Home » Misc » Can salt kill weeds

Can salt kill weeds


How to Kill Weeds Naturally

How to Kill Weeds Naturally - Organic Natural Weed Killer

Loading...

← Go back
Natural Weed Control

Gardening is a passion for many that is often interrupted by unwanted plants living in the wrong place. More commonly known as weeds, these eyesores do more than intrude on the aesthetic. Weeds can cause stress on surrounding plants by robbing the soil of nutrients and moisture. Maintaining any lawn or garden is a tough job, and for many, weeding can feel like an endless endeavor.

To maintain your Zen, it’s best to deploy a comprehensive strategy for weed control. Around your house and in the garden, pulling weeds by hand is often the best approach for large or mature weeds that are difficult to prevent, especially in mulch or rock gardens. In areas like driveways, patio pavers and sidewalks, where pulling weeds often causes them to break off, it’s best to use herbicidal spray.

Traditional herbicides are formulated with harsh chemical ingredients. Earth’s Ally Weed & Grass Killer instead uses natural ingredients to kill the weeds to the root, without harming the Earth. We refined the science behind popular home remedies and developed a formula that is proven effective and Safe for People, Pets & Planet.

Common Organic DIY Weed Killers 
About Earth’s Ally Natural Weed & Grass Killer

At Earth’s Ally, we went beyond homemade weed killer recipes with common table salt and household vinegar to create a formula that is safe, effective and responsible. We refined the science and proportions of each of our ingredients and developed a natural weed killer that delivers results in three hours, without harsh chemicals like glyphosate. We also made sure our formula was safe for a vital part of our ecosystem – honeybees and other pollinators. While our ingredients are simple, our formula would be difficult to replicate at home, based on our extensive research and development.

Kills Weeds & Grass

Eliminates common broadleaf weeds including dandelion, clover, ivy, chickweed and many others, and grassy weeds, including crabgrass. Earth’s Ally Natural Weed Killer is a non-selective herbicide with zero pre-emergent properties, meaning it will not prevent the future growth of plants in the soil where it was used.  

For Best Results

We recommend incorporating a “Sunshine, Shake & Saturate” mantra when using the product for optimum success. Sunlight works with the product’s vinegar and sea salt to kill common weeds to the root, with results appearing in about three hours.

We’d love to hear how Earth’s Ally is helping you tame troublesome weeds. Share your experience and stay connected with the #EarthsAlly community on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for access to our latest blog posts, giveaways and exclusive promotions.

Join the Earth's Ally newsletter for organic gardening tips, exclusive promotions and the latest product updates.

Newsletter Sign Up

usershopping-carttwitterfacebookyoutube-playinstagram

In sending your photos and stories you agree to our terms and conditions.

By submitting your photos to Earth’s Ally, you consent and authorize SARASOTA GREEN GROUP, LLC to use the photograph in connection with the marketing and advertising of Earth’s Ally Weed & Grass Killer. You also acknowledge that the submitted photographs are original work created solely by the submitter, that the photograph does not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, and that no other party has any right, title, claim or interest in the photograph.

Solved! The Great Debate on Using Salt to Kill Weeds

Photo: istockphoto.com

Q: I want an environmentally friendly garden and yard, but weeds keep popping up. I’ve heard of others using salt as a weed killer. Does salt kill weeds, and if so, what do I need to know about using it on my property?

A: Using salt to kill weeds has been a topic of debate among gardeners for a long time. The fact is that there isn’t a simple answer to this question. Does salt kill weeds? It absolutely does, but using salt as a weed killer is not the right move for every gardener—in some instances, it can do more harm than good.

Before you stock up on sodium chloride, make sure you understand how salt works to kill weeds, when and where to use it, and how to apply it to get the best results.

Weeds taking over your lawn?

Get free, no-commitment project estimates from lawn-care companies near you.

Find a Pro

+

RELATED: 10 Things to Know When Pulling Weeds

Salt kills weeds by dehydrating them.

Table salt comes in the form of sodium chloride. Sodium is a toxic metal ion that effectively kills plants, and it dissolves easily in water. When saltwater is applied to weeds, the dissolved sodium moves through the soil and is absorbed by plants’ roots.

Just as too much sodium isn’t healthy for people, it’s not great for plants either. High sodium levels disrupt the internal water balance of plant cells, creating a nutrient deficiency. It takes up to 10 days for a plant to fully absorb salt, and over this time, the salt’s effects burn the leaves. Its use can make a weed to die back because the plant isn’t getting the water it needs.

