Organic Gardening May 13, 2010

by Dr. Robert Black, Consumer Horticultural Specialist

What do you envision when you hear the term “organic gardening?” Do you think of extremely large and beautiful fruits and vegetables free of pesticide residues and containing an abundance of vitamins and minerals or do you picture insect chewed leaves and fruit marred by worm holes. In an effort to clear up some confusion surrounding organic gardening, I will try to explain some of the concepts of organic gardening. Read more

Killing Weeds with Natural Products April 19, 2010

I know you don’t like weeds, who does? Fighting them might be a challenge, especially if you don’t want to use pesticides and if the weeds have grown so large that pulling them out  turns into a monstrous task. I’ve stumbled upon a few natural ways to fight these garden foes and I would like to share them with you:

1. Boiled water – be careful though, because it kills any living plant, good or bad. It is perfect for weeds that grow in the cracks in the cement on walkways.

2. Rubbing alcohol – mix 2 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol with a quart of water. Spray it on weeds. If they are too stubborn, add 2 more tablespoons of alcohol to the solution.

3. Vinegar – you can use the cheapest one, they all work.  As with the boiling water, be careful not to kill plants you want to keep.  Vinegar is also perfect for the weeds in cement cracks and works great on: Bermuda grass, crabgrass, dandelions, foxtail, and thistle.

4. Baking Soda – effective in killing crabgrass, but will also destroy other plants and grass, so don’t get it close to them.

Tip: By using a knife or a mini shovel, you can increase the chance of getting rid of the seed by helping the salt, vinegar or the boiling water reach the roots of the weeds. If you have sprayed one of your own plants with a weed killer, quickly grab the water hose and rinse the plant thoroughly.  Act as quickly as possible to decrease the damages.  You may have hurt only one or few leaves, but at least the plant will survive.

Before using these weed fighting recipes, check your local weather. Don’t spray weed killers on  windy days, rainy days or extremely hot days for obvious reasons.