A gardening guru has revealed her cheap but quick solution to killing the weeds that may crop up in your garden this spring – and you may have it in the cupboard already
As spring rolls back around, flowers may not be the only thing cropping up in your garden as weed season is back, whether we like it or not. But you may be thankful to know there’s a 65p solution that will banish these pesky plants for good – and you may just have it in your kitchen cupboard.
Believe it or not, the magic product – unveiled by Dr Janine Bowring – is simply one part salt to two parts water. This can be poured into the cracks of patios or driveways to kill off any unwanted greenery.
In a post to her TikTok (@j9naturally), Dr Bowring said: “Kill weeds fast with this… Here’s an easy natural hack that we learned from a friend of ours. And that is to put pool salt on those cracks where you’re seeing those weeds, which again is completely natural.
“It’s not going to be harmful to your pets or to yourself as humans. You’re going to put a little bit of water just to moisten it a little bit and watch it do its magic.
“It’s going to kill those weeds then they’re easier to pull out or, you can use a power washer to remove those weeds. Always avoiding as many of the toxins as we can in our environment and in our homes because that toxic load is making us sick.”
While Dr Bowring recommends pool salt, normal table salt will also do the trick as the main difference between them is usually just the size of the granules.
Her thoughts were echoed by Harry Bodell, a garden expert at PriceYourJob, who explained that salt primarily dehydrates the weeds while preventing them from absorbing the nutrients they need to survive.
He said: “This method works by ultimately dehydrating weeds. Salt interferes with the weed’s ability to absorb essential nutrients such as potassium, magnesium and calcium. The disruption in nutrient uptake weakens the plant’s overall health, causing it to dry out from dehydration and die.
“Once you’ve prepared your salt solution, lightly pour the solution over gaps in between paving slabs on garden paths, specifically concentrating over areas that have weeds currently growing through. It’s important to do this on a particularly dry day so humidity and rain doesn’t wash away the solution.
“Overnight, the solution will work on drying out the plant to the root, making the weed easy to remove the next day.”
Albeit a cheap and quick solution, experts still recommend using salt with caution as it can also harm other plants and wildlife. If you’re worried, digging up weeds by hand is still a trusty and reliable option.
Kendall Marie Platt, a gardening expert at Adventures with Flowers, told The Mirror: “Salt can be used to kill weeds but it damages the soil so badly that nothing else will grow not even plants you want to grow there. It’s much better to dig up weeds by hand.”
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