I never thought vinegar was a herbicide, for it is just distilled apple
cider and if it comes from apples then it is good to put on plants. What
gives here? Is it the higher acidity and can it kill a tree?

Question arose as to whether paint-thinner or mineral spirits is a
herbicide and whether pouring it on plants would kill them?

Anyone have experience with these substances poured onto plants and
trees?

Archimedes Plutonium,
whole entire Universe is just one big atom where dots
of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies

Dear Archimedes Plutonium:

"Archimedes Plutonium" wrote in message
...
I never thought vinegar was a herbicide, for it is just distilled apple
cider and if it comes from apples then it is good to put on plants. What
gives here? Is it the higher acidity and can it kill a tree?

pH adjustment is used by trees to fend off "vegetable attack". Citrus
trees do this all the time.

David A. Smith

Archimedes Plutonium wrote:

I never thought vinegar was a herbicide, for it is just distilled apple
cider and if it comes from apples then it is good to put on plants.

On what do you base this logic?

Walnut trees secrete compounds (notably juglone) deadly to many other
plants.

Question arose as to whether paint-thinner or mineral spirits is a
herbicide and whether pouring it on plants would kill them?

What has this to do with vinegar?

Hydrocarbons can be effective plant killers if they are sufficiently
nonvolatile to hang around for awhile. In the past I have used old
crankcase oil to kill weeds in driveway cracks. I suspect it is not
very environmentally friendly though.

Steve Turner

Real address contains worldnet instead of spamnet

In article , Steve Turner wrote:

Hydrocarbons can be effective plant killers if they are sufficiently
nonvolatile to hang around for awhile. In the past I have used old
crankcase oil to kill weeds in driveway cracks. I suspect it is not
very environmentally friendly though.

Indeed. There was a weed killer (name currently escapes me) that was
considered to work much better when mixed with diesel. SOme clever chap left
out the weed killer in one mix ... and he noticed that it still worked
IIRC the weed killer was bloody expensive too

Bruce


--------------------------------------------------------------------
Oook !
NOTE remove the not_ from the address to reply. NO SPAM !

Archimedes Plutonium wrote:

I never thought vinegar was a herbicide, for it is just distilled apple
cider and if it comes from apples then it is good to put on plants. What
gives here? Is it the higher acidity and can it kill a tree?

Question arose as to whether paint-thinner or mineral spirits is a
herbicide and whether pouring it on plants would kill them?

Anyone have experience with these substances poured onto plants and
trees?

Archimedes Plutonium,
whole entire Universe is just one big atom where dots
of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies

Mineral spirits can certainly kill off plants but then just about anything
in quantity can.
There is a dosage limit at which a chemical would be said to have herbicidal
properties just as there are with chemicals and their related human
toxicity. Table salt is not considered poisonous but eat enough and you will
die. Sodium Cyanide on the other extreme has a very low lethal dose. The
same can be said for mineral spirits on plants. Some plants may be very
susceptible while others are not. White Oil used to treat parasites on
citrus trees contains a significant amount of a mineral based oil. They
spray the stuff all over the foliage of citrus trees with very little effect
on the tree. The same concoction on delicate ferns, for example, would
probably be result in considerable damage if not death. The same goes for
vinegar. Some plants are particularly sensitive to pH changes regardless of
the acid applied while others would go on quite happily.
Just a note on paint thinners specifically. Sometimes they contain other
chemicals besides mineral spirits which can be especially toxic to plants
and animals.

High-aromatic solvents such as power kerosine are well known for their
killing abilities, and in the old (before round-up) days we would chemically
trim the lawn outside the factory with this and similar solvents. Knocks
'em dead! Also, a soap solution (Na/K Oleate) can be sprayed on to fruit
trees to kill various bugs and some fungi.. If you have a dank dark gloomy
patio with concrete that grows a green slime/lichen in the winter, then fill
a watering can with 50% ethanol (denatured or otherwise) and sprinkle on to
the dry surface, and the green muck will disappear in about two days. Vodka
works too.






"Archimedes Plutonium" wrote in message
...
I never thought vinegar was a herbicide, for it is just distilled apple
cider and if it comes from apples then it is good to put on plants. What
gives here? Is it the higher acidity and can it kill a tree?

Question arose as to whether paint-thinner or mineral spirits is a
herbicide and whether pouring it on plants would kill them?

Anyone have experience with these substances poured onto plants and
trees?

Archimedes Plutonium,
whole entire Universe is just one big atom where dots
of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies

High-aromatic solvents such as power kerosine are well known for their
killing abilities, and in the old (before round-up) days we would chemically
trim the lawn outside the factory with this and similar solvents. Knocks
'em dead! Also, a soap solution (Na/K Oleate) can be sprayed on to fruit
trees to kill various bugs and some fungi.. If you have a dank dark gloomy
patio with concrete that grows a green slime/lichen in the winter, then fill
a watering can with 50% ethanol (denatured or otherwise) and sprinkle on to
the dry surface, and the green muck will disappear in about two days. Vodka
works too.






