Using Caustic Soda to Kill plants ?
 

Surely this would be a good way to destroy a plant that it proving
hard to get rid of.
Maybe salt ,sodium chloride is another way instead of using chemical
weed killers.
Would regular doses of salt water kill off a plant ?

Using Caustic Soda to Kill plants ?
 

In article , eddy
writes
Surely this would be a good way to destroy a plant that it proving
hard to get rid of.
Maybe salt ,sodium chloride is another way instead of using chemical
weed killers.

erm ... in what way does a chemical used as a weed killer differ from a
chemical weed killer? ;-)

Would regular doses of salt water kill off a plant ?

Probably.


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/

Using Caustic Soda to Kill plants ?
 

In article ,
Kay Easton wrote:
In article , eddy
writes
Surely this would be a good way to destroy a plant that it proving
hard to get rid of.
Maybe salt ,sodium chloride is another way instead of using chemical
weed killers.

erm ... in what way does a chemical used as a weed killer differ from a
chemical weed killer? ;-)

Quite. But salt, sodium chlorate and even caustic soda are not things
that will cause long-term pollution when used in small quantities.

Would regular doses of salt water kill off a plant ?

Probably.

You might have to use quite a lot on things like asparagus and thrift!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

Using Caustic Soda to Kill plants ?
 

In article , eddy
writes
Surely this would be a good way to destroy a plant that it proving
hard to get rid of.
Maybe salt ,sodium chloride is another way instead of using chemical
weed killers.
Would regular doses of salt water kill off a plant ?

Yes - this has an ancient lineage. The Romans sowed Cathaginian field
with salt (?100BC??)

There are more effective chemicals and methods.

--
cbw

Using Caustic Soda to Kill plants ?
 

eddy wrote:

Surely this would be a good way to destroy a plant that it proving
hard to get rid of.

It's a lousy choice. Caustic soda is an aggressive corrosive chemical
that will take your flesh off.

Sodium chlorate will work a lot better against plants if you don't mind
its persistence.

Cheap industrial ways to make caustic soda have a tendency to cause
mercury pollution. Kitchen sink chemicals are not necessarily enviro
friendly. Glyphosate would probably be less environmentally damaging all
round.

Maybe salt ,sodium chloride is another way instead of using chemical
weed killers.
Would regular doses of salt water kill off a plant ?

If you use enough then yes. But don't expect to grow much there for a
long while afterwards.
(much more effective and persistent in dry countries)

Regards,
Martin Brown

Using Caustic Soda to Kill plants ?
 

In article ,
cbw writes:
| In article , eddy
| writes
| Surely this would be a good way to destroy a plant that it proving
| hard to get rid of.
| Maybe salt ,sodium chloride is another way instead of using chemical
| weed killers.
| Would regular doses of salt water kill off a plant ?
|
| Yes - this has an ancient lineage. The Romans sowed Cathaginian field
| with salt (?100BC??)
|
| There are more effective chemicals and methods.

Sowing fields with salt would not harm ones in the UK for more
than a season. In the near east, there are many places where
the rainfall is never enough to drain into the groundwater, and
there salt accumulates. In the UK, that is not so by a large
margin.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

Using Caustic Soda to Kill plants ?
 

Thus spake (Nick Maclaren)


Sowing fields with salt would not harm ones in the UK for more
than a season. In the near east, there are many places where
the rainfall is never enough to drain into the groundwater, and
there salt accumulates. In the UK, that is not so by a large
margin.

And there was I thinking Cambridge had similar overall rainfall to
Jerusalem...

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

Using Caustic Soda to Kill plants ?
 

In article ,
Helen Deborah Vecht writes:
| Thus spake (Nick Maclaren)
|
| Sowing fields with salt would not harm ones in the UK for more
| than a season. In the near east, there are many places where
| the rainfall is never enough to drain into the groundwater, and
| there salt accumulates. In the UK, that is not so by a large
| margin.
|
| And there was I thinking Cambridge had similar overall rainfall to
| Jerusalem...

See the climate FAQ :-)

Yes, it does, but it has a rather lower evaporation.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679