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I switched from using RoundUp to a vinegar/salt/dish soap solution this summer and can't believe how well it works. It seems to be just as effective as RoundUp
by rudedogg 9y ago
I switched from using RoundUp to a vinegar/salt/dish soap solution this summer and can't believe how well it works.
It seems to be just as effective as RoundUp.
- luckydude 9y agoWhat are you putting it on? Does it kill everything or just the subset that you want? What's the mixture ratios? If it worked on scotch broom I'd be forever grateful. Thanks!
- rudedogg 9y agoIt definitely kills grass. I use it for both grass and weeds outside of the lawn. The recipe is from Pinterest of course but it's: 1 gallon white vinegar (the kind we bought is 5% acidity) 1 cup table salt 1 tbsp Dawn dish soap Mix and pour into a spray bottle. I'm not sure about scotch broom - reading says it's more effective on small weeds, but that it kills whatever it contacts. I think the salt is damaging to the soil, so don't spray it if you plan to grow something else. Here's a paper I found with some info: https://extension.umd.edu//sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_docs/programs/ipmnet/Vinegar-AnAlternativeToGlyphosate-UMD-Smith-Fiola-and-Gill.pdf https://extension.umd.edu//sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_do...
- jerf 9y ago"I think the salt is damaging to the soil, so don't spray it if you plan to grow something else." "Salt the Earth" is an established phrase in the English lexicon for a reason. The cancer-causing-ness of this mixture vs. Roundup may be in dispute, but this is certainly going to have a longer term effect than spraying Roundup, especially if you repeatedly apply it in the same place.
- rudedogg 9y agoThanks for the explanation and pointing that out. I wasn't aware until it was mentioned by you and another commenter.
- cname 9y agohttp://weedcontrolfreaks.com/2014/06/salt-vinegar-and-glyphosate/ http://weedcontrolfreaks.com/2014/06/salt-vinegar-and-glypho...
- bazzert 9y agoboth salt and vinegar are more toxic than glyphosphate.
- gedy 9y agoBut, but they are "natural"...
- pc86 9y agoI'll drink a teaspoon of vinegar and salt every day, you drink a teaspoon of glyphosphate every day.
- DannyBee 9y agoIf you are going to drink a teaspoon of pure (not diluted) acetic acid each day, and salt, i'll definitely take the glyphosphate. The acetic acid is going to eat your internal organs.
- arbitrage 9y agoNobody said pure acetic acid. It's diluted to 5%.
- DannyBee 9y agoand if you dilute the glyphosphate to the amount actually used, it's still going to be less toxic than the salt + vinegar. You may not like this, but that's science!
- pc86 9y agoVinegar isn't pure acetic acid so I'm not sure why you're bringing that up. I mean I know why, because then you can argue against a point I didn't make instead of the point I did. A teaspoon of regular vinegar a day is not going to have any lasting effects on your health other than making you despise anything that tastes even remotely like vinegar. Saying "salt + vinegar is more toxic than glyphosphate" is only true if you bastardize the definition of both and willingly forget for a moment that one of the chemicals is specifically designed to kill things.
- adrr 9y agoDepending on the vinegar/soap it may contain alcohol which is known carcinogen where glyphosates are a suspected carcinogen. On toxicity, acetic acid in vinegar is pretty high and associated with things like osteoporosis which has been seen in people who consume apple cider vinegar on a daily basis. Along the same lines LD50 of glyphosates is 10,000mg/kg where acetic acid in vinegar is fatal at 3000mg/kg.
- omginternets 9y agoLD50 and carcinogenesis have very little to do with each other.
- adrr 9y agoBoth are related to mortality.
- omginternets 9y agoYes, and the topic of discussion is most assuredly not: which will make you drop dead while using it. Rather, it's "which will give you cancer through long-term exposure".
- dao- 9y agoI guess you could damage your skin via direct contact if you're not careful and use them a lot, but the alcohol and acetic acid will dissolve in the ground in reasonable time. Using such herbicides should be way less harmful than drinking a glass of wine or cider every now and then, and safer than glyphosate too.
- athenot 9y agoKeep in mind that salt accumulates in the soil. Eventually, if you use too much, you can end up with soil that's too high in salt for plants to trive, and the only option is scoop it all out with an excavator and replace it. Of course, that's the extreme scenario and not super likely unless your concentrations are high. Vinegar is less of an issue if you monitor soil acidity; and you can always compensate with lime (our soils here in the South East are naturally acidic so we often have to ammend them).
- dragonwriter 9y ago> I switched from using RoundUp to a vinegar/salt/dish soap solution this summer and can't believe how well it works. Yeah, salting the Earth is rather well established as a herbicidal practice known for millenia; increasing soil and runoff salinity has rather negative long-term environmental consequences, though (though, I guess, desertification can be a rather dramatic solution to the “plants I don't like grow here” problem.)
- fpgaminer 9y agoHow long does salt last in soil? In the formulas I've read, there's very little salt. It's about a gallon of vinegar, a single squirt of dish soap, and a pour or two of salt.
- dragonwriter 9y ago> How long does salt last in soil? Until it becomes salt in runoff, which is also a problem.