Watering: [Cultural
Control]
There are a few weeds
that can be killed by watering them. There are also weeds that
thrive
when watered. So, the best way to get rid of weeds using water is
to pour boiling water
on the plants, this
treatment only works well for small areas like gardens.
Boiling water will kill any plant growth it touches.
It is
very simple to use. It is very good at killing annual
weeds and it can control and/or kill perennial weeds.
To do this you
simply boil a kettle of water,
grab the handle using a pot
holder and bring it out to your garden. Once you take the kettle off
the stove it's water temperature will drop a few degrees and cease to
boil in the time it takes you to get out to the garden, but the water
will still be extremely hot and will kill the weed growth by scalding
it.
To keep yourself from getting burned use a pot holder or hotmitt
to hold the kettle handle to prevent
burning your hand from the kettle's heat. Slowly and carefully pour the
stream of water onto the
crown of the weed plant. You can make this easier and more effective by
cutting off the top growth of the plant before you dowse it with the
kettle water. Pour the water from a low height of just a few inches
above the plant crown to avoid any splashing.
(1)
Sometimes plants with long taproots (such as
dandelion) may
resprout from the lower root area if it has not been scalded. In a lawn
you can remove the top growth and dig a hole above the root....manually
remove some of the root if possible. Pour the kettle water into the
hole and it will seep down and kill whatever sections of the weed root
it can reach. Refill the hole with soil and sow some grass seed right
away so there is no bare spot where airborne weed seeds can take hold.
(2)
If a weed resprouts in a sidewalk crack or
driveway repeat
the boiling water treatment. Each time the weed resprouts the growth
will be smaller and weaker and the most stubborn perennial weeds will
eventually die, usually after two or three treatments.
Boiling water will kill whatever biota it touches, however,
because the stream of kettle water is carefully and slowly poured onto
a small area this effect is reduced. New biota will quickly return to
the area within a few days. (1)
Citations
1) Trudi D. Garden Web. No Edit Date. <
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/weeds/2002105058024260.html>.
2) Melissa W
. The Dollar Stretcher, Inc. No Edit
Date. <
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/990503b.cfm>.
By
B.G., 3/2007.
mtwow.org HOME
Back