You’ll have the best luck killing smaller weeds with salt; it’s less effective with larger invaders, such as brambles or ivy.

Salt can be used as a nontoxic herbicide for killing weeds.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Getting weeds out of the yard and garden is easy with a chemical herbicide, but products like these can be costly and dangerous. Exposure to chemical products through skin contact, inhalation, or ingestion can create numerous health hazards for humans and animals. The chemicals also have a negative impact on the environment.

Some gardeners opt to use salt as a nontoxic herbicide, since the substance is natural and unlikely to cause harm to people and pets. As a weed killer, salt works quickly and suppresses regrowth while being an inexpensive, safer herbicide option. Additionally, salt can be used near edible crops without the risk of chemical drift or residue coming into contact with backyard produce.

Using salt to kill weeds can potentially make the ground infertile for years. 

Historically, “salting the earth” was a wartime practice of intentionally destroying land used for growing crops, which illustrates why some gardeners are opposed to using salt in the garden. Salt is nonexclusive—it kills the plants you want to keep along with the weeds you want to remove.

The amount of salt used to kill weeds can ruin soil’s pH balance. Sodium destroys soil structure by stealing water from plants, causing their roots to dry out and resulting in poor growth or no growth at all. Sodium ions do not break down, so they can be washed away by rainfall or irrigation to areas of your yard with healthy plants, causing them to die off, as well.

Tackling a large section of weeds requires a lot of salt, and too much salt can cause soil to become infertile. It can take several years for the sodium to drain away enough for something to grow in that spot again.

RELATED: Watch Out for These 9 Types of Lawn Weeds

Rock salt and table salt work best for killing weeds.  

Photo: istockphoto.com

If you’re looking for an effective salt weed killer, not all types of salt are created equal. What you need is sodium chloride, since this is the ingredient that actually kills the weeds. Sodium is a mineral that’s toxic to plants in high quantities, and which causes plant tissues to dry out and affect their ability to take in moisture.

Table salt and rock salt are both sodium chloride, with different purification qualities but essentially the same sodium content. Be aware that when using these types of salts, they will kill the weeds currently in an area of your yard or garden, but they will also kill the next thing you plant in that spot, even long after the weed is gone.

What if you’re out of table or rock salt? Does Epsom salt kill weeds? Not usually. Epsom salts are actually made of magnesium sulfate, making these crystallized minerals relatively ineffective when it comes to ridding your yard of weeds—unless you use an obscene amount, in which case you can remove an entire tree stump.

Tired of seeing weeds in your yard?

A lawn-care professional can help. Get free, no-commitment project estimates from pros near you.

Find a Pro

+

Start with a weak mixture and apply your salt weed killer in areas where soil health is not an issue.

Using salt to kill weeds works best for small-scale gardening, as it limits the area that can be affected by sodium. As mentioned above, these ions don’t break down, so they will keep affecting soil conditions until they eventually wash away.

Thankfully, there’s no real safety issue for gardeners using salt to kill weeds. Mix a ratio of three parts water to one part salt, and apply it to the base of the offending weed using a funnel. You can increase the amount of salt incrementally each day until you start seeing the effects of salt on the target plant.

Putting salt into garden beds or lawns can create barren areas for years, and affect any surrounding vegetation too. Instead, we advise gardeners using salt as a weed killer to apply it in areas where the long-term health of the soil is not as important as it is in growing areas. For example, it can be effective at addressing weeds in driveway cracks, gravel pads or walkways, on patios, between pavers, and other home spaces where other plants do not need to grow. In these areas, you can be more aggressive, using a ratio of three parts salt to one part water.

Manual tools are the best option for eco-friendly weeding.

Photo: Amazon.com

Salt is an effective way to get rid of weeds, but it’s not the best idea for treating weeds in the garden where you want future plants to grow. Many invasive species can be controlled with the right manual tool and little elbow grease. A reliable hand tool, like the Ganchun Hand Weeder, can be purchased on Amazon for less than $15.

Though this option takes longer and requires a bit of sweat to rid your yard of weeds, hand tools prevent weeds from growing back as quickly when the plants are pulled out by the root. It’s not as easy as spraying herbicide, but it’s healthier for you and your backyard ecosystem.

RELATED: Quackgrass vs. Crabgrass: Which Notorious Weed Is Invading Your Lawn?

Need a hand?

Some jobs are better left to the pros. Receive free, no-commitment estimate from licensed lawn service professionals near you.

