Salt on Soil

AnnMarie wrote: The problem with salt is that it can make your ground sterile for up to 10 years.  I read an article about using salt as a weed killer.  It would be fine in areas you don't want to plant for years.

Myrna Trauntvein sent: Spring is coming and this is the BEST weed spray. I made 3 gallons for around $4.00 last year after seeing a pin. Worked

better than Round Up and killed the weeds/stray grass on first application. One gallon of Apple Cider Vinegar, 1/2 cup

table salt, 1 teaspoon Dawn. Mix and pour into a smaller spray bottle. (you can purchase 3 gallon size Apple Cider Vinegar in

the canning section of a good hardware store--cheap--or the dollar store. White vinegar works also.)

I used white vinegar but be careful with the spray. It did kill the weed but also the grass in a little patch around the weed.


Dad and I tried straight salt on a patch of wild rye a few years ago. It caused them to die back for a few weeks but that was it. We used a whole water conditioner-sized sack of salt. Nothing. When the ancient soldiers used salt to make fields sterile so their enemies could not grow crops, it took wagon-loads of salt to do the trick. I did not look it up on the web.

I have used vinegar alone, without other additives, for years. It is an old pioneer treatment. I think it works just as well without the salt. I have planted where I used this within three days--how long it took the weeds to die. The plants have done very well. In fact, for a few of them, I think vinegar improved growing conditions. Here in Nephi we have already salty soil--alkaline. However, the Garden Counselor thinks that the salt should be left out and that vinegar is bad also. See: http://www.garden-counselor-lawn-care.com/home-made-weed-killer.html. And also: http://www.garden-counselor-lawn-care.com/weed-killer.html.

I think Round-Up is terrible. Dad uses it but I have more trouble with it than with vinegar.

Back to AnnMarie: "Salt is problematic. It will get rid of your weeds, but also anything else nearby. It will hang around, leaving you with long term difficulty when you want to grow desirable plants. You may have heard the term “burned a plant with fertilizer”. That is because regular fertilizer is a salt. Apply it too heavily and plants die. Salt can remain in the soil, even affecting roots from distant plants.

If your desire in wanting to use home made weed killer is because you want natural products, instead of chemicals, don’t use salt as a weed killer. It defeats the effort of trying to develop healthy soil."