How to kill weed quick & easy before I put landscape fabric & mulch on top for flower bed? I am late, so I have been digging up as much weed as possible now. Can i put salt or detergent on them? There are a few bushes, flowers, & hosta plant, nothing edible. |
Salt will poison everything not just weeds. |
Do not salt (or detergent WTF?) the earth. As PP said, it will kill everything, probably for a very long time. Also do not use landscape fabric. In 2-3 seasons, it will break down into small plastic pieces, and your weeds will grow on top and through them, now leaving you an even bigger mess to deal with. "Quick and easy" would be using an herbicide. To make sure that you don't kill desirable plants, use a paintbrush, and paint a few leaves on each weed. Pulling them by the root is certainly more work, but safer for you and the environment. |
In ancient times, if you hated your enemy and wanted them to starve for generations, your army salted the earth behind it.
|
I love how people think since salt is all-natural, it’s safe to use for stuff like this. It’s hilarious. People who are terrified of using a safe and proper chemical herbicide will instead poison the earth for years with salt, thinking they’re being green.
JFC, you people are insane. |
Salt sounds good to me.
I live up against a public property that isn’t tended and am very tired of cutting back their invasive vines. I’ve ordered a jug of weed killer, which is not something I’ve ever used or wanted to use but am getting desperate to save my fence. Their trees have grown through my fence and I’d like to prevent further damage. NP who is tired of a public property’s weeds |
Where does the expression “salt of the earth” come from if this is the result? |
Get a bunch of cardboard boxes (easily to get for free on FB marketplace. Lay them on top of the weeds instead of landscape fabric. Wet thoroughly cover with mulch. The cardboard suffocates the weeds but also breaks down into organic material over time. Should last about 2 seasons. |
It says salt of the earth, not salt in the earth. |
It comes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, where he refers to the lay people as Salt of the Earth. I’m not Christian so I don’t know how that’s interpreted. |
Salt was a crucial commodity in antiquity for preserving perishable foods (meat and fish) and for cooking. It was highly sought after and often dug from the ground in places where there were deposits of salt, like dry lake beds. These places were uncommon and were prized natural resources. “Salt of the earth” means essentially “can’t live without”. |
Salt is a terrible idea. Not only will it kill the tree(s), nothing else will ever grow there again for years, possibly decades. It’s frankly absurd that you’re fearful of using an herbicide that has a lifespan of days, but are willing to use another type of poison that will kill anything in that spot for potentially longer than the rest of your life. You’re a whackjob. |
I pull them. Especially after a soaking rain, it goes faster. Even with landscape fabric, some will comeback and grow under the fabric. I also preen. It’s an endless job. You are not alone. |
Plant more (native) perennials so that they crowd out the weeds. Then you only have to keep up for a few weeks and much less since they never get their turn in the sun.
Down with gas station landscaping in yards! Less mulch, more plants. |
Can you post some of these type of plants? Thanks! |