An everyday household item can offer a ‘cheap and easy’ way of banishing weeds from your garden when mixed with water, but experts say it should be used sparringly
A household item can help banish weeds from your garden(Image: Getty Images)
With the weather warming up many families will be looking forward to spending time in their garden. But if there’s a sight many won’t want to see its weeds poking through their patio.
But luckily these invasive plants can be kept at bay with a simple household ingredient that costs as little as 30p. According to Andy McLaughlin of RF Paving, salt can be used to help “dry out” the weeds, which eventually kills them.
He however warns that using too much salt can damage paving stones or other paving materials if applied too often. He says that the ideal way to apply salt on your patio is to make a solution.
Andy suggests mixing it up into a diluted spray using a cup of salt to three parts water. This he says will help protect both your paving stones and soil.
Speaking to Martha Stewart, he said: “The frequent use of salt, especially on natural stone, can weaken the structural integrity of the paving, as well as cause discoloration and even erosion.”
Weeds can be a nightmare in the garden(Image: Angela Patrone)
It will be welcome news for gardeners with a 1.5kg bag of cooking salt available for just £1.90 at Tesco. It means that the average 250g cup of salt will cost roughly 30p per spray.
According to Gardeners’ World magazine, salt solutions are a “cheap and easy” way to banish weeds from your garden. It does however warn that salt can alter the pH of your soil, something to factor in before using it.
It reports: “Salt (sodium chloride) can be very harmful to plants if applied in high enough doses, as it dehydrates them. Salt is not good for the garden, however, as it will also kill other plants and will ultimately affect the pH of the soil.
“For this reason, use on paving and paths only and make sure that the solution does not leach into nearby soil. To work as a weedkiller, the salt must be dissolved in water. You can increase the strength of the solution if you need to.”
Table salt can be used to banish weeds(Image: Synergee via Getty Images)
Gardeners’ World says anyone making a salt solution to use as a weedkiller should avoid rock, sea or epsom salts. It suggests using household table salt for your weeds.
Fellow gardening expert Ryan Walts says another household option for a weedkiller is baking soda. He explained that it can be used for killing small weeds in between paving stones and in any crack or crevasses.
He added: “Baking soda works to kill plants due to the salt content in the baking soda. The salt dries out the plant, making it difficult for that plant to uptake moisture, resulting in death.”
He says the baking soda should be applied directly onto the weeds or by mixing it into a solution to spray on weeds. The best time to do this is when the weather conditions are dry and with “minimal wind,” Ryan explained.
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