Salt kills weeds better than Round-up (any downside???)

[wraptor]

Salt is sodium chloride. Look up chlorides. They are pretty aggressive on everything!

 

[PFSard]

Has anyone tried scorching weeds with a torch (propane?) on a gravel area? Downside to this?

See Tip #6 >> Torch Them

12 Ways To Kill Weeds Naturally
http://ecoscraps.com/2012/12/21/12-ways-to-kill-weeds-naturally/

 

[drivesitfar]

PF: my neighbor torched his weeds in his gravel area a couple weeks before i used my salt. i actually went to HF and bought their torch because research led me there and first time ever in their store. i still haven't opened the box because salt worked so well and there is a drain at the lower level of my driveway that goes in a pipe down to the sound which is salt water that ships travel on to go out in the Pacific.

the neighbors weeds have started to come back and mine are not with one treatment. i'd take back the torch, but i'm going to try it out on the blackberries and cracks in the sidewalks and driveway.

thanks for all the comments guys and wish i would have paid a little more attention in Chemistry. i use a product by Bayer to spray on dandelions and weeds in my lawn that i usually have to do a few times each year.

my wife tried the vinegar dish soap mix years ago and round up worked better. diesel turns weeks black in about a day, but i don't use diesel for anything so it's not around my place.

 

[Pluribus]

Has anyone tried scorching weeds with a torch (propane?) on a gravel area? Downside to this?

See Tip #6 >> Torch Them

12 Ways To Kill Weeds Naturally
http://ecoscraps.com/2012/12/21/12-ways-to-kill-weeds-naturally/

I've done it, and the biggest downside is that it's really slow! It also only burns off what's above ground. In the Pacific NW, lots of stuff regrows from the roots left underground. If you're doing it during a time of high fire danger, then starting a fire that spreads is also a risk. I still do it from time to time on a high traffic pathway to my house, but I'm optimistic the 20% acetic vinegar with a little salt and dish soap will replace it.

 

[CT2012]

True.

But really, how much salt are you guys talking about spreading? 5-10k sq. ft. or just a couple dozen sq. ft. here & there?

I've tried the salt thing in certain areas, and short of a nuclear blast, nothing stops the weeds that sprout in certain areas of my yard.

To anyone considering using salt as a vegetation killer, if you are on well-water, I wouldn't even consider it. The salt will filter down to and contaminate the aquafer.

 

[This2ShallPass]

Ummm. Does it ever rain where you live? Thought about salt getting into the water table? I'm no scientist but I figure all those states that banned salting because it was ruining the water supply must know something... And we need it here in the west....

 

[kbs2244]

Someone mentioned the “Salted earth policy” in history.

I believe that goes back to the Roman/Carthage wars.
Carthage was on the south side on the Mediterranean and a huge exporter of locally grown wheat.
“Dry Land Wheat” like in north Texas.
It doesn’t need much rain as long as it is the right time of year.
It was the foundation of the Carthage economy.
They were a long time competitor to the Romans.

When the Romans won the war they salted the wheat fields to prevent Carthage from ever becoming a power again.

Carthage is now Libya and those wheat fields are the north edge of the Sahara Desert.

Salt works.
Very well and very long.
Just be sure about what now grows, or what you may want to grow, near where you spread it.

As far as messing up wells goes....
Surface spread salt will be cotained in the surface water level.
Unless you have a very shallow well (20 feet) you will be pulling your water from below anything you apply.

 

[AMCguy]

Scorching is another pesticide free way of controlling weeds, especially broad leaved ones like Dandelion. You don't actually burn them, just quickly wave the flame over them. The heat boils the water in the leaves and the cells are destroyed. The plant looks ok at first but the damage has been done.

 

[Elginz]

I get the generic from Tractor Supply, works great and it is cheap.

 

[Tronyadorable]

Salt ? Like here ?

 

[Scotland]

We are talking about salt as table salt or NaCl. Most chemicals are salts and they can be VERY different.

I should have been more discerning. Most herbicides I've seen on the shelfs at the stores contain the word "salt" in the description of their active chemical ingredient besides "inert ingredients" which is code for water and soap. As to the price of knockoff Roundup, this is probably the cheapest out there per ounce: http://www.ruralking.com/drexel-imi...ed-killer-2-5-gallon-jug-w-15-surfactant.html unless your are buying by the drum. For home users it's about 15 cents less per active ingredient ounce than Roundup for the same size.