Find Pros Now

+

proportions and how to breed with water

Weeds can be found in absolutely any area, and if in the garden you can not make serious efforts to fight them, then summer residents annually spend a lot of effort and energy to eliminate weeds in the garden. In addition to the traditional method of weed control by weeding, there are also chemical methods using herbicides. However, not all garden owners are ready to spray the garden with chemicals. To reduce labor costs for the elimination of weeds and not to use chemical methods of influence, you can use folk remedies against weeds.

The most effective improvised substances that can quickly kill weeds are salt and vinegar. These products can be found in every kitchen, but few people know how to properly use them against weeds. The main secrets of the use of salt and vinegar in cleaning the beds of weeds will be described in this article.

Content:

  1. Weed salt and vinegar
    1. Weed vinegar
    2. Weed salt
  2. How to dilute salt and vinegar against weeds
    1. Water solutions with soap
    2. Sprinkling with salt
    3. Watering with boiling water
  3. Vinegar and salt spraying weed control
  4. Precautions for handling mixtures

Salt and Vinegar for Weeds

The damage from weeds in garden beds is obvious: they deprive cultivated plants of moisture and nutrients contained in the soil, large specimens shade young shoots, and in some cases weeds can be a source of diseases or pests. In the past, weeds were fought mainly by mechanical means, but now summer residents have a wide choice of tools that make gardening easier.

Note: There is a wide variety of herbicides on the market today that are considered relatively safe for humans and the environment. But still, these substances are chemicals and cannot be called completely harmless.

Fortunately, there is a so-called intermediate option. In the kitchen of every housewife there is salt and vinegar, and if you are tired of constantly weeding weeds, but do not want to deal with them with chemicals, you may well use them to eliminate vegetation.

By its composition and mechanism of action, vinegar is largely similar to herbicides:

  1. Getting on the leaves and stems of plants, vinegar burns out the cell membranes, causing them to dry out and gradually die off.
  2. Vinegar is able to stop cell division and photosynthesis. Thus, the growth of grass immediately stops and it quickly dies.
  3. The substance penetrates not only into the aerial parts, but also into the root system. This provides a complex effect and prevents the formation of young shoots.

In addition, vinegar is able to quickly stop all metabolic processes in plant cells. This leads to cellular depletion of the weeds and it begins to dry out quickly.

In some cases, vinegar is mixed with salt to increase effectiveness. To understand the mechanism of action of such a mixture, its effectiveness and possible consequences, it is worth considering the features of the use of each substance separately.

Weed Vinegar

Vinegar contains acids that burn plant cells when they get on leaves and stems. It is this property of the product that summer residents began to use to their advantage in the fight against weeds (Figure 1).

It is important that acetic acid is absolutely safe not only for humans and animals, but also for the soil and the environment. In addition, the crop harvested from the beds treated with vinegar will be completely organic.

Figure 1. Vinegar used to control weeds

Vinegar can be compared in its mechanism of action to full-blown herbicides. The fact is that it is capable of destroying the cells of any plants, including cultivated ones. Therefore, to control weeds with this method, the substance must be poured not into a sprayer, but into a small spray gun and spot spraying of weeds should be carried out. In addition, experienced gardeners recommend processing in the phase of active weed growth, although in some cases later processing is also allowed. The main thing is to have time to spray the weeds before the seed pods begin to form, since vinegar does not affect the seeds.

Weed Salt

Salt is also considered a powerful weed control agent. At the same time, its effect is so pronounced that even if you just sprinkle salt on a certain area and do not take any additional action, the plants will not grow in this place for several years (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Destruction of vegetation with salt

Such a pronounced effect of salt does not allow its use in beds, so it is most often used to eliminate unwanted vegetation in the garden, along the fence or on garden paths.

How to dilute salt and vinegar

The combination of salt and vinegar is a truly killer mixture for weeds. These two substances individually have a pronounced effect, but in combination they become a very powerful tool that will help you quickly get rid of unwanted vegetation.

Note: Be aware that treating an area with a mixture of salt and vinegar will result in nothing growing at all in the area for several years. Therefore, it is better to use liquid to treat areas near the fence or garden paths.

Salt mixed with vinegar has shown high efficiency even in the fight against perennial cereals, which are difficult to eliminate not only by weeding, but also by herbicides. The fact is that the mixture penetrates into all cells of the plant, including the root system, and remains in the soil for a long time, destroying even small particles of roots.

To prepare a vinegar-salt solution, you need to prepare a liter of water, 5 tablespoons of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt. Water must be brought to a boil, add salt and vinegar to it, carefully move and pour hot over the weeds. In this case, you need to be extremely careful that the liquid does not get on neighboring cultivated plants, trees or shrubs.

