8 Safe Homemade Weed Killers for Your Vegetable Garden (DIY Remedies)

Weeds are excessive and mostly unnecessary plants that grow without a plantation. Most of the time, when you stop maintaining your garden for a longer period, weeds start to grow there. The growth period of weeds is different for different types of plants but most of the weeds tend to spread faster than you think. Your little negligence can cost you more than you think. You may prepare safe homemade weed killers for your vegetable garden too.

You can use weed killers that may help you deal with weeds for a few to longer periods. You can buy different types of weed killers from the market. You can prepare weed killer at your home too.

Weed killers that you can buy from the market:

The weed killers that you get from the market are a little bit costly. But they are effective. Some mentionable weed killers are-

1. Southern Ag 2,4-D Amine Weed Killer
2. Roundup
3. Spectracide
4. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid
5. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid
6. Bentazon
7. Dicamba
8. Atrazine
9. Pre Emergent herbicide
10. Trifluralin
11. Prodiamine
12. Sulfentrazone
13. Metolachlor
14. Metribuzin
15. Glyphosate
16. Pendimethalin
17. Clopyralid
18. Oryzalin
19. Triclopyr
20. Ortho Weed B Gon Weed Killer

Natural Ways to Kill Weeds in the Vegetable Garden

But using these chemicals can sometimes be harmful to other plants in your garden if you don’t use them carefully. And artificial chemicals are not healthy for your environment too. If you are an environment-concerned person, you may use some safe homemade weed killers for your vegetable garden.

Can I Use Vinegar as a Homemade Weed Killer?

Yes, you can use vinegar as a homemade weed killer and it is also safe for the children. The less you use chemicals, the more it is beneficial to your garden and the environment. You can make a mixture with vinegar and spray it on the area where the weeds are emerging.

Homemade Safe Weed Killer

Vinegar:

Considering the availability, budget, and efficiency, the mixture of vinegar, liquid dish wash, and salt is the best when you consider removing the weeds from your garden without even harming the other plants and without degrading the quality of your soil.

The vinegar is mainly the composition of acetic acid and the mixture of acetic acid and salt acts as a drying agent. When you apply the mixture to your garden, the weeds start drying out, and they die by being dehydrated.

Dish wash:

Dishwash is usually a highly concentrated soap mixture that attracts dirt and oil further kills the germs and removing the oils from our dishes.

Hence it can remove oil and decrease the surface tension. When you apply it in your garden, it reduces the surface tension and increases the penetration capability of the surface of the weed. The mixture can enter the pores and slowly kill the weeds. This homemade weed killer is safe for your garden too.

Our Recommended: Weed Killer with Vinegar and Dawn

To prepare the mixture you have to be careful about the ratio of each item. First, take one gallon of vinegar, add one cup of salt and one tablespoon of dawn dishwashing liquid soap and you are done. The mixture contains vinegar so it will not degrade easily. You can use it for a longer period.

Homemade Weed Killer Without Vinegar

Other than vinegar you can also use affordable items from your kitchen to kill weeds like salt, cornmeal, boiling water, baking soda, clove oil, etc.

1. Salt Mixture

Salt itself is a great source of weed killer. Take a container and fill it two-thirds with soil and one part with water. Then keep the mixture for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, you will see all the salt dissolve in water and you are ready to go.

You can spray the salt water on the weeds and let them sit. After a while, the weeds will start drying out. It also dries out the normal plants. So you have to be conscious while applying it.

2. Boiling Water

Boiling water as a weed killer is the simplest way to remove weeds. You don’t even have to add anything to it. Pouring the hot boiling water into your weed can instantly kill the weeds. Just don’t pour it to any floral plant, otherwise along with weeds, it will die too.

3. Baking Soda

Baking soda is the most common thing to use as a prevention of weeds. You can apply the baking soda to the corner of the walls or the congested areas where there is a tendency to grow weeds. Apply it like powder and let it sit. It will prevent the growth of the weed.

4. Mulch

Mulching can be the best and most affordable option for you if you want to suppress the growth of the weed. Mulching forms a layer on the soil and inhibits the flow of air and sunlight from reaching the soil surface. Hence the weeds under the mulching layer cannot breathe properly and survive without the sunlight. As a result, the weeds die and cannot grow further if you can get the best mulches for your garden.

5. Cornmeal

You can sprinkle cornmeal all over the soil where you want to stop the growth of the weed. The cornmeal will inhibit the roots of some weeds like dandelions, and crabgrass to grow properly and reach out to the soil. As a result, the weeds cannot spread all over your vegetable garden.

6. Clove Oil

People have been using clove oil for years for many health issues. You can treat yourself from many health issues like cough, and cold as it is anti-inflammatory. So it is safe to use in your garden too.

Spraying over the clove oil on the unwanted part of the soil where there is a high chance of weed growth can save you from excessive weed growth. However, it may not work that efficiently for mature weeds. You have to use the oil for the seedlings so that they cannot grow further.

When to Apply Weed Killer

The best time to apply weed killer is during sunny days. The sunlight will increase the process of drying out the weeds. You have to spray the mixture in such a way that the weeds are fully drenched in the mixture. It will enhance the process of drying and kill the weeds quickly.

But while applying the mixture you have to be careful so that other plants stay away from it. Otherwise, the necessary weeds will also be affected by the mixture.

How Long Does It Take to Kill the Weeds?

Natural weeds are safe and not that harmful. So if you want to see the exact result as expected, then you need to apply a few times to see the result. After applying it three to four times, you can see a visible reduction in the weed growth in your vegetable garden. Applying vinegar and dawn liquid weed killer during sunny days can make it more effective to act as a weed killer.

Though it takes a little bit longer to see the visible difference in weed growth, it is worth it to see the change as it is safe for children and the environment.

However, using weed killer on normal plants can harm growth. So you must be careful while applying weed killer be it homemade or chemical weed killer that you bought from the marker.