When I bought my home just outside of Sedona, Arizona, I was thrilled that I had rocks instead of grass. Living in the desert, landscaping that required irrigation was of no interest to me, both environmentally and in terms of the time commitment. No grass! WoooHoo!

Ah, but I didn’t realize how little soil, if seemingly any, weeds need to grow here in this arid climate. It seems they pop up literally overnight! Go away for several days, and the property seems almost overrun with those pesky weeds.

‘NO’ to Roundup or anything else like it

I refuse to use chemicals, and I can tell you that the task of pulling weeds is excruciatingly daunting, to say the least. Well, considering the fact that it is more my partner, Richard, rather than me with whom this task befalls more frequently than not, I suppose I ought not to be whining quite so much.

So, regardless of who is performing the task, it is not sustainable, especially when we moved out here to be outdoors, but we were thinking more like hiking/walking, etc. Well, gardening, too; but that’s different, and another story for another day.

After last summer, we were both dreading the arrival of the weeds this season. And lo and behold, I got to talking to one of the local landscapers, who told me he refuses to use chemicals, not only because of the environment but also because of his own health and wellbeing. He was kind enough to share his recipe with me. Honest, it works! It might take a day or two for the stubborn, sturdy weeds to bow out; but they do and will. Never fails.

• Pour one gallon of white vinegar into a bucket. Everyday 5-percent household white vinegar is fine for this weed killer. Costco trip proved fruitful…under $7 for two one-gallon bottles of white distilled vinegar. You won’t need higher, more expensive concentrations such as 10 or 20 percent. It may take two or three days longer to kill the weeds with the lower concentration, but they will die.
• Add one cup of table salt. Costco again, for the mega-sized bag for under $3. It will last a couple of seasons. Stir the solution with a long-handled spoon until all the salt dissolves completely.
• Stir in 1 tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap. This will act as a surfactant and make the vinegar and salt solution adhere to the weeds more efficiently. Blend thoroughly.
• Funnel the weed killer into a plastic spray bottle. We took the plunge here and actually purchased a pump sprayer that holds the entire gallon mixture and has a handle sprayer. Sure made this job easy to simply walk around the property, aim, and spray. No bending, no pulling, no carpal tunnel pain from pumping the hand-held spray bottles. Well worth the $15 investment.
• Drench the weeds with the solution on a dry, sunny day. Coat all surfaces well with the spray. Any plants soaked with this solution will die within several days. They won’t be back and nothing else will ever grow there.
• Store sprayer in a cool, dark spot indefinitely.
• Depending on where you live and how wet/dry it is, do your walk-about on regular intervals to keep yard weed-free. Here is the Verde Valley since we have not approached the monsoon season yet, once weekly suffices. Once we hit the rainy season; however, I’m sure we’ll need to do it more frequently.
• Don’t forget to admire how lovely your yard looks and remains.