Thursday, July 28, 2011

Homemade Weed Killer

I know that some people won’t get nearly as excited about today’s post as what I did, but then there will be those of you that get it and for YOU I post this!

Weeds growing through the cracks in our sidewalk have never been a look I’ve particularly wanted to pursue, but try as we might they always persist.  We used to buy so much Round Up that I swore we should own part of the company!

So when I saw the recipe for Natural Weed Killer at Full of Great Ideas blog I couldn’t wait to try it.  I knew that Keith wouldn’t be as excited because to be honest almost every homemade anything I’ve tried has been a bust.

But this stuff WORKS!  And dare I say it might even work BETTER than the uber chemical stuff!

 

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Here it is posing pretty as can be in the backyard next to a weed (um…just to be clear, the weed is in the bottom right hand corner).  And while we are looking at my sad backyard, let me remind you of the 28 days in a row of over 100 degree heat we’ve had.  Sad smile

 

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I did change up the recipe somewhat so that I could use what I had on hand. If you’d like to see the original recipe click on the link above.

WHAT YOU NEED:

* 24 ounce spray bottle (I bought mine at the Big Box Store for only .99)

* Distilled Vinegar

* Sea Salt (mine was the cheap version that comes in the container that looks like regular iodized salt)

* Dishwashing Liquid (I used Dawn Hand Renewal with Olay because that’s what I had)

WHAT YOU DO:

Fill your spray bottle mostly full with vinegar.  To that add  1/3 cup of sea salt and a squeeze of dish soap.  Hold your finger over the end of the sprayer and give it a very good shake to dissolve the salt.

That’s it!  The original directions said it works best to spray during the heat of the sun, but I’ve done it at all times during the day and it always works very well.

 

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Another great photo of my fabulous grass. But I wanted to show you just how well this stuff works so that you don’t go outside spraying it willy nilly all around!  See the whitest part right in the center?  That’s what was sprayed!  The weeds – or grass – that get sprayed will lose all their color and then curl up.  So be very, very careful on what you spray.

I’m thrilled this works so well because this version is tons cheaper than Round Up AND is so much better for the environment and my family.  A win/win I’d say!

1 comment:

Scrapbdazzled said...

Great idea! I love this. I've been switching over to natural cleaning products inside the house too. It makes the house smell so fresh and just as clean. In fact, I think where I substituted baking soda, things stay cleaner longer.

Bernie