any dead weeds and make everything look better, but we do need to kill the weeds down to the root first.

Someone mentioned Weedon- is that effective and how toxic is it? Anything strong smelling the cats won't touch.

I wonder if you misheard Weedol?

Weedol is a Brand name.

There are various formulations of weedkiller under that brand.

At least one has glyphosate in it, so you would need to DYOR as to what is acceptable to you

Danien

Farway said:

Danien said:

Dustyevsky said:

-taff said:

Monsanto, there's a name to inspire confidence that it's perfectly safe  because my paid for studies say it is, so there, ner ner ner ner ner.

It's a fact, though, that unless you buy organic and pay the premium (or grow your own!) it's quite likely glyphosate entered the production process somewhere.

There is a glyphosate/cancer risk, roughly equivalent to the one from eating processed meats, but as henry24 says that's about known harm. Undiscovered harm may come later, or it may not. Also, exposure to the chemical isn't going to be uniform. There's a big difference between operatives driving a tractor sprayer daily and the consumer eating a non-organic pie!

Am I on the fence here? Probably, but circumstances are important to take into account. Here, with no one growing a food crop, limited mobility, and gaps in hard surfaces being the target, I'd use a chemical that soon breaks down in the environment and reaches the roots. So would most municipal authorities.

The science on the risk of processed meats and meat in general is seriously dodgy, based on large scale epidemiological studies, food frequency questionnaires (usually two over 20 years+) and use of relative risk rather than absolute risk.

I don't trust any Monsanto studies on round up. 

Embarrassed to say that you may be underestimating the weed growth, it's a bit out of control as it's been ignored due to health issues. I'd be worried the flame sticks would cause a large burn and catch the fences and the shed! 

We may be able to get a gardener to come round in a few weeks to tidy any dead weeds and make everything look better, but we do need to kill the weeds down to the root first.

Someone mentioned Weedon- is that effective and how toxic is it? Anything strong smelling the cats won't touch.

I wonder if you misheard Weedol?

Weedol is a Brand name.

There are various formulations of weedkiller under that brand.

At least one has glyphosate in it, so you would need to DYOR as to what is acceptable to you

Just a typo, meant weedol.

twopenny

I've just looked up Weedol for cats. As I said I used to cover the area treated until it was dry and curled because of my dogs and the wildlife.

Maybe not if the cats eat random plants and aren't fussy.

It's a frequently asked question if you do a search for Weedkiller safe for cats but here is one that was asked 18mts ago

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377050/weedkiller-that-wont-harm-neighbourhood-cats-does-it-exist

Danien

twopenny said:

I've just looked up Weedol for cats. As I said I used to cover the area treated until it was dry and curled because of my dogs and the wildlife.

Maybe not if the cats eat random plants and aren't fussy.

It's a frequently asked question if you do a search for Weedkiller safe for cats but here is one that was asked 18mts ago

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377050/weedkiller-that-wont-harm-neighbourhood-cats-does-it-exist

I might try the vinegar and baking soda method mentioned as a start.

Emmia

Danien said:

Emmia said:

Danien said:

Green_hopeful said:

Depending on the type of weeds and whether there are plants you want to keep you could strim and then mow the area. Not much survives regular mowing. Vinegar is just an acid so probably no better for the environment than anything else. There is probably  lots of wildlife living in your weeds but mowing will disturb them as well. After all the rain we have had I have had some wonderful luck pulling weeds out. Very satisfying to pull out dandelions and docks with a pop and a whole root. 

I should have said that apart from a border the garden is just patio and concrete. There is only one nice plant we would like to keep in the border.

I would consider strimming as others have suggested, if that might work, but won't the weeds just grow back? Would the area need to be treated afterwards?

I've not heard of flame sticks, I'll have to look that up.

We seriously have no gardening knowledge at all.

Is it that the mortar between slabs is also broken allowing weeds to thrive? Ultimately if that's the case (and you don't fix that) it will be a constant battle against the weeds whether you strim, flamethrow, use weedol, or pull them out.

We're planning on using something that you sweep in between the joints that stops further weed growth once the weeds are gone - a family member suggested it, not sure about the name of it though. 

I've just used the Silka version of this type of product on our patio - it's more than just sweeping in though, you need to also press it into the joints (can you get down on your hands and knees to do this, if you can't pull weeds out?). It does work well though and I'm happy with the finished effect. 

Before using the brush in stuff the patio really needs to be thoroughly weeded (i.e. pulling them out / killing with chemicals) otherwise they can pop back through. I missed a bit and have needed to chip a bit out, re-weed (I also put chemicals down) and then put more of the brush in stuff back. It looks like a pretty seamless joint though so I'm hoping it will stay weed free.