It doesn’t matter how safe it sounds if it doesn’t work.
This is the basis for one of the most popular gardening myths making the digital rounds in recent years.
Here’s why you shouldn’t make this homemade natural weed killer.
Credit: Mike Perkins / EyeEm/Getty Images
Sounds great, but are theyreallydead?
Thus, you truly kill it, roots and all.
It’s not coming back.
Natural weed killers don’t do this.
But, you say, “I don’t like usingchemical weed killers.
They’re dangerous and bad for the environment.
Surely, that’s not the case with the vinegar-Epsom salts-Dawn concoction!”
To answer that, let’s examine how each of these magic ingredients works.
Spraying it on a plant does nothing to the roots, however.
It’s effective only against shallow-rooted annual weeds that can’t survive having their foliage torched.
To kill perennial weeds with vinegar, you better pour horticultural vinegar on them.
This is 20% acetic acid.There are four big potential problems with this.
First, this vinegar is non-selective.
It will damage or kill any plant that contacts it, so be careful.
If you use it on the lawn, expect a lot of dead, brown grass.
Finally, horticultural vinegar is dangerous to people.
Get some on your skin, and you’ll blister.
Get some in your eyes, and you could go blind.
They’re two different things.
Epsom salts consist of magnesium sulfate.
They don’t kill plants.
They make them grow better.
Why put Epsom salts in a weed killer?
To make your weeds grow faster?
OK, then, let’s just replace Epsom salts with regular table salt, which is sodium chloride.
That kills plants, doesn’t it?
Yes, unless they’re salt-tolerant, like many beach plants.
Plus, it ruinssoil structureso that soil will not drain.
Using table salt in the garden is simply ill-advised.
Dawn Dishwashing Liquid
It doesn’t have to be Dawn; any brand ofliquid dish soapwould do.
The reason people recommend Dawn so often is because the same recipe keeps getting passed around on the internet.
Liquid dish soap is a surfactant.
It helps vinegar and the salts stick to the leaves of the weeds.
By itself, it’s pretty innocuous.
Keep in mind that it does dry foliage and can burn if applied in hot sun.
That’s why the label of insecticidal soap warns against doing that.
No matter what you just read online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Agricultural Research Service tested vinegar as an herbicide.
Try using a tea kettle to help direct the boiling water to the weed and not surrounding plants.
You may need to do this again after a few days.
Controlling weeds can be an ongoing battle.
Chemical Safety Facts.Acetic acid.
Updated Oct, 14, 2022.
University of Maryland Extension.Vinegar: an alternative to glyphosate?Updated Oct. 5, 2021.
USDA.Spray Weeds With Vinegar?
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.Can I manage weeds with boiling water?