 

[Scotland]

Scotland: for a new member that was a great post. thanks for sharing and welcome to our group. thank you

Thank you for the welcome mat.

 

[drivesitfar]

Scotland: no problem. i also just noticed you live in an airport i'd fly in and out of any day. if not the top one in the US when i was traveling around chasing a golf ball it's definitely in the top 3 airports. nice community too.

Tron: nice picture and do tell where that deserted beach might be located?

Elginz: so what does 50 pounds cost at a tractor supply store cost. Costco for us city members seemed pretty reasonable for $8 per 25 pounds. thanks for the tip.

 

[redmed]

I get the generic from Tractor Supply, works great and it is cheap.

It also goes on sale twice a year.

 

[wvrailroader]

I wouldn't use salt on a gravel driveway. It WILL make mud. We are not allowed to use it to deice track switches for that reason. I have seen it done in the past and it makes a mess come spring. I would imagine it would do the same thing to a gravel driveway.

 

[drivesitfar]

WV: my gravel area is only 15 x 70 feet and it might be 8 inches thick because i put down 15 yards of 5/8ths minus. doubt any mud will show, but thanks for the heads up.

 

[9C1]

That's where I got the idea from old bible style stories where they salted the earth.

How does that square with the expression: "He's the salt of the earth" which I believe3 is praise.

 

[Elginz]

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/sto...th-surfactant-grass-and-weed-killer-2-1-2-gal

$59.99 2 1/2 gallons coverUp to 630,000 sq. ft.
They do have it in a gallon, the one I get but I don't have the price.

 

[TheEquineFencer]

here's better pricing...


http://www.agrisupply.com/gly-star-plus-glyphosate-herbicide/p/50135/

Gly Star® Plus is a non-selective post emergence herbicide used to destroy over 100 weeds. The active ingredient in Gly Star® Plus is glyphosate. The herbicide also contains 14% surfactant to help the formula cling to the weed foliage. This herbicide works by absorbing into the weed leaves and stems. The herbicide then trans-locates into the root system. Visual effectiveness can be seen within 2 days, but it may take 7 or more days on perennials and woody brush. See product labeling for application and mixing ratio.

 

[drivesitfar]

9C1: i was paying attention in my history classes and wasn't salt pretty much used like gold as a monetary item in some part of the world's history? also isn't it true that without salt in our daily diet we would die?

good talk guys and keep it up

 

[Flange]

Salt ? Like here ?

Mangroves are tolerant of saline conditions.

 

[Goat Driver]

"Where does Salt come from?
Salt is one of the few useful and abundant minerals on earth.

Salt is all around us. Underground and on the earth’s surface in the dried up residues of ancient seas. Some salt has even arrived from outer space in meteors. But our biggest source of salt is in our seas and oceans. With an average of 26 million tonnes per cubic kilometre, sea water offers a seemingly inexhaustible supply which if extracted, would cover the world’s total land mass to a depth of 35 metres.

There are many different types and grades of salt and a number of different methods of production. White salt is produced by evaporating ‘solution-mined’ brine in pressure vessels. The rock salt we use for gritting roads comes from mining ancient deposits. In some countries the natural energy of the sun is used to evaporate brine produced from sea water."
Excerpt reference... http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/About-Salt-Where-does-Salt-come-from.html

Salt is a natural earth mineral...but yet some would rather use man made chemicals instead.....

 

[4xdog]

"Where does Salt come from?
Salt is one of the few useful and abundant minerals on earth.

Salt is all around us. Underground and on the earth’s surface in the dried up residues of ancient seas. Some salt has even arrived from outer space in meteors. But our biggest source of salt is in our seas and oceans. With an average of 26 million tonnes per cubic kilometre, sea water offers a seemingly inexhaustible supply which if extracted, would cover the world’s total land mass to a depth of 35 metres.

