Landscapers, Gardeners Prepare for Warmer World

I was a part of a recent radio broadcast discussing preparations for our changing weather on Louisville's Public Radio. You can find the audio archive and written form at this link.

Weed Killers

You have weeds that need killin'. The first question you should investigate is why are they there in the first place? Typically it has to do with the lighting, soil condition or soil nutrition. This link shows you what the weeds can tell you about the conditions in which they are growing. If you can change the condition then it will make it harder for the weeds to come back after the current batch of weeds are destroyed.

So how do you kill the weeds without poisoning the ground for the next thousand years? Well, there are a few alternatives. There are a number of commercial products based on some old, tried and true recipes. One of those is called Burnout. One can make a simple form of this by combining lemon juice, vinegar, clove oil and some sulfates. Another formula is 1 cup of salt, 8 drops of detergent and 1 gallon of vinegar. Heat the vinegar to dissolve the salt, then add the detergent. In either case, using a spray bottle will work as an applicator. Baking soda can suppress emerging weeds but won't work on young plants. Corn gluten can also be a suppressant, but it may add undue amounts of nitrogen to the soil. But some weeds, like dandelions, are easily pulled by hand or with root tools.