Weeds are an unfortunate reality in gardening. Trying to manage them can feel like a daily battle, and that doesn't take into account the manual labor that goes into pulling them by hand.
There are some ways to help control the weeds sprouting in your garden. For instance, you can treat your garden with a pre-emergent herbicide to stop them before they grow, or use a weed killer spray to fight them when they appear.
Your local home and garden store has weed killer sprays, but many of them are full of harmful chemicals. Natural weed killer sprays may be hard to find, but as they have an ingredient list full of understandable items, it's easy to make your own.
Watch this video to learn how to make your own weed spray.
Some natural weed killers use a mix of water, vinegar and dish soap - all items you have in your home, and therefore a simple way to make a cost-effective alternative to store-bought weed killer.
You'll want to use a concentrated vinegar, 30% or 45%, and a fine salt that will dissolve quickly.
Mix one gallon of vinegar concentrate with one cup of fine salt and one tablespoon of dish soap. Then, get to spraying! You can put the mix in a traditional handheld spray bottle - you'll get better results using a bigger sprayer or reusing an old weed killer container. If you have a large area, a power sprayer may be worth the investment. When using it in your garden, avoid spraying it where you have plants or intend to put plants, as the acidic nature of the vinegar can have negative consequences for them.
While the products in this mix aren't harmful, the vinegar is acidic, so avoid contact with skin and eyes.
Whether you're tending to the weeds or the flowers in your garden, there are some tools that every gardener should have:
Remember when pulling weeds to completely remove the roots or they will grow back.