The Green Room

Jeannine from Winnipeg, MB writes:

The gnome Suzuki has inspired us to keep our yard as green as possible. However, we have a problem that everyone tells us can only be resolved with Roundup (a chemical weed killer), which is an option we’d rather not consider.

Off the back lane to our property is an area that must have been used at one time as a parking spot, but it hasn’t been put to use since we bought the property. It is covered in crushed limestone and overgrown with weeds: dandelions, quack-grass, common burdock, plantain, and many others we can’t identify.

We’ve tried handpulling, but there are just too many, and because of the limestone, it’s impossible to dig out the dandelion and common burdock roots. Is it crazy to consider getting a machine in to remove the limestone and the roots? Or are there better options for us?

David Suzuki’s Nature Challenge asked Lisa Atkins, President of SOUL (The Society for Organic Urban Land care) to answer this one:

Horticultural vinegar works just as well as Roundup and isn’t toxic to anything but plants. Vinegar is systemic just like Roundup (apply to the leaves, and the plant intakes the liquid into its system), so it needs to be applied to exposed leaves. Also like Roundup, vinegar works best on annual weeds and needs repeated applications for perennial weeds.

Horticultural vinegar is now available to the public. Ironically, until recently, one had to have a license to apply hort vinegar, whereas any homeowner could purchase much more lethal pesticides at the local garden store.