Have a cup of tea and kill weeds at the same time...

One of my instructors in the Master Gardener program once mentioned that she couldn't understand why a neighbor would spend all day meticulously picking weeds out of their walkway when they could pour boiling water over them. Seeing how I'm stubborn, I've been sticking to the "sit on the ground and pull weeds from the paver" methodology. Occasionally, I use Roundup on the stubborn ones, which causes me a little bit of guilt.

So yesterday, I decided to try the boiling water method -- seeing how it's Earth Day and all. And being the researcher that I am, I documented the experiment. I used my tea kettle to boil the water and then carefully poured the water on the weeds, making sure to cover all the leaves.

Weeds before (lft - oxalis, rt - spotted spurge)

2 minutes after boiling water applied

Weeds 24 hours later

Last thoughts on this method...

It certainly works well enough to be added to my "weed removal tool kit." I will still pull the winter grass because I want to keep the reseeding to a minimum. I'm not sure it'll work on all weeds, it didn't seem to have any effect on the birch seedlings. I'll have to keep trying on different types. I'll definitely use it where I'm concerned about drift from using Roundup. Remember, the hot water will kill any living organism, so it's best used for weeds in pavement cracks and not in a vegetable garden (for instance). And do I have to remind you to wear closed toed shoes while pouring hot water on the ground?!!