Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Fifteen Easy and Affordable All Natural Weed Killer Recipes

Holistic Health Talk


As we discussed last week, using an all natural weed killer recipe to replace the harmful chemicals that are found in products like Roundup, glyphosate, and other synthetic herbicides is essential not only for doing what’s good for the environment, but for protecting your mental, physical and spiritual health as well.

Fortunately, there are many natural options to choose from when trying to eradicate weeds that are not only highly effective, but they are much more affordable than their toxic counterparts. Here are fifteen of them that you can try out.


#1 VINEGAR AND LEMON JUICE


Mix vinegar with concentrated lemon juice.

Use a (1 to 1 ratio.)
Put it in a spray bottle and apply to weeds.
#2 VINEGAR

Bottle of white or cider vinegar.

Pour it directly on the weeds or the ground around them.
Alternatively, you can put it in a spray bottle and spray the weeds.
Use higher acetic concentrations if possible.
When using any of the weed killer recipes that contain vinegar, you’ll need to re-apply it every seven to ten days for awhile. Vinegar doesn’t kill the root, so repeated applications will be needed to drain the weed’s resources and eventually the root will give out and perish as well.

#3 BAKING SODA.


Mix baking soda with water.

Pour it over weeds.
*Weeds won’t come back.

I discovered this worked very well by accident. I washed something in the yard with baking soda and water and a few days later the entire area was barren.


#4 SALT WATER


Boil salt water and pour it over the weeds while still hot.

#5 VINEGAR AND SALT

1 quart of boiling water

5 TBSPS vinegar
2 TBSPS salt
Pour on weeds while still hot.
Can double or triple recipe.
*Supposed to work exceptionally well.

#6 VINEGAR AND DISH SOAP


1 cup vinegar

1/2 cup dish soap
Mix together and apply to weeds.
#7 SALT

1/4 tsp of salt

Sprinkle it around the base of the weeds.
This option has less impact on plants and grass around the weed that you don’t want to kill.

To use on a driveway, then pour more liberal amounts. But, do be aware that if you get rain there could be significant run-off, that may kill grass, etc.


#8 BOILING WATER


Can’t get a more affordable, easy, or natural weed killer than good old plain water.


Just boil the water and pour it on the weeds. But, do be careful not to get it on your plants or grass.

#9 PLASTIC BAGS

Place the plastic bags over the weeds and then anchor them down with big rocks, bricks, or logs.

Remove them in about two weeks and the earth beneath them will be bare, because they have been deprived of air and light.
Also a good away to re-use your plastic bags.

#10 NEWSPAPERS


Newspapers can be used in the same manner as the plastic bags we discussed above. Just place the newspaper over the weeded area and weigh them down with rocks, bricks or logs. This too denies them of light and air. What’s even better about this option is that newspaper is biodegradable.


#11 VODKA


3 TBSP of Vodka

2 cups of Water
Mix the two together in a spray bottle.
Spray it on the weeds and the alcohol will dry it out.

#12 BORAX


5 tsps of borax

1 quart of water
Mix them together and put it in a spray bottle.
Spray on weeds.

#13. FOR POISON IVY


1 quart of vinegar

1/4 tsp of clove and/or cinnamon oil
Mix the two together in a spray bottle.

(Will need to re-apply several times every week or so until it completely dies.)


You can also use a sharp saw to cut the stem in half. The plant will die from the cut upward.


When dealing with poison ivy, be sure to suit up appropriately (covering your hands, eyes, mouth, and nose before removal) and wash your clothes thoroughly afterwards.


The only thing you must watch out for is that most of the natural weed killer recipes presented aboe will kill everything in the area including your grass, so you want to be sure to apply them only to the weed.


#14 MANUAL LABOR


Get out there and pull the weeds with your hands, a rake, a hula ho, shovel, etc. One of the greatest aspects of using manual labor as your natural weed killer is that you can get them at the root, which makes it very effective. Not only that, you get to commune with nature, which is very beneficial for stimulating neurotransmitters in the brain that will boost your mood. You’ll also get some sunshine to help with vitamin D production and it’s a great form of exercise.


#15. ACCEPTANCE


Last but not least, another alternative to killing your weeds is to accept them. Like every other living thing on the planet they have a purpose and fulfill some biological role. Nature does not consider them to be weeds. In many cases, you can simply allow them to exist and live in harmony with them.


Take a close look at them and appreciate what unique qualities and characteristics they contain and admire their ability to thrive. For example, the common dandelion is an exceptionally beautiful flower and adds character to your yard. I read a bumper sticker once that said, “When Did the Dandelion Become Our Enemy,?” and I thought that was profound.


Be sure you don’t put your weeds in your compost pile or they will make their way back into your yard


As you can see, there is really no need to use hazardous chemicals to eradicate weeds. Any of these all natural weed killer recipes will work equally as well, if not better, than synthetic products like Roundup without any of the associated health risks.

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