There are many different types and grades of salt and a number of different methods of production. White salt is produced by evaporating ‘solution-mined’ brine in pressure vessels. The rock salt we use for gritting roads comes from mining ancient deposits. In some countries the natural energy of the sun is used to evaporate brine produced from sea water."
Excerpt reference... http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/About-Salt-Where-does-Salt-come-from.html

Salt is a natural earth mineral...but yet some would rather use man made chemicals instead.....

This is kinda naive, and factually wrong in some areas. Certainly biased in the first part as marketing hype from a salt company.

There are MANY useful minerals on earth available in abundance. Alumium, copper, stainless steel, some fertilizers, and countless others are derived from minerals on a large scale. Salt (as sodium chloride) is just one of them.

Fresh water is a precious commodity. Growing populations globally are expected to require greater desalination of salt water to meet future needs. Finding a place to put all that waste salt brine is a big challenge. NaCl is a byproduct of a number of industrial processes as well; the same exact material can be synthetic as well as natural.

Nature-made does not automatically make something safe and healthy for any use, and man-made doesn't automatically make something bad. This thread is not a discussion, IMO, about natural vs man-made. It's a discussion about how advisable it is to poison the earth near one's home as a weed-control technique.

 

[Goat Driver]

... This thread is not a discussion, IMO, about natural vs man-made. It's a discussion about how advisable it is to poison the earth near one's home as a weed-control technique.

Salt is a natural occurring mineral, edible, and useful for many things. Salt exist in the sea water which sustains multiple life forms and some of the most rare in the world.
But yet some say it is "poison" to the very earth it comes from...Talk about naive.

 

[Tronyadorable]

Mangroves are tolerant of saline conditions.

Well. Not to go tekky but that thar schtuff B Coccoloba uvifera

 

[Scotland]

9C1: i was paying attention in my history classes and wasn't salt pretty much used like gold as a monetary item in some part of the world's history? also isn't it true that without salt in our daily diet we would die?

good talk guys and keep it up

http://history.stackexchange.com/questions/673/when-and-where-was-salt-as-valuable-as-gold

 

[Scotland]

here's better pricing...


http://www.agrisupply.com/gly-star-plus-glyphosate-herbicide/p/50135/

Gly Star® Plus is a non-selective post emergence herbicide used to destroy over 100 weeds. The active ingredient in Gly Star® Plus is glyphosate. The herbicide also contains 14% surfactant to help the formula cling to the weed foliage. This herbicide works by absorbing into the weed leaves and stems. The herbicide then trans-locates into the root system. Visual effectiveness can be seen within 2 days, but it may take 7 or more days on perennials and woody brush. See product labeling for application and mixing ratio.

http://www.ruralking.com/drexel-imi...ed-killer-2-5-gallon-jug-w-15-surfactant.html
$39.99 before shipping and about $54 shipped to me. Of course I'd never buy this much being that I only mix up a gallon two or three times a year. I'm still using the 16oz bottle of 41% concentrated knockoff I bought 6 or so years ago and I inherited 2 yrs ago a 32oz bottle of the real Roundup concentrate that's 51% concentrate so I'm set for life in regards to Roundup!

 

[4xdog]

Salt is a natural occurring mineral, edible, and useful for many things. Salt exist in the sea water which sustains multiple life forms and some of the most rare in the world.
But yet some say it is "poison" to the very earth it comes from...Talk about naive.

Try replacing the fresh water in your life with salt water and let us know how that works out.

 

[Dan_inthewind]

Yes, my wife also mixes up 1 gal vinegar, 2 cups Epson salt, 1/4 cup dawn dish soap in a gallon sprayer and goes at the weeds on the back patio. Works great and one less thing I have to do.

BINGO! Amazing how his mixture works.

 

[drivesitfar]

Scotland: good read you found about gold vs. salt's worth prior to Roman's rule of most of the world. i'm sure i also saw a TV documentary on one of the information type channels that also said that the value of salt was huge the B.C. days on earth when there wasn't refrigeration.

i'll try to find some more on that while i'm learning some of my old and forgotten Chemistry lessons.

 

[Toxicscrew]

How does that square with the expression: "He's the salt of the earth" which I believe is praise.

I was wondering that myself. Quick bit of googling came up with this:


The salt of the earth

Meaning

Those of great worth and reliability.

