Simple. Cheap. Effective.
Baking soda works on weeds. Straight out of the box it might do the trick but usually you want to mix a spray. It tackles small intruders in the lawn. It even handles powdery mildew on garden foliage.
Let’s look at how it works. The limitations. The method.
Why it burns them down
Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate. When broken down or used in high enough volumes it acts like salt.
Salt dehydrates plants.
That is the mechanism. It sucks the water right out. You want to kill something permanently? Dehydrate it until it can no longer uptake moisture. Dead stays dead.
Large shrubs are tough. They need more sodium to die. Apply it cautiously if you are just trying to cure mildew on big plants. Don’t wipe them out entirely unless that is the goal.
For mixing a standard solution stick to this ratio.
One tablespoon of baking soda per one cup of water.
How to apply it
Two methods. Pick your poison.
The lazy way is sprinkling it dry. Aim for about a teaspoon per weed. Wet the leaves first so the powder sticks. Dry leaves shake it off. Wet leaves keep the sodium where it belongs.
The better way. Make a spray.
Pouring a liquid lets you target specific leaves. The wind doesn’t blow powder away like it does dry baking soda.
Pick a sunny day. Rain washes the active ingredients off before they work. Useless labor if a shower rolls through an hour later.
The mix recipe for a gallon jug:
- Add 10 tablespoons of baking soda.
- Add one gallon of water.
- Shake hard until it dissolves.
- Pour into a spray bottle.
Other natural options exist
Baking soda is not the only player.
Many other natural weed killers float around the garden world. Vinegar. Corn gluten meal. Physical pulling.
The soil takes a beating with any strong contact herbicide though even DIY ones. Be careful.
Do you really want to create a patch of sterile dirt? Maybe not. But sometimes a weed is a weed and needs to go.
What works best is usually consistency. Or patience.
Depending on the weather.
