Gardening expert on how to keep your garden free of weeds
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Weeds can ruin the look of a garden and driveway, and can be extremely hard to get rid of. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, a gardening expert has shared top tips on banishing them from cracks in the driveway and patios. Gena Lorainne, gardening expert at Fantastic Services, recommended using boiling water as well as vinegar.
1. Boiling water
The expert explained: “Boiling water is a very aggressive and quite effective method to get rid of weeds from hard-to-reach places.
“This is simply because the hot water can destroy practically every plant, no matter how tough and meaty its leaves are.
“This is why this solution is never used around regular plants because it would kill them in an instant too.
“Using boiling water to kill weeds is quite easy – you just need to boil some water and pour it on the patio while aiming for the cracks where the weeds live.”
The weeds should turn yellow and will “look dead within minutes”, according to the pro. They shouldn’t come out for some time after using boiling water.
2. Vinegar
White vinegar contains acetic acid, which makes it the perfect cleaner because it can remove all kinds of stains.
When it comes to using white vinegar in the garden, gardeners should use it with extreme caution as it can instantly destroy plants outside.
Gena explained: “But it’s perfect to keep your driveway or patio clean from weeds because we usually don’t grow any useful plants there.
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“To treat the patio weeds with vinegar, you must dilute it with water. The best possible proportion here is one part vinegar and two parts water.
“Then just pour it over the cracks, aiming for the middle sections of the weeds. The vinegar, combined with the sun, will dry them out for an hour or so.”
According to the pro, this is one of the most “efficient” methods to remove weeds and grass from a paved patio.
3. Vodka
The gardening pro continued: “Vodka can kill practically everything, including your liver. This is why it’s perfect for keeping your patio clean from weeds, especially if the patio is exposed to the sun.”
The mixture gardeners need to prepare includes 30ml of vodka, two cups of water as well as a few drops of washing up liquid.
For a more effective result, combine the ingredients into a spray bottle and shake them before spraying all of the weeds and cracks.
Gena noted: “Then just leave them be, and the sun will do the rest. The only way this solution won’t work is if the place you spray it around has no exposure to the sun because the vodka may dehydrate the plant, but the sun is the one which dries them.”
4. Baking soda
Baking soda is a very good cleaner but it also has the ability to “kill” every plant which is near it, including horrible weeds.
This makes it a great weed killer for paved patios as it won’t destroy anything nearby, unless there are plants.
The gardening expert advised: “All you need to do is to sprinkle the baking soda on the patio and just sweep it into the cracks.
“The sodium, which is contained in the baking soda, will make sure that the atmosphere there is very unpleasant for all the weeds.”
Baking soda should kill off the weeds very quickly, but it can also be reapplied until the desired effect is achieved.
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