Garden designer Ish has shared his top tips for using white vinegar in the garden – and it seems the 35p household staple could be a gardening game changer
A gardening expert has hailed a bargain kitchen staple as a garden miracle worker. TikTok’s green-fingered sensation Ish has been extolling the virtues of white vinegar, which you can snap up for a mere 35p, reports the Express.
Not just a wonder for cleaning, vinegar is also a top-notch ally against one of gardening ‘s biggest nuisances: weeds. In his video caption, Ish shared: “A simple 35p bottle of white vinegar from your local supermarket can do a lot in your garden – from helping repel pests and weeds to cleaning tools and even freshening your blooms.
“My gardening tips for beginner gardeners will help you use white vinegar safely in your garden to keep the bad away, but your plants happy.”
White vinegar can be whipped up into a nifty homemade weed killer, an excellent option for those shunning harsh chemical concoctions. Ish revealed that all you need are a few common household items.
How to get rid of weeds
You’ll want to grab some salt and washing-up liquid along with your white vinegar. Start with a clean spray bottle.
Chuck in a tablespoon or two of salt and a squirt of washing-up liquid, then top it off with white vinegar. Ish advised spraying the mixture straight onto the weed leaves.
According to Ish, you won’t have to wait long to see the fruits of your labour. So why is white vinegar such a champion at zapping weeds?
It’s down to its acetic acid content, which acts as a herbicide, making those pesky weeds a doddle to pull out.
Acetic acid, found in vinegar, is known to break down the cell walls of weeds, causing them to dehydrate and eventually perish. However, be warned that vinegar will harm any plant it comes into contact with, and since it doesn’t linger in the soil, new weeds can still sprout.
It’s worth noting, though, that not all types of weeds may succumb to vinegar-based solutions. As Better Homes & Gardens previously pointed out, these concoctions are most effective on smaller weeds.
When combined with vinegar, washing-up liquid serves as a surfactant, aiding in weed extermination. It helps the solution adhere to the weed’s leaves, enabling the vinegar and salt to infiltrate and dry out the plant.
Gardening Know How shed light on why salt can be a potent component in a DIY weed killer. It explained that salt dehydrates plants and disrupts the internal water balance of plant cells.
Salt is best utilised for small-scale gardening where it can be easily diluted by rain or watering.
Despite Ish’s endorsement of salt in this weed killer, a word of caution is necessary. Better Homes & Gardens warned that a weed killer solution can accumulate in the soil and damage it to the extent that nothing else will grow there.
So if you’re planning to use salt, ensure you don’t overuse it in the same spots.
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