Re: vinegaras a weedkiller

Reeta Roo wrote:
I don't think pouring regular vinegar on your weeds is going to have much effect. The vinegar herbicide that is on the market is 1000 times stronger than vinegar. It kills vegetation by acidifying the soil to the point that nothing will grow. You have to add lime after your weeds are dead to be able to grow anything afterwards.
It depends what you are trying to achieve. I and others have found household vinegar a very adequate controller of annuals and with a little persistsance of perennials like dandelions.(though it may take two or three tries with the latter).

At this dilution the produce does not seem to have any evident effect on a fully organic soil, whixch can eaily cope with that much change in pH apparently. I must say using the highly concentrated acetic acid sounds a doubtful technique to me in an organic context, as its effect on the soil life is so drasitic. It must I think be classed as a soil sterelant rather than a weedkiller and definitely a treatment of very last resort..

We are luckly in NZ to have a locally-produced weedkiller. Interceptor, which has received approval from organic certifiers and which is based on pine oil. It is an effective weedkiller and at the same rapidly biodegradable with little effect on soil life.

Like many such products though it is expensive and I tend to only use it where cheaper methods are ineffective.

Moira

--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm

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