7/4/2018 0 Comments Natural Weed Killer
I don't need to go on about the evils of commercial weed killer... I am more of a DIY type so once I heard I could make my own weed killer that was safe for my pets to roam around in, I was on board. Unfortunately that is much easier said than done. After years of experimentation, here's what works for me.
I got a 2 gallon plastic tank sprayer from Lowe's (Husqvarna brand) and went to it. Now the sprayer is important, this one is steady and has worked for years but you have to wash it out when finished to get a longer life out of it. I broke one from keeping the mixture stored in there over winter. Eventually the mix just broke the thing down and it would not spray. I will leave it in for a week or so but as soon as I've used up the mix I rinse it out with water and leave it apart to dry. I tried several cheaper ones but they do not spray well and end up breaking on me. Below is a link to an amazon one that has since come available after I gave up on them; but it looks just like my Husqvarna one from Lowe's. On amazon I did find a steady supply of the ingredients so I keep them on hand so I'm ready to weed (see product information below). I mix this and apply once a week when it looks like no rain is around for a few days. I get 20% strength vinegar by the gallon and pour about half the gallon into my sprayer. To that I mix orange oil, about 1/8 of the bottle; it's not measured or scientific. I close up my sprayer, pump a few times and spray away. It will take a couple of days for the weeds to shrivel up and die. Some larger weeds will need a few sprays. I keep up weekly and weeds stay under control. Yes, the vinegar smells but much better than the commercial options.
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5/30/2012 0 Comments Pallet GardenPallet taken from neighbor Jim's driveway just waiting to be turned into a pallet garden! Last year I read about turning a pallet into a home for plants on one of my favorite blogs, Life on the Balcony. Fern made a beautiful gardern out of a pallet standing on it's side. I really wanted to try this but had no idea where to get a pallet so I kind of forgot about the idea. A few weeks after I forgot about these plans my next door neighbor had one in his driveway leaning against his garage! What luck, it was all worn in and busted, just how I like my gardening finds. He was quite happy to have me take it. I was so excited to read the instructions but quickly realized I had no place to lean this thing up to have it standing. I still wanted to give it a try so I laid it down in my driveway and found a place in the corner where it would look good. Since then I found some pieces of an interesting broken up old concrete sidewalk from my yard and laid them next to it (I just realized I don't have a photo of it yet, so I'll get on that soon!). I filled it with a random splattering of annuals. This year I threw seeds in it along with some moss roses and more random annuals (photos to come; these show last year's attempt). Overall, I was happy with the pallet. I thought about growing food in there but was worried about where that wood has been and what chemicals are in there (I have no idea where neighbor Jim got this thing!). For me another home for flowers is definately a good thing! |
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July 2018
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