Weed Spray

[jeff88]

I started my backyard last year, but over the winter the weeds took a liking to the yard. The dog loves them, the kid not so much. I put weed cloth down under the swings with some rubber bark, but the weeds ate right through it.

I've used "eco-friendly" sprays, DIY mixes with household supplies, but nothing seems to have worked yet.

Is there a kid/pet friendly spray I can use to kill/detract the weeds? I don't want to use any roundup-style sprays.

[dguzzi]

I use vinegar, its cheap enough to use often. Even use it hot, like after cleaning the coffee maker. Kids might not like the scent ?

[jeff5may]

For places you want things to grow in again, a gallon of cooking/canning vinegar plus a tablespoon of soap (dish soap, laundry soap) does the "kill once" thing okay. Using concentrated vinegar works better, but wear gloves and appropriate PPE! Concentrated vinegar can burn skin and cause blindness.

For the places where you don't want things growing again, use the same formula plus salt ( rock salt, kosher salt, table salt, Epsom salt). Don't use "lawn safe ice melter". As much salt as you can dissolve in the vinegar. If it's hot, it's possible to dissolve 2 cups or more per gallon. After the initial kill off, just sprinkle salt to keep the vegetation from coming back.

With both of these recipes, multiple light applications beat few heavy applications. Beware that salt is water soluble and will travel with the watershed when it rains.

[Daox]

Thanks for the update Jeff. I have a few places where this info will come in handy!