"Archimedes Plutonium" wrote in message
...
I never thought vinegar was a herbicide, for it is just distilled apple
cider and if it comes from apples then it is good to put on plants. What
gives here? Is it the higher acidity and can it kill a tree?

Question arose as to whether paint-thinner or mineral spirits is a
herbicide and whether pouring it on plants would kill them?

Anyone have experience with these substances poured onto plants and
trees?

Archimedes Plutonium,
whole entire Universe is just one big atom where dots
of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies

"Peter Jason" wrote in message
...
High-aromatic solvents such as power kerosine are well known for their
killing abilities, and in the old (before round-up) days we would
chemically
trim the lawn outside the factory with this and similar solvents. Knocks
'em dead! Also, a soap solution (Na/K Oleate) can be sprayed on to fruit
trees to kill various bugs and some fungi.. If you have a dank dark
gloomy
patio with concrete that grows a green slime/lichen in the winter, then
fill
a watering can with 50% ethanol (denatured or otherwise) and sprinkle on
to
the dry surface, and the green muck will disappear in about two days.
Vodka
works too.

Let's also go back to using used motor oil and eliminate these nasty
pesticides
Frank

Sure why not?

It didn't work back then and it sure won't work now!!!!

How about doing "slash and burn" and living in grass huts too?


Frank Logullo wrote in message
...

"Peter Jason" wrote in message
...
High-aromatic solvents such as power kerosine are well known for their
killing abilities, and in the old (before round-up) days we would
chemically
trim the lawn outside the factory with this and similar solvents.
Knocks
'em dead! Also, a soap solution (Na/K Oleate) can be sprayed on to
fruit
trees to kill various bugs and some fungi.. If you have a dank dark
gloomy
patio with concrete that grows a green slime/lichen in the winter, then
fill
a watering can with 50% ethanol (denatured or otherwise) and sprinkle on
to
the dry surface, and the green muck will disappear in about two days.
Vodka
works too.

Let's also go back to using used motor oil and eliminate these nasty
pesticides
Frank

Sure why not?

It didn't work back then and it sure won't work now!!!!

How about doing "slash and burn" and living in grass huts too?


Frank Logullo wrote in message
...

"Peter Jason" wrote in message
...
High-aromatic solvents such as power kerosine are well known for their
killing abilities, and in the old (before round-up) days we would
chemically
trim the lawn outside the factory with this and similar solvents.
Knocks
'em dead! Also, a soap solution (Na/K Oleate) can be sprayed on to
fruit
trees to kill various bugs and some fungi.. If you have a dank dark
gloomy
patio with concrete that grows a green slime/lichen in the winter, then
fill
a watering can with 50% ethanol (denatured or otherwise) and sprinkle on
to
the dry surface, and the green muck will disappear in about two days.
Vodka
works too.

Let's also go back to using used motor oil and eliminate these nasty
pesticides
Frank

Yes, we never thought of mixing sump oil with the kero, because it would
reduce the latter's volatility.
I have noticed that the Round-up has trouble killing fleshy weeds, and these
need an extra dose to go down.

"Frank Logullo" wrote in message
...

"Peter Jason" wrote in message
...
High-aromatic solvents such as power kerosine are well known for their
killing abilities, and in the old (before round-up) days we would
chemically
trim the lawn outside the factory with this and similar solvents.
Knocks
'em dead! Also, a soap solution (Na/K Oleate) can be sprayed on to
fruit
trees to kill various bugs and some fungi.. If you have a dank dark
gloomy
patio with concrete that grows a green slime/lichen in the winter, then
fill
a watering can with 50% ethanol (denatured or otherwise) and sprinkle on
to
the dry surface, and the green muck will disappear in about two days.
Vodka
works too.

Let's also go back to using used motor oil and eliminate these nasty
pesticides
Frank

Yes, we never thought of mixing sump oil with the kero, because it would
reduce the latter's volatility.
I have noticed that the Round-up has trouble killing fleshy weeds, and these
need an extra dose to go down.

"Frank Logullo" wrote in message
...

"Peter Jason" wrote in message
...
High-aromatic solvents such as power kerosine are well known for their
killing abilities, and in the old (before round-up) days we would
chemically
trim the lawn outside the factory with this and similar solvents.
Knocks
'em dead! Also, a soap solution (Na/K Oleate) can be sprayed on to
fruit
trees to kill various bugs and some fungi.. If you have a dank dark
gloomy
patio with concrete that grows a green slime/lichen in the winter, then
fill
a watering can with 50% ethanol (denatured or otherwise) and sprinkle on
to
the dry surface, and the green muck will disappear in about two days.
Vodka
works too.

Let's also go back to using used motor oil and eliminate these nasty
pesticides
Frank