Local Supplier of 20% Vinegar?

Okay, my 20% vinegar arrived today. I'll experiment with it at full strength as well as diluted and let you know how it goes.

Be careful -- it is very strong stuff.

Yep - an acid! :~)

It may not be strong enough to burn you badly, but if you're diluting it, remember the old chemistry rhyme... pouring water into acid can make the acid jump around.

Be smart
Like you oughter
Add the acid
To the water

Well, did it work????

Oh, sorry. I've had a heck of a week - car troubles are the latest plague here. I hope to get round to it this weekend and will post as soon as I have news. Sorry.

Calgon, take me away!

Okay, I sprayed the full strength 20% vinegar directly onto a variety of different weeds around noon-time on Saturday. It was a hot, mostly sunny day, with temp's well into the 80's. When I passed through the area a few hours later, I was pleased to see that some of the weeds (mainly clover) were already wilting and appeared to be drying up. When I checked this morning, there wasn't much of a change. Today it was about 90 degrees and somewhat overcast. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.


Update: Mixed results, but in general I am satisfied with the vinegar as a general herbicide. Next time that I apply it, I will likely be more careful to saturate the weeds thoroughly. I will continue to use it full strength because some plants (clover, for example) were only partly effected by it.

This message was edited Jul 21, 2007 1:04 PM

I saved this info ~ may offer some assistance with your stronger solution. I believe I got it from motherearthnews.com...

Vinegar herbicide:
Household strength vinegar ( 5-6 %) Spray on small plants. Established weeds will resprout new leaves but can be sprayed several times. Eventually killing plant. Increase vinegars' ability to spread and stick to leaves by adding 1 Tbsp dish detergent and 2 Tbsp canola oil per gallon of vinegar. Most effective at temps of above 70 degrees. Most effective against grasses. Early in season when warm, spray weekly, then biweekly or monthly as needed.

Oh, DUH, that's a great idea, Podster. Thanks! Next time, I'll throw it in the bottle. Will give update following next experiment.

Please do let us know ~ I have not tried it but thought if I get a round tuit... : ))

I wonder if you could add a bit of spreader-sticker to make the vinegar more effective? I bought a bottle of Turbo Spreader-Sticker concentrate (made by Bionide, I think), and I add it to almost everything that I spray... you dilute the concentrate, and then you add a couple tablespoons of the diluted stuff to your spray bottle, so it lasts a long time!

hmm... never heard of it, but isn't that what the oil is for? I make other home-made garden sprays and they always call for a bit of oil to get stuff to stick. What's in the Turbo stuff?

The Turbo is just a commercial version of the trick of adding a bit of oil and a dash of dish soap... I think it works a little better, and since a bottle of concentrate goes such a long way I went ahead and bought one. Actually, I bought it because my friend Theresa's dad told me to, LOL... He's my local go-to guy for advice on fruit trees and other garden stuff, since he's been growing & gardening here for decades.

Groovy!

Jill -- do you use it on Messenger?

That's a good question. I haven't used Messenger, although I've got a couple of packets to try sometime... I'd check the directions and see what they say about using a spreader-sticker with it. Some products already have an additive that does the trick.

Do you find products usually say if they contain an additive?

Yes. I think it's a bragging-point on the label of one of the new round-up products...

edited to add that you can also check the ingredients list for an oil and/or a detergent, and it may even say what the purpose of the ingredient is...

This message was edited Jul 24, 2007 6:23 PM

Does the add-on in fact make round-up work better? We almost never use it because I try to be mostly organic, but when I resort to round-up I want to get the most bang for my buck.

Al (local garden guru) says that spreader-sticker makes every spray work better. I think that RU PI & Brush Killer has a spreader-sticker in it already, but I add a glug of Turbo when I mix up the concentrate anyway... can't hurt, as long as you're not adding so much that you clog the nozzle of your sprayer.

bump