Origin

The phrase 'the salt of the earth' derives from the Bible, Matthew 5:13 (King James Version):

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

The positivity towards salt in this phrase conflicts with many other uses of the word salt, which has also been used express negative concepts; for example, in the Middle Ages, salt was spread on land to poison it, as a punishment to landowners who had transgressed against society in some way.

It seems that the 'excellent' meaning in 'the salt of the earth' was coined in reference to the value of salt. This is reflected in other old phrases too, for example, the aristocratic and powerful of the earth were 'above the salt' and valued workers were 'worth their salt'.

'The salt of the earth' was first published in English in Chaucer's Summoner's Tale, circa 1386, although Chaucer undoubtedly took his lead from Latin versions of the Bible:

Ye been the salt of the erthe and the savour.

 

[drivesitfar]

Toxic: great read and thanks for googling

4x: not that i'd drink salt water, but out on a desert with zero water i'd try to find a way to dilute it if that was the only option for days because our bodies need plenty of water and some salt to survive. try going without either and see what happens.

ALL: so if you really don't want anything to grow in a certain spot ever then salting is a good thing? when i put down my new yard i put down a grub killer so the moles wouldn't have any more need for my yard and so far grass is green and one mole that did find his way from my back yard left quickly.


maybe a good coat of salt on the ground prior to putting down road felt and crushed rock if you don't want to put it on top?

 

[Lippyp]

All: interesting comments so far. i'm also thinking of salting the blackberries in an area where i want nothing to grow. not sure if that will work, but round-up only kills them for maybe a season if that.

I've seen vinegar eat a cast iron vise so not surprised that it might kill a few weeds.

I've had pretty good results with generic glyphosate on Brambles, make it nice and strong, add a few drops of dish soap to help the mix cover the leaves well and spray when they are actively growing. I've dealt with some huge patches of brambles over at my holiday home in one spraying and not had any regrowth. A good agricultural supplier will also have it in professional strength versions which are even better.

 

[Kevin54]

My house is surrounded by white pine trees. I have read that salt can kill them.

White pines can gt wind burns, but they also shed their needles twice a year. They also get a disease called "Brown disease". Just for no reason they will start turning brown in the summer and dropping their needles. They are dying.

I had an Arborist out to out house to look at ours. The guy that planted them did it while they were balled and burlapped. He cut the wires, and cut open the burlap, then planted them. We moved in to the house in '93 and started losing a couple of trees a year due to the Brown Disease. We had a double row of trees about 350 feet long down the back and a double row down the side about 250' long. All in all, we had about 300-400 white pines.

We took them all out. Once they get Brown Disease, it can travel from one tree to another. Then once a tree starts to get week, it invites insects to finish them off.

White Pines are bad for Brown Disease. Blue Spruce are terrible for bag worms. Bag Worms are very hard to see until the tree starts to die out. Then you can see where they build a small pine cone shape house out of the pine needles. Spraying doesn't do any good unless you get them before they start building. I don't know the proper name, but I always called them Army Caterpillers as they are camo'd and almost impossible to see.


All in all, we have taken out about 500 evergreens of varying types. We do have a few left, maybe 2 dozen of Douglas Fir and Frazier Fir, and a couple Weeping Spruce. The insect don't seem to bother those as much. Maybe it's because tey are more dense and birds hang out in the trees more, so they may eat more

But as far as white pines....probably one of the worst of the pine trees to plant, next to a Scotch Pine. Scotch Pines, once they start getting some age to them, start to get ****** looking. Plus the Bag Worms like to make a nest in them also.

Now here is a difference between a bag worm and a tent worm.

This is a bag worm. It is made from the parent material from the tree.

This is a tent worm. Completely different:

Very rarely, if any time at all, will you see a tent worm in an evergreen. But if you are driving along and see an evergreen that is half dead, look real close and see if you see tent worms that have hundreds of nest all over the tree.

 

[CNGsaves]

{clip} This is a bag worm.

{clip}

Very rarely, if any time at all, will you see a tent worm in an evergreen. But if you are driving along and see an evergreen that is half dead, look real close and see if you see BAG worms that have hundreds of nest all over the tree.

Think you had a type-O above so I fixed it for you - - - - BAG worms are what attack evergreens and eventually have bags hanging all over the tree and killing it off.

