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Dept. of Odd Gardening Tips: Weeding with Vinegar

2007_06_06_clover.jpgHas anyone heard of weeding with vinegar?

In yet another instance of its multi-use household glory, a friend of ours swears by a strong, high acid pickling vinegar to kill her clover.

She buys the stuff in Asian markets because the salad vinegar sold at most stores is too weak, only about 5% acid.

 
 

We wonder how you would avoid killing your flowers and plants as you poured this potion into the soil, but since we do not currently have a yard and our green thumb is a little out of joint, we thought we'd put this method out there and see if anyone else can vouch for it.

Image: lawatha

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Comments (7)

I've actually tried this, with regular store brand vinegar. It took a couple of days, but it did get rid of a few weeds. Some it didn't seem to affect too much. I used it in the cracks in the sidewalk and the asphalt in my parking area.

posted by oceandreamer56 on 2007-06-06 16:29:07
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Why would anyone want to kill clover?

It's green, looks nice and fluffy, it pleasant to walk on and best of all "don't ever need to cut it, it just stops by itself".

The flowers feed bees.

In fact if you want to abandon grass altogether, you can plant a herb and wildflower lawn. Helps you stand out in your dreary conformist, suburban street.

However I will try vinegar on the bindis and ficus vine (which would probably survive a nuclear strike.)

posted by Deb of Oz on 2007-06-06 20:54:14
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I have an itty bitty yard, so weeding isn't too arduous. Just thought I'd build on Deb's point-- clover also fixes nitrogen in the ground (I think). I don't know where that leaves you in the clover-is-good or clover-is-bad debate, but I don't worry myself over it when I see it in the yard.

posted by vera in dc on 2007-06-06 21:32:42
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Apparently even household vinegar will kill weeds without harm to some other plants. USDA and some universities have conducted research on its effectiveness. If you use vinegar as a herbicide, take safety precautions as vinegar above the household 5% concentration will burn skin and eyes.

Here are some articles:

http://ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2002/020515.htm

www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/vinegar.html

posted by John H on 2007-06-07 11:25:11
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I wouldn't ever want to get rid of clover either - I think it's a great ground cover.

I'll try this on my dandelions though (they're a BIG PROBLEM for me!), but I'm skeptical anything can kill those buggers!

posted by Kuri on 2007-06-07 13:36:50
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Yes it works, especially on weaker weeds (dandelions require multiple doses). However, because of the high acidity of vinegar, it's very bad for your soil. You only want to use this technique on pathways or areas with bark/wood chips.

A better and more soil-healthy technique is to collect leftover (and often free) burlap bags from your local coffee shop, place those on the ground, and cover them up with dirt or wood chips. After four or five years, the burlap will destroy any of the especially noxious weed roots (i.e. dandelions) and deteriorate back into the soil. Of course, you'll still have to do light surface weeding above the burlap.

Finally, I also agree that I wouldn't want to eradicate clover. It's a nitrogen-fixing plant and actually replenishes nutrients in your soil, unlike grass and other common weeds.

posted by Mikania on 2007-06-07 16:31:44
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Burr clover is terrible. The burrs make a walk on your lawn extremely unpleasant. I've had some success w/vinegar; I've also used boiling water which just fries the weeds but doesn't really harm anything else.

posted by ebrown on 2007-06-08 01:55:12
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