Has your garden, or outside property, been overrun by the annual succulent that is Purslane?
Want to get rid of it? Well, you’ve come to the right place. I’ll be walking you through exactly what you need to do here today.
But can vinegar, the household staple, and favorite, be up for the job? Let’s find out!
So, can vinegar kill Purslane? Vinegar is capable of killing Purslane. However, its effectiveness is heavily dependent on a few factors, such as how mature the Purslane is, its root depth, and finally, how many seeds the guileful weeds have already thrown.
There is certainly a knack for using it and some things to know and consider along the way.
So be sure to keep reading to find out all you need to know.
How To Make A Vinegar-Based Solution To Kill Purslane
Luckily, the vinegar solution you’ll need is an easy one to put together.
In fact, it’s no different from the solution often used to kill other unwelcome weeds and plants. Read on for the ingredient list and method below!
What You Will Need
The required ingredients are as follows:
- Vinegar.
- Salt.
- Dish soap.
- A spray bottle.
How To Make Your Vinegar Purslane Killer
In your spray bottle, combine the vinegar, salt, and a generous squeeze of dish soap.
The quantity that you’ll need is, of course, contingent on how much Purslane you have in your garden.
Proportion-wise, for every gallon of vinegar, use a cup or so of salt.
And there you have it! A completely safe, non-toxic solution, ready to spray away.
How To Safely Use Vinegar To Kill Purslane
Given that the vinegar solution you’ve whipped up is natural and non-toxic, dispensing it in a safe manner is easy with regard to both human and pet health.
However, this is not quite the case for plant life.
Vinegar is known not to discriminate.
Its bias for equality means that it threatens to kill any plant it comes into contact with.
Hence, applying it with accuracy is a big must.
Your best bet is to set the spray bottle to a streamlined spray setting, as opposed to a mist of any sort, and carefully spray the Purslane all over.
Be careful not to allow the spray to come into contact with any of your beloved plants, grass, or even the soil beneath the purslane weeds.
The acidic and salty nature of your solution will effectively dry out the weeds.
How Long Does Vinegar Take To Kill Purslane
Upon application, the vinegar will begin to kill the Purslane within around the 24-hour mark.
It is an all-around, quick, and easy solution!
However, purslane weeds are somewhat renowned for their strong-willed nature, so if you find that they persist, simply repeat the vinegar treatment until they begin to wither and finally die.
Is Vinegar The Best Way To Kill Purslane?
Whilst the vinegar solution is an effective way to kill Purslane, and one that is worry-free by way of its inherent non-toxicity, whether it’s the best to kill Purslane has been long contested.
The reason is purslane weeds are exceptionally stubborn and known for their equally stubborn regrowth.
With precise spraying, which is recommended, you’ll only be able to apply the solution to the superficial components of the plant, such as its foliage.
Failure to reach its roots means that it’s unlikely to die permanently.
Hence, vinegar is a temporary solution and, even then, not an entirely effective one.
That is, it is most likely to have an impact only when the Purslane is young and poses very little threat to more mature weeds.
Other Ways To Kill Purslane
Luckily, alternative solutions do exist! We’ve touched on a few of these below.
By Hand
Sometimes, there’s no better way to get the job done than, quite literally, getting your hands, or gloves, dirty.
Fortunately, a single purslane weed covers a deceptively large area.
Hence it’s likely that you’ll find the task to be much quicker than you initially imagined.
By pulling out the Purslane by hand, you are able to get to its roots.
However, it’s important to remember that Purslane is able to both reroot itself from its stem and even its leaves, as well as throw its own seeds so that it can grow elsewhere.
Hence, be sure to dispose of it diligently by tying it up in a secure bag rather than adding it to the compost pile.
Mulching
The Purslane’s ability to throw seeds is a key reason why it’s so difficult to remove it permanently from one’s garden.
Once you’ve pulled it out of one location, you’ll find it emerging in another! This is where mulching comes in.
And because Purslane is low-growing, you’ll only need a few inches of mulch for the job.
This approach essentially suffocates any remaining purslane and its seeds, preventing its growth and re-emergence.
Herbicides
Weed killers work very much in the same way as vinegar.
They are to be applied to the weed as per the solution’s instructions and typically take effect within a couple of weeks.
However, as with vinegar, this approach fails to address thrown seeds and is unlikely to be an entirely successful solution on its own, particularly if the purslane weeds at hand are mature.
Prevention
As with most things, when it comes to Purslane, prevention trumps intervention!
Rather than waiting for the problematic weeds to emerge when they so wish, why not utilize pre-emergent herbicides, the very job of which is to prevent unwanted seeds from sprouting, full stop.
Such treatments can easily be found in any garden store, and typically, reapplication is only necessary every 3-5 months.
Lastly
Interestingly, Purslane offers a bunch of health benefits. From aiding the prevention of strokes to preventing bone deterioration, it is rife in essential vitamins and nutrients.
In spite of this, at the end of the day, Purslane can certainly be a pesky garden weed you just want to see the back of.
The problem lies in its dominant nature.
It takes no issue in spreading around your garden at the expense of your other plant life.
Plus, it contains soluble calcium oxalates, which pose a danger to dogs.
So, use the methods above if you are sure you want to get rid of them!
How effective is vinegar at protecting your garden? Find out in my following guides:
