cherylad
 Regular Plants Contributor
S. Liberty County - Texas (8B)
Posts: 7731
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| Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 6:36 pm Post subject: Anybody use sugar to kill weeds in flower beds? |
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Dollar weeds are all over my flower beds. They are in the grass too, I might actually break down and get some of that weed & feed for at least the front yard.
But my main concern is the flower beds. I found this online and before I try it, I thought I'd check with you knowledgeable folks first:
"(edited) I say use sugar. 1 pound sugar per 250 sq.ft of lawn and garden... or use 10 pounds sugar per 1000 sq.ft.
throw sugar down in those beds, and all over your yard, and keep pulling them out, but they should start to die out, as soon as the microbes have some time to get the soil richer, and the more they work, to faster those weeds will not come up in your yard anymore.
It takes a couple of years before you stop seeing some of them.
Question
If the sugar kills off the dollar weed, what does it to the day lilies, hydrangia, begonias and other bedding plants?
Answer
It makes them grow, because what the sugar does is nourish beneficial microbes that enrich the soil. enriched soil is what gets rid of the weeds. Weeds thrive in poor soil.
Fertilizers don't enrich the soil, they just feed the vegetation, including the weeds.
when the soil is rich, weeds don't grow.
complete posting is at:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Lawns-725/Dollar-Weed-flower-beds.htm
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Donna S
Virginia
Posts: 1385
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| Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 6:53 pm Post subject: |
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Almost sounds to good to be true. I want to hear more about it also.
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okietriker
Grove, Oklahoma
Posts: 178
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| Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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Bet my ants in the yard would love it! I'd like to know more about it.
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lukeypukey
grimsby uk
Posts: 583
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| Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 6:11 am Post subject: |
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hmmmmm?? bag of sugar 89p . . . bottle of glyphosate £15 . . . .my sister uses salt on her lawn weeds . . . she cuts the foliage off and pours salt on the exposed tap root . . . never tried it myself but she swears by it
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rockhound
Tennessee
Posts: 270
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| Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 9:52 am Post subject: |
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I don't know about the sugar but definately would not use salt except in very limited areas like sidewalk cracks. Salt kills all plants eventually and can take years to wash away. True it might kill a dandelion in a concentrated spot, but it will kill the grass there too. Use salt with extreme caution. Roundup will be broken down before salt.
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carolyn keiper
northern ohio
Posts: 4338
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| Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 11:20 am Post subject: |
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vinegar is a great natural herbicide. spray it directly on the plant, not a broadcast like 2-4-d application, otherwise you will kill everything. I really don't know or have ever heard that sugar is a great herbicide. I think the microbial action works more to support the grass so it chokes out the other plants(aka weeds) in the lawn. good luck and let us know if you try it and how it works or if you think it works at all.
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donna in nc
hudson nc
Posts: 511
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| Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:01 am Post subject: |
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I would think it would just attract ants and bugs let us know how it works as I have no idea what a dollar weed is but thanks for sharing
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cherylad
Regular Plants Contributor
S. Liberty County - Texas (8B)
Posts: 7731
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| Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 1:11 pm Post subject: |
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I was trying to pick out a spot yesterday. Even though it's throughout the grass... my biggest challenge is keeping it from spreading on top of the mulch in the beds and around trees & shrubs. I'll try to make up my mind which area to test on this evening.
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fatbaldguy
SW Ohio
Posts: 318
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| Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 12:15 pm Post subject: |
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Here is just an opinion. Sugar is a good short term boost for soil biota. Once the sugar 'high' wears off, the newly grown biota have nothing to eat and starve. Soil returns to previous condition.
My suggestion, deep core aeration of your lawn. Spread an inch or more of compost over the lawn and rake in. This will give the biota more to feed upon for at least a season. The resultant balanced addition of organic matter to the soil will promote very healthy root systems in your turf which will in turn, choke out weeds.
Perhaps the spreading of sugar after what I've suggested might speed up the process, but I would think in your zone, soil temps and moisture would be enough.
_________________
A weed is any plant growing in an unwanted location. Good soil makes for good plants, start there.
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