Sunday, June 3, 2012

Organic Herbicide

We have fencing around the area we are starting our orchard in to prevent deer damage. Since it is an electric fence with a solar charger I need to keep grass and weeds from growing up on to it. This year instead of spending a lot of time clipping the weeds once every week or so I am trying something different.The brown streak of dead or dying weeds shown under the fence was caused by spraying it with vinegar. This was regular food grade vinegar with a small amount of common liquid dish soap added. The pic was taken about 48 hours after I had sprayed. There is quack grass, june grass, canary grass, clover, golden rod, ox eye daisies, and plantain along the fence line. The vinegar seems to have knocked them all back. I don't know yet how long this will last but it is a lot easier than clipping under the fence so I'll be using it again. I used one large squirt of dish washing soap in one gallon of vinegar. I applied it with a small pump up type hand sprayer and probably used about a quart total under about 800 feet of fencing. I don't think it will eliminate the weeds entirely but it certainly looks like it will help me control them. I have no idea if this is certified for organic use but it seems like it would be. Maybe you would have to use organic soap in the mix. I think it is a reasonable choice for anyone wanting to eliminate the more toxic chemicals from use on their property.

No comments:

Post a Comment