Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
A poison hemlock plant before its first dose of boiling water. Remember to always use caution around plants like hemlock as it can cause burns and is toxic.
Beka Compton A poison hemlock plant before its first dose of boiling water. Remember to always use caution around plants like hemlock as it can cause burns and is toxic.
Ray and I are celebrating one year of homeownership with a Vicki-and-Daniel style standoff; it's even garden-related!
Ray works for one of the biggest agriculture-chemical supply companies in the area as a service manager. He knows all the ins and outs of various fertilizers, weed control chemicals, ground sterilizers, and basically anything applied by tractor or plane. It has become second nature for him to try and apply that knowledge at home.
While I understand the need for chemicals when it comes to large-scale wheat production, I try to keep as much of it as possible out of my home garden. That's where the standoff begins. Ray is ready to spray it all while I'm busy boiling plants to death.
Applying boiling-hot water to a plant causes its cell structures to collapse, effectively killing it. Immediate signs of damage include wilted leaves and mushy stems. If you are using boiling water for weed control, plants with long taproots, including buttonweed and dandelions, will require a bit more water to reach the root. Still, it effectively kills the taproot and prevents the plant from coming back. I've even had luck killing poison hemlock with water, something that RoundUp has struggled with in the past.
Since water from the 2020 flood seeped under our backyard, we have been dealing with what we believe is a newly disturbed seed bank. Years of seeds harboring in the soil of our yard were revived by the deep floodwaters giving a healthy crop of weeds everything they need for their next leg of life. As a bonus, boiling water can go as far as sterilizing seeds in the soil preventing new plants from coming up.
Like any weed prevention method, boiling water does have its downsides. It is pretty time-consuming; you must wait for each kettle of water to boil, haul the kettle outside, and carefully apply it to the designated weed. It does, however, help you meet your daily step goal.
You will need to be careful when using boiling water on weeds in the lawn or next to decorative plants, as the water doesn't discriminate and will take out any plant it encounters. It may mean reseeding the yard in little patches, but still, it's a better option than RoundUp in my book.
If you ask me and not Ray, the downsides to using boiling water as weed control far outweigh the risks of spraying chemicals! Happy gardening, everyone!
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