Salt against weeds: mixing ratio & application

The fight against weed garden fans have to take on anew every year. In order to protect the environment, many hobby gardeners consciously refrain from using chemical weed killers and instead resort to supposedly harmless home remedies such as vinegar and salt. When mixed into a mixture, these two substances are applied to the wild growth and should destroy it for as long as possible. However, the use of vinegar and salt is nowhere near as harmless as it appears, and in some cases it is strictly prohibited.

Weeds in hard-to-reach places

It is not the wild growth in flower beds that regularly causes homeowners and hobby gardeners to despair. Rather, it is weed plants such as ground elder and dandelions that sprout from the cracks and on the edges of driveways, sidewalks and terraces. Many of them are difficult to pull out of the ground together with their long roots and grow back within a few days. Anyone who does not trust themselves or is physically unable to do the work of plucking the wild growth by hand is therefore inevitably looking for alternatives.

Make weed killers from salt

In order to push back the stubborn wild plants in joints and cracks, gardening advisors and hobby gardeners recommend repeatedly preparing a mixture of conventional table salt and water. The optimum mixing ratio for the saline solution is often given as 1:10. This means that the saline solution consists of:

• 100 grams of salt
• one liter of cold water

The salt is stirred into the water until it has completely dissolved and then poured into a spray bottle or watering can. Experience has shown that the effect of the agent is stronger if it is applied to the wild growth in the midday sun. Sometimes it is also recommended to add a little washing-up liquid. One liter of this saline solution is sufficient to treat an area of ​​1 to 2 square meters.

Effect of table salt on weeds

Above a certain dosage, the table salt dissolved in water has a lethal effect on plants. The plants absorb the high percentage salt solution like normal rain or irrigation water. As a result, the mixture reaches the flowers, leaves and roots, where it sets in motion the inevitable dying process of the weeds:

• The cells of the plant take up the salt
• give off water at the same time to make room
• as a result, cells shrink and plants die

After a few days, the dried up weeds can be pulled out of the ground.
However, not every wild plant is so easily defeated. With some weeds, such as dandelions, active root residues often remain in the soil. The entire plant can form anew from these residues, which would make it necessary to apply the salt solution again.

Compatibility and Prohibitions

Why salt is not a good alternative

Dousing weeds with a home-made salt solution is neither sustainable nor environmentally friendly and in some cases even forbidden. And for good reason: Apart from the fact that weeds cannot be permanently removed with table salt, its use is not without consequences for the soil and the groundwater, because it:

• accumulates in the soil and changes its pH value
• damages surrounding plants and trees
• gets into the groundwater and contaminates it

For these reasons, according to the municipalities, salt fell under the Plant Protection Act (PflSchG). Strict rules therefore apply to the spreading, which also include your own land. For example, it is not allowed to use a home-made or purchased salt solution to kill weeds on sealed surfaces.

Sealed areas are:

• Driveways
• Entrances
• Footpaths
• Parking spaces
• Terraces

If you weren't put off by the fact that the use of saline solutions for weed removal is prohibited, So far, had to reckon with sensitive fines, which amount to up to 50,000 euros for gross violations could. In most cases, a few hundred euros were demanded from the municipalities if a violation was found in the private sector.

Use on private areas

In a decision from 2017 (Az.: 2 Ss OWi 70/17), the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court issued a fine against a man lifted the weed in his driveway and on the public sidewalk in front of it with a self-mixed salt-vinegar solution fought. After the accused filed an objection to the decision, the district court decided in the first instance to increase the original 100 euros fine to 150 euros.

The Oldenburg OLG that was subsequently called overturned this decision in favor of the man. And that on the grounds that salt and vinegar are foods that do not fall under the Plant Protection Act and are therefore not forbidden as weed killers.

Although the use of salt solutions with or without vinegar would be allowed at least on private property according to the decision of the OLG, you should refrain from using them and the For the sake of the environment resort to more gentle alternatives.

Environmentally friendly alternatives to weed control

The best and most environmentally friendly methods of weed control outside of bedding areas are mechanical. That is, the weeds will manually removed. There are various ways of doing this:

• Pulling out the plants: easiest to do during or after rain
• Tap root cutter: particularly suitable for perennial plants because the root is removed with it
• High-pressure cleaner: can clean the stones at the same time
• Joint scrapers or brushes: for back-friendly and less strenuous work, also available with telescopic rod or electrically

tip: If you don't have a joint scraper, you can also use a simple knife with an appropriately long blade and a broom with hard bristles. This is a little more time-consuming, but serves the same purpose!

Alternatively, weeds can also be removed using heat remove. For smaller or more delicate plants, a little boiling water is sufficient, which you pour over the plants over and over for several days. It is better to tackle stronger or larger plants with a flamethrower (to be borrowed from a hardware store). But be careful: even if the use of fire is permitted, there is a considerable drought by using a weed burner Fire hazard.

Important: Microorganisms that live in the joints have no chance of survival when using boiling water or flames. We therefore recommend that you prefer manual weed removal.