What can I mix up to use as a weed killer under trees and around my kids play equipment?

Something natural and safe. hopefully without a bunch of salt.

Pickling Vinegar

I've sprayed on the vinegar solution and it will kill everything it hits very quickly. It does NOT kill the roots however.

aggiedent said:

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I've sprayed on the vinegar solution and it will kill everything it hits very quickly. It does NOT kill the roots however.

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If OP wants an organic solution, using something to burn the leaves like pickling vinegar or manual removal are his only two options.

Oral LD 50 for vinegar - 3310 mg/kg.
Dermal LD 50 for vinegar - 1120 mg/kg

Oral LD 50 for Glyphosate (Roundup) - > 5000 mg/kg
Dermal LD 50 for Glyphosate - > 5000 mg/kg


Organic why???

don't want chemical residue.

I manually remove most but I have tons of tiny little sprouts under the trees where we have mulch and it would take forever to pull each little one.

I've heard a 25% vinegar solution works well. Again, won't kill the roots, so you'll need to continue spraying.

JAW3336 said:

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don't want chemical residue.

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Herbicidal soap.

JAW3336 said:

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don't want chemical residue.

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I don't know much about herbicides and such... but isn't vinegar a chemical that's going to leave a residue as well?

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I don't know much about herbicides and such... but isn't vinegar a chemical that's going to leave a residue as well?

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You know very well what the OP is taking about. He doesn't want trace residue of a non-organic chemical around his kids playground equipment. One that has been shown to have some level of carcinogenic properties. No need to question the way he wants to do things around his own house, is there?

No need to question the way he wants to do things, but I think it's fair to tell him he's not likely to achieve the results he's wanting.

aggiedent said:

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Quote:

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I don't know much about herbicides and such... but isn't vinegar a chemical that's going to leave a residue as well?

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You know very well what the OP is taking about. He doesn't want trace residue of a non-organic chemical around his kids playground equipment. One that has been shown to have some level of carcinogenic properties. No need to question the way he wants to do things around his own house, is there?

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Where was it shown to have that? I would bet good money OP's kids drink caffeine on the reg

Seven said:

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aggiedent said:

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Quote:

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I don't know much about herbicides and such... but isn't vinegar a chemical that's going to leave a residue as well?

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You know very well what the OP is taking about. He doesn't want trace residue of a non-organic chemical around his kids playground equipment. One that has been shown to have some level of carcinogenic properties. No need to question the way he wants to do things around his own house, is there?

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Where was it shown to have that? I would bet good money OP's kids drink caffeine on the reg

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I'll take that bet, how much?

actually I think vinegar will give me the exact result I am wanting. I am not looking to kill deep rooted weeds or grass. just tiny seedling that have come up in the mulch.

Good, I hope it does.

Meh, not telling him how to do anything at his own house. Just asking a question.

SunrayAg said:

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Oral LD 50 for vinegar - 3310 mg/kg.
Dermal LD 50 for vinegar - 1120 mg/kg

Oral LD 50 for Glyphosate (Roundup) - > 5000 mg/kg
Dermal LD 50 for Glyphosate - > 5000 mg/kg


Organic why???

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oral LD 50 for water - 6L for 165/lb person.

JAW3336 said:

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SunrayAg said:

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Oral LD 50 for vinegar - 3310 mg/kg.
Dermal LD 50 for vinegar - 1120 mg/kg

Oral LD 50 for Glyphosate (Roundup) - > 5000 mg/kg
Dermal LD 50 for Glyphosate - > 5000 mg/kg


Organic why???

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oral LD 50 for water - 6L for 165/lb person.

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So by a quick calc (which could be wrong), the water's LD 50 would be ~80,000 mg/kg. Not sure that proves your point...

my point is too much of almost anything will kill you.

I doubt anyone would be as quick to drink a 20oz bottle of roundup as they would a 20oz bottle of water.

My point is, there is an unfortunately large percentage of educated adults who do not understand agriculture or science, and mistakenly believe that the word "organic" means "safer" when there is scientific data to prove otherwise...

Are you saying roundup is safer than vinegar?

Based on the LD50 alone RoundUp is 50% less toxic than vinegar

Seven said:

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Based on the LD50 alone RoundUp is 50% less toxic than vinegar

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you didn't directly answer my question. And how about that bet?

To your point earlier everything is toxic at a high enough dosage. All I stated is that RoundUp is 50% less toxic than vinegar. When used properly I would absolutely say RoundUp is safer than vinegar. Doesn't mean I want to drink it because it would taste nasty. I doubt you would want to drink 20 ounces of vinegar either.

RoundUp is also about 4600% less toxic than caffeine. The possible harm done to a child by eating a small chocolate bar from the caffeine or a cup of tea is much higher than a little bit of RoundUp residue they might come in contact with if the pathway is dry after they come back outside to play.

The point I'm making is you don't think twice about giving your kid some chocolate or tea or if you have 3-4 cups of coffee every day. It's a risk you're willing to take. When you break down the numbers 3 cups of coffee is 100x more exposure than the level that has been proven to have a possible long term effect. Where as on the RoundUp, the amount that is actually applied is about 100x less than the minimum exposure limit that shows any possible long term effects.

I don't care what you spray just that you are informed of all the risks and information and you can make the decision yourself and what risks you're comfortable with.

are you a politician? just curious.

This is a solid article from a third party that breaks it down pretty nicely I think. About a 15 minute read.

http://fafdl.org/blog/2017/04/13/glyphosate-vs-caffeine-acute-and-chronic-toxicity-assessments-explained/

Toxicity is but a single way a chemical can harm you. So throwing out LD's is only a small part of a big picture.

Allergenicity is another.

Carcinogenicity is another.

Nope. Just passionate about educating people on relative risks when it comes to chemicals and agriculture. Quality data and debate never hurt anyone. As I said everyone is absolutely free to have their own opinions and I never try to change anyone's mind, I just present the data offer comparisons. You're free to draw your own conclusions from there.

The article I posted actually addresses that

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No need to question the way he wants to do things, but I think it's fair to tell him he's not likely to achieve the results he's wanting.

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And yet, some folks have felt the need to provide him with a scientific lecture.