Best cure, is handpick all the bags off and destroy (burn or put in bucket of diesel fuel). Then spray tree with insecticide like Sevin to keep bag worms from coming back. Key is picking ALL the bags off the tree . . . tedious but necessary.

Just did this last summer with evergreen shrubs that were infested with bag worms.

 

[Toxicscrew]

I used to love going around the farm and torching tent worm colonies when I was a kid. Must have been because Mom was okay with me playing with fire for that purpose.

 

[drivesitfar]

All: we call those caterpillars here in the Pacific Northwest. we went from weeds to biblical times now to what's killing the forests. sounds like we are talking about Armageddon and not weeds.

its a good read though.

has anybody used salt to keep grass and weeds off their gravel and fence lines on a regular basis? any pictures and thoughts to share?

thanks

 

[alan camby]

White pines can gt wind burns, but they also shed their needles twice a year. They also get a disease called "Brown disease". Just for no reason they will start turning brown in the summer and dropping their needles. They are dying.

I had an Arborist out to out house to look at ours. The guy that planted them did it while they were balled and burlapped. He cut the wires, and cut open the burlap, then planted them. We moved in to the house in '93 and started losing a couple of trees a year due to the Brown Disease. We had a double row of trees about 350 feet long down the back and a double row down the side about 250' long. All in all, we had about 300-400 white pines.

We took them all out. Once they get Brown Disease, it can travel from one tree to another. Then once a tree starts to get week, it invites insects to finish them off.

White Pines are bad for Brown Disease. Blue Spruce are terrible for bag worms. Bag Worms are very hard to see until the tree starts to die out. Then you can see where they build a small pine cone shape house out of the pine needles. Spraying doesn't do any good unless you get them before they start building. I don't know the proper name, but I always called them Army Caterpillers as they are camo'd and almost impossible to see.


All in all, we have taken out about 500 evergreens of varying types. We do have a few left, maybe 2 dozen of Douglas Fir and Frazier Fir, and a couple Weeping Spruce. The insect don't seem to bother those as much. Maybe it's because tey are more dense and birds hang out in the trees more, so they may eat more

But as far as white pines....probably one of the worst of the pine trees to plant, next to a Scotch Pine. Scotch Pines, once they start getting some age to them, start to get ****** looking. Plus the Bag Worms like to make a nest in them also.

Now here is a difference between a bag worm and a tent worm.

This is a bag worm. It is made from the parent material from the tree.

This is a tent worm. Completely different:

Very rarely, if any time at all, will you see a tent worm in an evergreen. But if you are driving along and see an evergreen that is half dead, look real close and see if you see tent worms that have hundreds of nest all over the tree.

Thanks for all the info. I hope I don't have any problems out of mine. Dad helped me prune mine up about 7 foot from the ground last fall. That is all I have done to them.

They were planted around 1988 and are very tall trees and I enjoy them. I just bought the property Oct of 2013. I have thought about having a pro look at them. Losing them would change the whole look of my property.

Here you can see a few by the road. This is a picture of my water line going in last year.

https://scontent-a-dfw.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10262159_468640859934511_5785414228600178503_n.jpg?oh=a14754b6e4918c05ea21d04629b131de&oe=5526C31C

I also have this picture handy. There are a few cedars mixed in. I think the first tree on the right is a cedar. This was the day we pruned
https://scontent-a-dfw.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10247247_468641283267802_6594924335677254823_n.jpg?oh=e1919630e57836b49c4dc02fd4239104&oe=55627556

 

[drivesitfar]

Alan: nice piece of property you have there. i too hope you don't lose any of those nice trees.

i also like that you never see any weeds underneath cedar trees. anybody know why??

ok guys I've seen some of you with huge gravel parking areas so how do you keep the weeds out and have them looking so good? or are you taking the 5th that only you and your chemist will know for sure?

 

[Bill Ramsey]

http://www.ruralking.com/drexel-imi...ed-killer-2-5-gallon-jug-w-15-surfactant.html
$39.99 before shipping and about $54 shipped to me.

I used to use this product to maintain 5 acres of horse paddocks. Echo what others have said about farm centers being the best pricing; I paid about $40 for a 10 qt jug. Yes at 10 qts it's a lot if all you have is a driveway, but consider splitting the product/cost with some neighbors.