August 06th, 2021

As I've mentioned, ad naseum, it is the rainy season here in Florida.  Which, contrary to some beliefs, does not mean that it rains all day every day without a break. No. It means that there is a darned good chance on any given day that there is the possibility of rain.  It could be just a sprinkle.  It could be a passing sun shower resulting in a beautiful rainbow.  It could be a little 15 minute downpour. Or yes, it could be a full day of unremitting rain or no rain at all.  The point is, this time of year we get rain. And sun. And humidity.  Which is the perfect environment for growing things.  And that includes weeds.

This year, we have a bumper crop.  Now I will confess that, unlike most people, weeds in the lawn do not bother me one bit.  And here is why. 1)  Once mowed, it still looks like lawn.  2) some of the weeds/wildflowers have tiny flowers and I think that looks so pretty mixed in with the green lawn and 3) since we have no irrigation system, during the dry season the actual grass struggles mightily but the weeds solider on so there is at least some green year round and hurrah for that.

However, I do not appreciate weeds - even the pretty ones with flowers on them - in my driveway or courtyard.  I think that looks unkempt and negligent.  It gives the house a look of abandonment.   I do not like any of those things.  And so I attack the weeds with vigor and prejudice!

Some weeds can be pulled out with almost no effort at all.  Unfortunately, those weeds are the exception rather than the rule.  Most of the weeds hang on for all they are worth and refuse to budge. Grrrrrr.  Traditionally, in the past, I have done what most people do and resort, eventually, to weed killers.  And honestly, I never gave the ingredients a moment's thought in the past.  But in recent, more enlightened, years, I have searched for alternative methods of battling weeds.

I have tried many non-chemical, environmentally friendly brands over the years and most of them have failed miserably.   One that actually did work a little bit was boiling water.  Copious applications of boiling water. But it's very labor intensive,  water is expensive and me walking around outside with huge pots of boiling water is a disaster in waiting.  Also it's not quite as effective as I would prefer.

Pulling by hand is a lot of work yes, but it's also very hard on my arthritic little  hands.   Because I cannot seem to get a good "grip" on the base of the weed wearing gloves, I have to use bare hands and end up with scratches, cuts, bruises and I will not even mention the state of my nails. I was determined this year to find something better.

Tim found the weed killer in the photo at the top of the page in a local Tractor Supply Store.   I was delighted to see that I could not only pronounce every single ingredient but it read more like the contents of my spice cabinet than what you might expect of a weed killer. Cinnamon, Thyme, Sesame, Clove and Rosemary...things such as that.  I even remember saying to Tim, right there in the store, "This stuff must smell great!".  I vividly remember saying that.   I was wrong. Very Very Wrong.

The good news is that it works.  It works quickly and thoroughly exactly as promised.  There was a sprayer attached that came with the jug-o-death that was very handy as well.

The bad news is that it smelled terrible.  Now I will grant you that those chemical weed killers with unpronounceable names that have more letters than the alphabet also smell bad.  But this was next level bad.  In trying to describe the smell the only word that kept coming to mind was, vomit. Honestly, that's what it smelled like to me.  I expected the fragrance of a bakery and I got a frat bathroom after a kegger.   Gag!

I was only able to complete half of the driveway before I was nearly overcome with the smell and had to quit, remove my shoes and gloves outside, come inside and wash, wash, wash, wash, wash to be rid of the scent.  

The good news is that the smell doesn't linger because when I tentatively stepped back outside I detected none of the fragrance at all.  Thank goodness!  

All I can figure is that it's like with perfumes.  Individually they smell wonderful.  But if you poured them all in a vat together and stirred, it would be an almighty stink.    In this particular case, it is an almighty stench that is Very Effective.  Perhaps the weeds succumb to the smell?

I don't know and I don't care.  It seems to be an environmentally friendlier option that works and one day, very soon, I will go back outside, with a clothes pin on my nose, and finish the job.  Just not today.

Have a great weekend y'all!