Kill Unwanted Grass Growing In Your Flower Beds With A Natural Solution

No matter what you try, it often feels like grass simply won't stay where you want it. How often have you found tufts growing in flower beds next to roses or dahlias? Grass can be a pain to try to pull out by hand, since its stubbornly strong roots keep it anchored to the soil. Try an easy solution that will save you the effort: Use vinegar to kill unwanted greenery popping up in flower beds.

This household liquid has a ton of uses in the yard from killing insects to even making rusty outdoor furniture look good as new. Vinegar even safely cleans bird baths or even hummingbird feeders. If you pour it straight into the ground, it will lower soil pH or even fight some fungal infections, like powdery mildew. Gardeners often feel good about using it since it's an organic, natural alternative to synthetic chemicals.

Vinegar can be an effective weed killer, too. The acetic acid in it effectively acts as a contact herbicide, killing whatever part of the plant it touches by causing a rapid breakdown of cell membranes, according to Montana State University. Basically, plant cells rupture, fluid inside flows out, and the plant shrivels and dies of severe dehydration. To kill a weed or unwanted grass, you should give it a healthy coating of vinegar. Just make sure to be targeted in your efforts, since this remedy isn't plant specific. It'll damage whatever leaf or flower it touches. 

This strategy might be most effective against younger nuisance plants. It also often doesn't affect roots, so perennial grasses might need more than one application. To best use this acidic compound, choose a concentrated type. Cleaning vinegar is stronger than your typical cooking versions, like distilled white or apple cider vinegar. It contains higher acetic acid levels, about 6% versus the 5% in cooking options.

If you want something even stronger, opt for herbicidal-grade, which boosts up to a 30% concentration of acetic acid. It's so strong, you can use it to unclog showers or even clean grout. Just keep in mind you can't use cleaning or herbicidal vinegars to cook, because neither are food safe and will make you seriously sick. And when handling high acetic acid concentrations, always wear protective gear like gloves and eye protection, because it can burn you and may even cause blindness. So beware.

To tackle unwanted grass, spray it directly on patches you want to kill, just be very careful when doing so. Remember, the liquid doesn't discriminate about which plants it'll attack. If you get it on nearby flowers or shrubs, they'll be burned, too. Pick a dry day for spraying, because rain might rinse it off before it can do the job. You can also try adding salt to your vinegar weed killing mixture to make it extra potent.