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I made this instructable to provide a option for people to move away from damaging chemical herbicide that destroy our environment everyday. This instructable shows how to make 3 natural, cheap, organic, and simple herbicides made from ingredients readily available at home and also CHEAP. This is a instructable entry for the Get In the Garden Contest.
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Signing UpStep 1A Shot of Vinegar
If you are tired of hand pulling of broad-leaved weeds(such as dandelions, Plantains, henbits, and Mulleins). Here is a cheap easy solution to your problem
Ingredients and Supplies:
vinegar
dishwasher liquid(optional)
pump spray bottle
Directions:
1. Fill the spray bottle with vinegar(or mix 3 parts vinegar to one part dishwashing liquid)
2. Spray in narrow stream
3.Rinse sprayer well after done
TIP: Don't get carried away with this method (repeated applications will acidify the soil)
Ingredients and Supplies:
vinegar
dishwasher liquid(optional)
pump spray bottle
Directions:
1. Fill the spray bottle with vinegar(or mix 3 parts vinegar to one part dishwashing liquid)
2. Spray in narrow stream
3.Rinse sprayer well after done
TIP: Don't get carried away with this method (repeated applications will acidify the soil)
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dandelion contains calcium and iron.
so the best thing to do is cut the tops of the plants and leave it to break down into the soil. when you do this, the plant will also shed roots, providing food for worms and soil bacteria etc...
My father likes to over fertilize the dandylions, thereby killing them - this has issues.
As for the worms, I HATE them because they eat my plant roots... especially bulbs, and they are not indigenous to the Native US soil, but brought here by the European settlers. The damage done by soil worms to the native plant population is tremendous, altering the majority of the landscape prior to European settlers (from National Geographic Article on Jamestown, maybe 2 years ago).
If you research worms, and the colonial landscape verses modern times.. oh here is one link, and the following link is the national geographic article.
blog.pennlive.com/americanhistory101/2008/02/jamestown_how_john_rolfe_tobac.html
ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/05/jamestown/charles-mann-text
Obviously, pro-bacteria (we'll call it that, rather than "good") will differ in different regions and soil types, but the basic idea is that under ideal conditions (say, a soil that's rich in nutrients, pH balanced, and fortified with compost, which is rich in pro-bacteria), you will have a bacterial balance that is ideal for proper plant growth and development. You can liken it to the types of pro-bacteria that live in our stomachs and intestinal tracts.
Just as the bacterial ratios in our digestive systems need to be properly balanced (i.e. the pro-bacteria is present in high enough ratios to inhibit the overgrowth of bad, or antagonistic, bacteria), the same is an issue in soil. (Incidentally, this is the number one reason it is recommended that if you are POTTING a new plantling, you sterilize the soil first. Where the soil in the ground can, over a longer period of time, regain a homeostatic balance of bacteria, a potted plant cannot, and thus the chances of the plant succumbing to a bacterial, fungal or viral infection are much great).
At any rate, just as taking antibiotics can throw off the balance of pro-bacteria in the digestive tract, overuse of alcohol or another antibacterial agent can (theoretically) do the same in your soil.
The problem with over-fertilization (primarily a bi-product of overly-aggressive lawn care) is that some bad bacterias and fungi thrive when introduced to some types of chemical fertilizers used for lawns. Specifically, it is often the run-off after rain that introduces these fertilizer into beds where they then can throw off the balance of bacteria in the soil. This will then impact the viability of the plant, thus also making it more susceptible to viral infection as well.
If you have any questions about the quality of your soil as it pertains to bacterial/fungal content, there are home test-kits available at many garden centers. Most of the time, though, they aren't really necessary unless you are having problems with: 1) run off from a lawn that is aggressively fertilized, or 2) having viability issues with plants in a bed where the soil and drainage seems otherwise healthy. Usually, most problems with plant viability have more to do with incorrect watering, pH, placing plants in incorrect sun for the species, or improper drainage. Anyhow, hope this helped. :-)