See also: Zencor herbicide: instructions for use

There are other folk methods of weed control. We will describe the most effective of them in more detail so that you can choose the appropriate method.

Soap and water solutions

A solution of salt, vinegar and soap is popularly known as herbicidal soap. This name is quite justified, since the solution really has the ability to quickly destroy unwanted vegetation on the site (Figure 3).

Preparing it is quite simple. You need to take a liter of white vinegar, 150 grams of ordinary rock salt and one large syringe of liquid soap. Salt should be poured into a large bottle or jar, pour vinegar over it and add soap. Next, the container must be tightly closed and shake the mixture until a homogeneous consistency.

Figure 3. Vinegar and soap solution preparation

The prepared solution can be watered or sprayed on weeds. At the same time, it is important to ensure that the mixture does not fall on cultivated plants and does not spread over the garden, but is concentrated only near unwanted vegetation. It should also be borne in mind that ordinary table vinegar, which is part of such a product, is only suitable for processing ordinary, annual weeds. To eliminate tenacious perennials, it is better to add 15-20% vinegar to the mixture.

Sprinkling with salt

Sprinkling salt on the plot has been used since antiquity to control weeds. At the same time, it is important to take into account that it is strictly forbidden to fill the entire garden with salt, and in general it is advisable to use this method not in the beds, but in those areas where any vegetation is undesirable. The fact is that salt accumulates and remains in the soil for several years, and not only weeds, but also no other vegetation will grow in such areas (Figure 4).

There are several ways to use salt against weeds:

  1. The product is simply spread dry over the desired area and wait until the salt is absorbed into the soil. This usually happens during the rainy season, but if you don't want to wait, you can sprinkle the salt with water on purpose.
  2. You can first water the plants generously and, while they are wet, sprinkle them with dry salt. They need to be left for several hours, and then repeat watering. Such a procedure will allow not only to destroy the weeds that have already grown, but also to prevent its appearance in the future, since not only the aerial parts, but also the roots will be destroyed in the process.
  3. You can also prepare a special saline solution. To do this, dissolve 150 grams of salt in 2 liters of warm water. The mixture must be thoroughly mixed so that all salt crystals are completely dissolved. The resulting liquid can be sprayed in any convenient way. The main thing is to ensure that the substance does not get on cultivated plants.
Figure 4. Destruction of weeds with common salt

This substance is considered to be especially effective in the fight against such malicious weeds as field bindweed, wheatgrass, calendula and horsetail.

Watering with boiling water

Hot, or rather boiling water, also has a detrimental effect on the condition of plants, as well as mixtures of vinegar and salt. This feature can also be used in the fight against weeds on the site (Figure 5).

Note: The advantage of this method is that it is completely environmentally friendly and requires little or no preparation.

To remove one or more large weeds, simply boil water in a kettle and pour it over the top of the plants. Small specimens die the first time, but large ones may need to repeat the procedure. At the same time, make sure that hot water does not fall on neighboring useful plants, since boiling water is just as destructive for them as it is for weeds.

Figure 5. Using boiling water to control weeds

There is another folk method of weed control using hot water. For watering weeds, you need to use not just boiling water, but water in which eggs have just been boiled. This unusual method is indeed effective, but the liquid must be poured out hot and immediately after the eggs have been removed from it.

Vinegar & Salt Weed Control Spray

Any of the above mixtures has a strong effect and is similar in weed control mechanism to continuous herbicides. This means that not only weeds, but also useful plants can die from such a liquid. To prevent this from happening, you need to properly spray the solution on the beds (Figure 6).

Among the main points to consider when spraying are:

  1. It is better to use a special sprayer with a spray width adjustment function. So you will be sure that the liquid only gets on the weeds, without affecting the cultivated plants.
  2. The weather on the day of processing also plays an important role. It is advisable to carry out spraying in warm and sunny weather, at a temperature of at least +20 degrees. Under such conditions, the liquid, falling on the leaves of the weeds, will quickly burn them. If it is raining outside, or the weather forecast promises precipitation, it is better to postpone spraying until a more appropriate moment.
  3. The spray jet must be handled very carefully and the solution should only be applied to the plants to be destroyed.
Figure 6.

solution spraying technique If you need to spray on beds with densely planted crops, and you are afraid that the damaging mixture may get on them, it is better to cover the crops with some kind of dense material that does not allow moisture to pass through during treatment. .

