Gardening tips: Four homemade hacks to kill garden weeds
The amount of time it takes to rid driveway weeds varies based on the weed removal method being chosen. While some methods, like physically yanking weeds out, yield instant results, the amount of labour they require is high, especially if there are a lot of them. Instead, a gardener has taken to a gardening Facebook page to share a weed removal tip that is easy, “cheap” and effective.
Taking to the Gardening UK group on Facebook, Sandra Connell wrote: “My lovely elderly neighbour has just advised me that putting salt on weeds just before it rains, works a treat at killing driveway weeds (water if not rainy season) and it just takes minutes to work.
“A cheaper alternative to the expensive weed killers out there! I’m gonna give this a go! This hack is for a driveway not for the garden.”
Although killing weeds with salt may seem strange, it is effective when used cautiously. Salt is inexpensive, readily available and dehydrates plants and disrupts the internal water balance of plant cells.
Most gardeners will have salt in the cupboards, if not it can be purchased for as little as 65p at Asda and Sainsbury’s and for 70p at Tesco.
Salt is best used for small-scale gardening where it will be easily diluted by rain or watering, as explained by Denise.
If salt is used on a large scale, it can create soil conditions that are not suitable for growing plants for quite some time.
Posting in the comments section, many group members were all for this weed removal tip.
Mandy Jane wrote: “Yes this is great for driveways and patios. But don’t get the stuff anywhere near your plants.”
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Mary Wridgley said: “I have done this for years. I have a long block paved drive and salt water keeps it weed free.”
Jane Arnold commented: “I do this too, particularly on my patio where weeds like popping up. Be careful though, it will kill anything it touches.”
Lisa Collins wrote: “I only found out about this a couple of months ago. It used to take me hours to de-weed my block paving, now it takes minutes.”
Sue Shepherd said: “Salt. I was at a garden centre last week and they have paving outside with plant displays etc and it was covered in salt.
“I asked what it was and he said granular salt, said they use it to stop weeds in between bricks, tiles etc so no weeds.”
Making a salt weed killer mixture at home is not difficult. Gardeners can add rock or table salt to water until it dissolves.
Make a fairly weak mixture to start with, typically a three to one ratio of water to salt is best.
Gardeners can increase the amount of salt daily until the salt begins to kill all the weeds.
Some experts argue that adding a little bit of washing up liquid and white vinegar helps with weed killing effectiveness.
Essentially it lowers the surface tension of the water, which allows the salt solution to be absorbed by the plant.
Applying salt to weeds must be done extremely carefully to avoid damage to nearby crops and plants.
Use a funnel to direct the salt water to the weeds, this will help keep the solution from splattering.
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