A keen gardener has shared a nifty recipe for a homemade weed killer that uses just two ingredients – which you probably already have in your cupboard. Michael, known as The Mediterranean Gardener on TikTok, recently showed his followers just how easy it is to rustle up a homemade solution to combat pesky weeds in the garden.
This mix is especially good if you don’t like to use chemical and commercial products in your garden. The recipe itself is from Gardeners World, but Michael claimed that solution “actually works”. This is what you’ll need to do.
For this homemade weed killer, you’ll need two much-loved cleaning ingredients, which are used commonly for homemade solutions. Grab some distilled vinegar and baking soda.
When mixing the concoction, Michael advised to use a ratio of 2:1, two parts vinegar to one part baking soda. The key is to make sure the solution doesn’t bubble over like a volcano.
Make sure to not add too much baking soda at one time, but add slowly, mixing as you go. You want to make sure the solution is clear and not cloudy.
Michael said: “This will create a more effective weed destroyer. Make sure it’s all mixed together and add it to a spray bottle.”
Once in the spray bottle, give the weeds a generous soaking with the solution. The gardening expert explained that this solution is most effective on young weeds.
Vinegar is a potent liquid that can help effectively kill weeds, making them easy to remove. Better Homes & Gardens explained that a vinegar-based solution works best on smaller, annual weeds.
Vinegar can be an effective home remedy due to its acidic nature. It contains acetic acid, which acts as a herbicide.
Acetic acid breaks down the cell walls of the weed, causing them to dry out and eventually die. Vinegar will damage any plant it touches, and it has no residual effect on the soil, so new weeds can still sprout.
Some keen gardeners pointed out that the two ingredients could neutralise the effects of one another. Michael explained in the comments: “If you’re going to say mixing the two neutralises itself (I know lol) read below- This is a Gardeners world recipe who are saying councils are trailing this as a weed killer – the only reason I can think of is this. The outcome of a 1:1 mix would create a neutralised solution. Becoming sodium acetate, Co2 and water. I imagine a 2:1 mix means you’re left with a distilled vinegar, sodium acetate and water mix.
“Sodium acetate has a much lower impact on soil than sodium chloride. It has a minimal impact on soil structure and degrades in the soil quickly. So what you have is a salty, acidic mixture that doesn’t have long term effects on the soil as if you were using vinegar and sodium chloride (edible salt).”