Interestingly, the effect of such treatment will be noticeable on the same day. For example, if you spray in the morning, then in the evening the weeds will begin to turn yellow and dry. When they are completely withered, they must be manually collected and removed from the beds.

Precautions when handling mixtures

Although the use of salt and vinegar in weed control is considered a folk, and therefore safe, method of control, there are some precautions that should not be forgotten.

First of all, it should be borne in mind that vinegar is still a chemical substance with volatile properties and, even in a diluted state, can cause irritation of the skin and mucous membranes. In this case, the higher the concentration of vinegar, the stronger the irritation can be. In order not to provoke a burn of the skin or respiratory tract, a mask and gloves should be worn during the preparation and use of the working solution. All ingredients of the mixture must be introduced very carefully so that they do not splatter. If part of the mixture does get on the skin, it should be immediately washed with clean water. It is for this reason that vinegar is most often diluted with water to the desired concentration.

3 best products from agronomists

Scientists have calculated that for some crops, weeds can reduce the yield of the main crop by 40-50% (1). Just imagine, on not well-groomed beds, weeds “eat up” half of our crop! Therefore, it is imperative to fight them. Only systematic control measures will help keep them in check. It is worth being lazy, letting things take their course - they immediately capture the entire territory.

Weed control techniques

Here are some gardening practices that will help reduce the number of weeds in your garden.

Weed the garden more often. If you live in a country house, then the manual method is the best option for you.

– The constant oppression of grasses sometimes seems like a struggle between Hercules and the Lernean Hydra – you pulled out one head, and two grow in its place, – says agronomist Mikhail Vorobyov. - But it's still more effective and safer than using chemicals. By stubborn weeding, I even managed to get rid of the field bindweed. Every three days he pulled out new sprouts, thereby methodically weakening the root system and depriving the leaves of the energy that the leaves received from the sun. Many weeds have a supply of vitality - in the roots (wheatgrass, thistle). But even this power is not infinite, and patience and labor will grind everything ...

Dig up the area and remove all roots. You can weed out couch grass, thistle thistle, goutweed or dandelions as much as you like, but they will still grow. You can get rid of them only by digging up the site and carefully selecting all the rhizomes. Only here it is necessary to dig not with a shovel, but with a pitchfork. With a shovel, you will definitely cut the underground shoots into pieces, and then a new weed will grow from each. The pitchfork allows you to select whole rhizomes. The method is laborious, difficult, but very reliable and effective.

Mulch the beds. This method is the most ideal for weekend summer residents. Fortunately, now in any garden center you can buy a very beautiful mulch - from bark, often tinted, wood chips or small pebbles. First, it's beautiful. And secondly, by filling with mulch previously weeded flower beds or beds with strawberry bushes, you will rid yourself of weeds for the whole summer.

– You can cover the beds with freshly cut grass, explains agronomist Mikhail Vorobyov. - It will be free. Just remember, if you mow with a lawn mower, the layer of freshly cut grass must be thin so that it dries normally. Otherwise, the grass rots intensively and releases ammonia. This is for plants - like nitrogen fertilizer or fresh manure, accelerating growth. If in the spring and early summer such top dressing is only beneficial, then in the second half of the summer it is completely useless. However, an excess amount of nitrogen compounds is harmful at any time - the roots can get a chemical burn. With grass cut with a regular scythe, there are no such problems.

Observe crop rotation. Many summer residents have heard that the same crop cannot be planted in the same place for several years in a row - pests and pathogens accumulate in the soil. But not only them. One of the leading Russian scientists in the field of crop rotation, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences. Sciences, Professor Sergei Vorobyov noted that non-observance of crop rotation leads to an increase in soil contamination with weeds (2).

You don't have to look far for examples. Still weed potatoes? And then you walk along the rows, and you are surprised: here and there, weeds lurk right in the bushes. How could they not be noticed? And it's very simple. One of the main potato weeds is common amaranth. Its leaves are very similar to potato leaves, so skipping it is a common thing. At the same time, amaranth is incredibly prolific, each unnoticed plant will produce thousands of seeds. If next year you plant, say, cucumbers in this area, you will be able to see all the amaranth bushes and will not give it a chance to breed further. And if you plant potatoes again, they will hide again and again give numerous offspring.

So change crops in places and remember - each type of vegetable should return to its original place no earlier than after 4 years.

Sow green manure. After you have harvested, the weeds in the vacated beds begin to develop even faster - now they have no competitors. So don't leave the ground empty. Sow green manure in this place: rapeseed, mustard, rye, phacelia. And you will get a triple benefit!

