Weeds in the garden are a perennial nuisance. Nothing grows, be it because the weather is too cool or too hot, weeds always sprout. If you don’t do something about the annoying weeds on a regular basis, they will take over and overgrow the entire garden. They are strong competition for the other garden plants and sometimes kill one or the other of them.
Many hobby gardeners are familiar with using vinegar and salt against weeds. It’s an old home remedy, I keep hearing. My grandma did that. That is partly true, but you have to know where and how to do it. You can do a lot wrong with vinegar and salt, more than you achieve good. What to pay attention to? What is forbidden and what is allowed? How do I do it right? Continue reading!
For most hobby gardeners, killing weeds with the chemical club is out of the question anyway. But vinegar and salt are not really better. It is even forbidden to use these two agents, even if diluted, on paved surfaces. The reason is that biodegradation of the agents is not possible on the sealed surfaces and the surface water cannot seep away. The substances end up in the sewer system and that causes problems in the waterworks. I also advise against vinegar and salt, because both mess up the entire microcosm. The use of both means as weed killers is only supposedly biological. Although they are home remedies, their use is questionable.
In the bed, hardly anyone would think of using vinegar and salt, of course, because both make no difference between weeds and garden plants. The soil remains unusable for garden plants for a long time.
Vinegar and salt usually do not have a long-lasting effect. You always have to rework. Every floor suffers in the long run. Anything that should not go in will break and the weeds will laugh weakly.
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Vinegar and salt on paved surfaces
When home remedies are used to kill weeds, they are considered pesticides by the law. Their use is only permitted on areas that are used for agriculture, forestry or horticulture. Paved areas are not used for gardening and are therefore no longer needed. Unauthorized use can result in a fine of up to 50,000 euros.
Vinegar and salt are very user friendly. They pose no threat to children or pets. The weeds burn and perish. You can easily pull it out of the ground. In addition, both remedies are easy to use. But since they are not allowed on paved surfaces, where most users want to use them, you have to come up with something else. In addition, the roots are often not killed, at least if vinegar or salt are not used in large quantities. In this way, a new weed plant sprouts out of the root in good time. The cycle starts all over again.
I use boiling water in this case. This is also completely harmless and also kills the roots. You can simply pull out the plants with broken roots after two to three days. If anything green sprouts after the first application, then everything has to be repeated. At the same time, the hot water helps against ants that are reluctant to create their nests between the plates.
Alternatives to vinegar and salt
In addition to the hot water I suggested, there are naturally more ways to kill weeds, especially in the joints and cracks of paved surfaces. Most of the time, you have to invest time and often also strength, but what can you do to love the environment?
- Chopping and removing weeds and roots by hand at the same time is still the most widely used way of removing weeds. This works best after rain, when the ground is softened.
- The weed cutter with a long handle is more back-friendly. With it, too, the plant and its roots are pulled out.
- A cultivator can also do a good job, preferably with loosened areas, with beds. It aerates the soil and at the same time removes weeds and roots.
- The roller cultivator does a similar job, especially the one with a long handle.
- Grout cleaners are especially suitable for narrow joints between slabs or paving stones. However, you don’t always get the whole root.
- Weeds can also be destroyed by heat. Corresponding devices can be operated with gas or electricity.
- Flaming devices burn weeds with an open flame. However, the roots are often not killed and the plant sprouts again.
- Infrared devices are more effective. They develop temperatures of up to 1,000 ° C. This causes the plant’s protein cells to burst and it dies. It’s a safer method.
- high pressure cleaner
- Electrically operated brush devices
weed killer
Most weed killers are horrible chemical clubs. They fulfill their purpose and destroy weeds very successfully, but are not always beneficial for humans, animals and the environment. Many of them are very controversial. Biological agents are better.
Tips
- Lay out weed film under the panels!
- Polymeric joint sand dry mixes, which are easy to work with, help prevent weeds from settling in the first place. Once you have a joint, you have a long rest, but not forever either.
- Put herbs or ground cover that remains small between the plates, it looks great, a real eye-catcher when, for example, thyme is in bloom. You can even walk over it, only cars are too heavy.
- Why always want all surfaces gray and bleak. A little green or any other color in between is not bad. The greenery must not get too high. Then you can tear it out.
Conclusion
There are many ways and means of removing weeds. Many work very well on the fly, but have one major disadvantage. There is only momentary success. In the following year at the latest, the weeds will sprout happily and as always. There is no such thing as an ultimate means. You always have to stay on the ball and do something regularly. Chemicals, vinegar and salt, lambing, everything has the consequence that the fine fraction disappears between stones and in joints. There are gaps in which algae, moss, weeds and the like grow only stronger. Weeding is still best, regularly and without compulsion, preferably in pairs, it’s even fun.
