He Uses Salt To Control Weeds

He Uses Salt To Control Weeds CROPS Weed Control Willem Ruitenbeek has been using a money-saving replacement for Roundup for years and says it works great “I dissolve 2 lbs of salt and half a quart of liquid dish soap in about 2 1/2 gal of boiling water ” he says “I spray it on a sunny dry day and it works fine ” Homemade herbicides using vinegar salt and soap are fairly common Ruitenbeek’s was unique in calling only for salt FARM SHOW decided to put his salt spray to the test We started by downsizing his recipe to 1/2 lb of salt 2 1/2 quarts of boiling water and 1/2 cup of soap For a comparison we tried a fairly common vinegar recipe It called for two cups of vinegar one tablespoon of liquid dish soap and one tablespoon of salt Both solutions were applied to young broadleaf and grassy weeds on a sunny 60° day They were also applied to some larger broadleaf weeds In addition the vinegar solution was applied to some stubborn invasive small-leaved broadleaf weeds that we had been unable to kill with a general purpose broadleaf herbicide for lawns In the first 3 or 4 days leaf edges on the broadleaf weeds began to dry and curl Within about 10 days the smaller broadleaf weeds had disappeared completely The larger broadleaf weeds looked stunted but hadn t died completely even after two weeks Additional applications might have controlled them as well The vinegar solution had a faster impact on the broadleaf weeds but it was no more effective than the salt solution Grass blades sprayed with either of the solutions showed yellowing and growth slowed Supplemental applications would likely have finished the job Both solutions were obviously toxic to weeds Ruitenbeek s salt solution was simple and effective The vinegar solution may be a little faster and slightly more effective Both solutions are desiccants not systemics like Roundup While they killed the small newly emerged weeds they appeared to only weaken or set back large established root systems Multiple applications are likely needed to provide permanent control of most larger weeds and grasses Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Willem Ruitenbeek 315 Windham Rd 4 La Salette Ont Canada N0E 1H0 ph 519 446-1839

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