Firstly, many green manure kill weeds. For example, mustard and rapeseed release a large amount of specific substances into the soil - glycosides that inhibit the growth of harmful plants.

Secondly, they destroy pests and pathogens. The same rapeseed and mustard produce essential oils that greatly inhibit the development of black leg, root rot, rhizoctoniosis and scab.

Thirdly, all green manure is an excellent fertilizer. Scatter the seeds over the area and rake into the soil. Water. And let it grow.

After 3 weeks, cut off the green mass of these plants, chop, scatter over the area and dig. But not deep - 3 - 4 cm. After the green manure is buried, the site must be poured abundantly with water.

Avoid fresh organics. It is sometimes difficult for a city summer resident to get manure, but if he succeeds, fertilizer is instantly applied to the site. But manure is sold most often fresh. It's full of weed seeds! Cows and horses are known to eat grass.

In order not to litter the garden, put the manure in a pile and let it rest for 3 years. Well, at least two. When the organic matter is folded in a thick layer, it is very hot, and weed seeds die at high temperatures.

A combination of several weed control methods will bring the greatest efficiency. Photo: pixabay.com

Fence your garden. Cultivated plants sometimes become weeds. For example, mint, horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke, raspberry.

To keep them from spreading all over the area, dig 50 cm of slate, metal sheets or special tape around them to a depth of 50 cm - these are sold at garden centers. The same fence will protect cultivated plants from penetrating perennial weeds, such as gout and wheatgrass.

Set up drip irrigation. Weeds need not only light, but also water. If you water the beds with a hose and a watering can, the water spreads throughout the area and gets to the weeds too. Drip irrigation solves this problem - it delivers water directly to the roots of cultivated plants. And weeds die from drought.

Pour the area with... vodka. This method came to us from America, where it was first tested in the 30s of the last century. Its essence is provocation. A month before the start, the sowing soil is treated with diluted vodka (150 g per bucket of water). Alcohol stimulates the germination of weeds, they sprout more friendly and faster, after which they are weeded out.

Weed control agents

There are more radical weed control agents, but they are either unsafe for the environment or are associated with significant financial costs.

Herbicides. Yes, this is chemistry, but in other cases it is impossible to cope with weeds in a different way. Herbicides are of continuous action, destroying all plants without breaking (Hurricane forte, Arsenal, Tornado, Roundup (3)). And selective, acting on certain types of weeds - monocotyledonous or dicotyledonous.

Herbicides will help to cope with such persistent weeds as couch grass, cow parsnip, snoot or hops. They are best used when the beds are empty.

- Chemistry is also good to use where it is difficult to weed by hand, - says agronomist Mikhail Vorobyov . - For example, at the fence, at the boundary with the neighboring plot (as a rule, many people have a chain-link mesh there, through which weeds, including nettles, readily grow), along the facade of a house or outbuildings. But this must be done very carefully.

Herbicide application is best done on a sunny, calm day, ideally in the morning. Read the drug instructions carefully. As a rule, it is written there that it is possible to go to the treated area only after 4 days, when the chemical becomes safe for people and animals. In general, all "killer" chemicals decompose in the soil within a month. Therefore, be very careful near the berry bushes.

Covering materials. Cover the area with a dense opaque blanket - black film, agrofibre, cardboard. Agrofibre can be used on beds - it is enough to make holes in it at the right distance and plant cultivated plants there. And so that the film does not spoil the look of the garden, it can be mulched with hay, straw or sawdust.

The black film, of course, costs money, but it lasts for several years, and it greatly simplifies the work.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about weeds with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova and asked her the most popular questions of summer residents.

Can weed salt be used?

No way! Yes, if you treat the area with salt, the weeds will die. But also cultivated plants. Even if you sprinkle or water the area with salt in early spring, before you start planting vegetables, it will still hurt - it will not go anywhere from the soil. And the systematic use of salt, even in small concentrations, over time can lead to salinization of the site and nothing will grow on it at all for many years.

Can we use baking soda for weeds?

Many summer residents understand that salt in the garden can be harmful, but soda is considered completely safe. And this is a delusion. Let's remember the formula for soda: NaHCO3. In other words, sodium bicarbonate. I mean, it's salt. To be precise, the sodium acid salt of carbonic acid. Well, of course, when using soda, we will get exactly the same effect as when using table salt - we will destroy plants, spoil the soil.

Can weed beds be mulched?

Yes, it's a great mulch.

Learn more