Salt as a weedkiller?

[johnf]

Probably a bit late in the season now, but it occurred to me as I struggled to control the weeds growing through my gravel driveway this summer as I do every summer, that instead of pouring on more and more toxic chemicals or nuke-ing them with a weed-wand (very therapeutic, but only temporary benefits), what about using salt water? Has anyone tried this? and if so, in what sort of concentration? How long did the effects last? Does the salt leach into surrounding areas easily?

 

[oilman]

Glyphosate has less effect on the ground than salt, and if you put salt on, eventually you get salt tolerant weeds.

 

[loublou]

Trouble is you'd need so much salt it would start rotting everything in sight.

I would stick with the wand myself ('therapeutic' is an interesting way to put the real satisfaction that comes from seeing the buggers burn!) and the use of a handy little tool that looks like a hollow dibber on a stick. You rotate it round the big weeds, pushing down, and then lift and the whole root comes out as a unit.

By far the best way to end the life of the really persistant dandelions etc.

Gravel can be a real pain to clear, in time it becomes a great growth medium for seeds. I can see why so many are fooled into using the nasties. Trouble is they are not cheap, never provide any better solution than burning as they need repeating and who does really know what they do in the environment? Anyone who replies with a knowledgable response probably works for monsanto!

 

[djinn]

Viniger works, a gardener said on the radio

 

[blu3tang]

if your interested in salt, call into a aquarium/fish shop.

If they do marine fish, you can buy a big tub of salt (25litres) for anything between £35-£50.

with this amount of salt you could get about (i think ) 1000litres+ of water (at sea salt level) from it.

Or if you know someone who does marine fish, ask them for their waste water! (they could be chucking out 10-25% of the tank water out each week)

 

[timtheenchanter]

only thing about the fish water is that its a great fertiliser, so if you do get salt tolarant weeds, they will thrive, i use my waste fish water (about 20gall a week, freshwater trop) for watering my plants, with good effect