A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Organically Speaking... Organic weed killer recipes...

Now these are all trial and error, some work better than others on certain weeds..but being organic it's worth a try

1. Boiling water~yup that's right..take the kettle outside and drown those weeds.

2. Ammonia~My favorite..pour straight from the bottle on those weeds, works great on my rock pathway. Be careful, its strong smelling.

3. Salt~my grandparent would sprinkle salt straight out of the dish, they'd lightly wet the weeds then salt them.

4. Vinegar~straight from the bottle if it's high acid(over 5%) or mixed 1 qt of vinegar with 1/2 cup salt and sprayed or poured on the weeds...some people also add a spoon or two of dish soap to help it spray better out of a spray bottle.

5 Alcohol~have no clue about this one, but there is a recipe out there somewhere..hoping someone can fill in the blanks for us

I'm not sure about alcohol.
But I will say to be careful of the salt. It is not good for your soil or wanted plants long term.
Vinegar and boiling water work to clear off the tops of plants. If you keep the tops down there is nothing to feed the roots and eventually they will die of too.
Burning the weeds with a propane torch does the same thing. All three of these last take diligence.
Liquid detergent helps other sprays by being sticky and helping things stick to the leaves a little longer and not drip off/dry up so fast. And it will help break down the waxy coating some things have to protect their leaves so the sprays can work. Just a little in a sprayer works.
I use ammonia all of the time for a critter deterrent. Down gopher holes or on mole hills. As long as it is wet and the smell is even faint, animals avoid it. And in the soil it is good for your plants.

I do agree with all of the parts, but would love to add that alcohol won't be the long term strategy, better to avoid using it.

We use vinegar with a good shot of salt and dish soap. Works quite well on interlock, etc.