It's spring and the weeds are coming up in the cracks of sidewalks , patio blocks and bricks , and stone sidewalks . There are many ways of killing them including a vast array of chemicals not too good for the environment .

Boiling water is probably the most effective and economical way to be rid of them . I use a kettle each morning to make my coffee or tea . When coffee is over I reheat the water to boiling then walk outside and pour the boiling water on any weeds in the stone path leading to the porch . The next moring I pour the water on more weeds that are still green . In a weeks time the weeds and any seeds that are hiding in the cracks are dead . I then use the Weed Eater to be rid of the brown dead remains .This will usualy last for 6 or more weeks till new seeds find their way back to the " weed garden " .

When I lived in the suburbs folks would comment on my lack of weeds growing in the sidewalk . I would watch folks on their knees digging and pulling out grass and weeds only to be back on their knees a few weeks later . Often I would stop and tell them my method .Of course few folks paid me much mind . Well, I've been doing this for years and it works for me .

Timothy T

Thanks for posting this, Timothy.

I have heard of vinegar for killing weeds, too (by the way, does that really work??)

But I will try the boiling water method, much thriftier than vinegar!

After trying vinegar on my lawn weeds this year, my answer to that is a big, fat SOMETIMES! It depends on the weed. In my experience, dandelions especially are immune to vinegar. My dad's theory is that it's because dandelions can be used as a salad green and people wouldn't use them as such if they wilted away in the presence of salad dressing, which, of course, contains vinegar.

I wish I was more of an authority on weeds, but it seems the ones with the fuzzy leaves were the easiest to kill with the vinegar. I have a theory that it's because the vinegar stuck to the leaves and had a chance to kill them, but with the smooth leaves, it just rolled off. It's worth a try on your weeds.

 What scares me about boiling water is that I'm not the most graceful person in the world. I get nervous just walking the 3 feet from my stove to my sink to drain spaghetti!
 

I have used boiling water for my nasty thistle weeds that like to come up and stick me in the toe.

I use vinegar to kill the ant colonies when I notice one that looks particularly threatening. Otherwise I live in the country and the only weeds I really try to control are the vegetable garden weeds.  

Vinegar works - but not household vinegar, you have to use horticultural vinegar, which is a higher concentration (20% acetic acid compared to 3% in common household vinegar) and therefore much more acidic.  It's a contact poison, but it takes a while to soak in - it works best when it's been dry for a few days.  I put mine in a spray bottle and spray it on weeds around the yard - boiling water works well, but not if you don't want to kill the plants around the weed; vinegar can be aimed, or you can use a rag soaked in vinegar and wipe it on weeds that are really close to, or growing among, grass or other desired plants.

I can attest to the boiling water working.  I used it last year to kill an ant colony.  Not only did the ant colony die, but so did the lawn and the ornamental grass!

Bonnie

I agree that boiling water should be handeled with extreem caution ! I know that it is very effective on plants and plant cells , and it will do much damage on Human skin cells as well . Maybe a half tea-pot of boiling water would be safer . It only takes a little a day . You all try it .

 

Timothy T

Thanks ! I will try to find the 20% vinigar and try using it in the garden myself . When using any poison on plant mater there will usualy be an area of overkill around the treated area . Often even when the roots of one plant touch another as seen with " Round Up " . I use the boiling water for the stone paths  and the base of the concrete steps which would get damaged with repeated uses of weed eating string .The water treatment is done only once every month and 1/2 to two months .

 

Timothy T

Timothy, have you tried the vinegar yet? I have trouble with weeds in the lawn and I don't want to use chemicals on it. Is vinegar a better choice than boiling water?

pcgrandma : I'm sure Vinagar will kill weeds in the lawn . There will also be considerable die-back around the area of treatment . With boiling water , ( if you were considering it ) after the weed died you could remove damaged ( dead ) weed & grass , and easily reseed the area and have grass growing in a few weeks . With Vinigar I would find it highly unlikley that much would grow in that soil but other weeds if anything . The vinigar will drasticly change the PH of the soil making it an unlikely place for healthy grass to grow .

I think digging out dandilions is the best way to get rid of them in the gardens . I use a big shovel and remove as much dirt as possible so as to not disturb the roots . Set aside dirt & roots on plastic or in a bucket or cart . Replace soil with composted soil . The dandilions and soil are taken to the compost pile where the soil is knocked off as much as possible onto a 1 inch wire mesh sifting box . The dirt goes into the compost and the remainder of the plant is dried and eventualy burnt . If you think you didn't get all the roots in the hole , then you could pour boiling water into the hole and when water has drained add fresh soil .

There are good products that kill near all weeds without killing the grass . They are not cheep and I dought if they are safe for the environment . If you have the time to be frugal , then digging and reseeding is the way to go . To keep the birds away from reseeded areas , you can nail a small peice of burlap or apply a light layer of hay , over the area .

Timothy T