Weapons of weed destruction

Last week I offered you a number of non-chemical options to try out for removing unwanted grass and weeds from your driveway or wherever. In the meantime, I tried them here at home.

They included everything from various vinegar/soap/salt concoctions to death by boiling water, flames and even just pulling them out by hand.

Well, of course the boiling water works, but it’s labour-intensive. I found the perfect vinegar "napalm" to do the job (I’ll give you that recipe shortly). Hand-plucking is definitely effective, but boring, and how can you go wrong with flames?

I got some great feedback on last week’s column, including this testimonial praising the "scorched earth" technique:

"Hi Laurie: this week’s column really hit home with me as I just got a new toy for dealing with weeds!

"My niece lives on an acreage and told me about the flame-thrower she was using to torch weeds. She said it was so much fun! She uses a 20-pound propane tank and she got the wand at Princess Auto. Her driveway is now weed-free!

"I am a 75-year-old female and can’t carry a 20-pound tank around and didn’t want the hassle of pulling it in a wagon. I found a cane-style flame-thrower at Princess Auto — a small propane canister attaches to the handle so it’s very portable and easy to use!

"She is right, it is fun! I LOVE torching weeds! Try it, you’ll like it! Barb Sutyla."

Thanks Barb — I appreciate the feedback. A cane-style flame-thrower! Who knew?

I even received some entertaining feedback on plucking:

"Hi Laurie: interesting article about your driveway. You said the best way to remove grass permanently is to pull it by hand, but who wants to spend hours and hours out on the driveway scraping our fingers to the bone digging out grass and roots? Well, I have to tell you, Laurie, my wife does it every summer. She does not want me using those chemicals so she religiously removes them by hand! Best regards, Danny C."

You’re a very clever man, Dan. Good work.

I too have found a non-chemical process that works great (the vinegar thing). Your wife might even be willing to try this!

By the way, regular household vinegar is pretty weak, so I’ve substituted it with Allen’s Double Strength Cleaning Vinegar. I found it at Canadian Tire. Here’s the killer mix, which works super fast on weeds, a little slower on grass: One gallon of double-strength vinegar, one cup salt, one tablespoon dish soap. I bought a gallon sprayer at Princess Auto, mixed it well in that, and attacked. It turned everything brown in literally hours. It will be my weed weapon of choice from this point on.

I also mentioned last week I might have a chemical-free solution for stopping growth beneath chain-link fences, so here it is: I cut 2x8-inch planks to fit snuggly in between the posts, preventing any grass or weed growth whatsoever.

I chose an eight-inch width so I can mow without getting too close to the chain link. It also wouldn’t hurt to sink them a bit if you can, to make for guaranteed mower clearance, but I haven’t done so and it still works fine.

At some point I’ll be drilling a couple of holes in each plank and pounding a foot or two of rebar through to really secure them in place. This step probably isn’t necessary, but I’m fussy.

I’m using regular planks I’ve salvaged, but they might even look nice painted. The other option would be the greenish or brownish pressure-treated variety.

For a push mower, 2x6 planks would probably work fine as well. If a board rots in three or four years, scrounge up another and replace it!

I’m thinking, perfect summer job for Laurie! Try some of this stuff and let me know how it works for you. Happy weekend!"

lmustard1948@gmail.com