Weeds can be a real nuisance, but thankfully there is a simple way to get rid of them – and you might not have even realised
Weeds can prove a genuine nightmare, even as summer fades and autumn approaches, but if you’re sick of endlessly yanking them up, there’s a far easier method to eliminate them. Countless gardeners who despise the appearance of weeds frequently turn to chemical treatments, but these can devastate your soil and potentially harm birds and other neighbourhood wildlife.
Natural options, such as vinegar or salt, are commonly suggested by many, but whilst they can prove successful, they only truly function on juvenile weeds, and there’s also the danger of them harming your patio slabs. Rather, Simon Akeroyd, an experienced gardener and writer of more than 30 gardening publications, has disclosed that the answer is genuinely far more straightforward: boiling water from your kettle can rapidly eliminate garden weeds.
Simon recommended: “Boiling water is a solution! Use it to destroy weeds growing up through the cracks in your patio.
“Many of the vinegars and other liquids suggested by many gardeners on social media do not get to the root of the problem.
“Literally. They might destroy the leaves but usually the root below survives and sends up new shoots.”
Whilst vinegar and salt can destroy weed foliage, they frequently fail to penetrate the plant’s root system, meaning it will inevitably regrow unless it’s a fresh, considerably more delicate weed, reports Wales Online.
The concept of utilising boiling water might appear excessively basic, but the intense heat will shock the complete plant into defeat, including the root system, minimising the chance of it regrowing.
All you need to do is fill a kettle to the brim, boil it, and then carry it out into the garden.
However, the biggest hurdle when using boiling water is that there’s a risk of it scalding you.
Before boiling the water, clear a path from the kitchen to the garden.
Then, walk slowly and pour at arm’s length to prevent any water from splashing on you.
It’s also crucial to pour slowly to avoid any splash back on any nearby plants or grass, as the boiling water will damage any plant it comes into contact with.
In a few hours, the weed should start turning brown and drying out.
Hopefully, it kills the weed on the first go, but depending on how deep the weed roots are, you may need to finish it off a second or third time.
However, this is such a swift and simple method that having to do it a few times shouldn’t be a bother, and should completely clean your patio so you can start autumn without worrying about weeding.