Killing Weeds-Naturally

Yesterday I did some yard work.  Every day I do a little (it's part of my new initiative to complete tasks in and around the house that I've been meaning to do for a long time, but keep forgetting about i.e., family photo albums, getting rid of the brush pile, pruning shrubs and trees, etc) but yesterday I worked outside for a few hours.  Evan and I pruned a pine, I hacked back a shrub and I weeded. And weeded.  And weeded.  I used to weed every weekend at the other house and I had things under control to the point where it would only take me about 15 minutes to weed all the beds.  I'm sure I'll eventually get to that point at this house, but right now, I'm fighting weeds with some strong roots.  I know I've posted this recipe before, but I'm posting it again, because I love it.  It's easy and cheap and SAFE for pets and kids (and you too!).

These are my two areas that work best for my weed killer.  I'm not going to plant anything here (I'm adding rocks.  They're there now, but arranged horribly) and it's not something I see a lot so I don't realize that it's getting weedy.  Plus, between cracks in sidewalks and driveways are awesome for this since it' kills weeds dead for a long time.  SO, here's the recipe:

Vinegar, dish soap and water.  That's it.  I buy the gallon jugs of vinegar, dump half into a bucket, fill the other half of the jug with water (hot works best) and and equal amount in the bucket and then give each mixture a good squirt of dish soap.  I then dump directly from the jug on the area to be weeded.  I sometimes dump from the bucket or sometimes I pour it back into the jug (I do this over a weedy spot on the driveway to kill two birds with one stone in case I spill).  If I don't have a lot of time I just dump straight vinegar on the weeds too (I used to squirt it on with a spray bottle, but I found it works better to dump.)  There you have it.  3 things you probably have at home right now that will kill weeds in your beds!  Ta Da!  (By the way--this stuff kills everything so don't use it in a flower bed or veggie garden or in your yard!)