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burfield05
- Newly Registered
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vinegar on vegetable plants
I accidentally got vinegar on my vegetable plants. I sprayed them down quickly with the hose for a very long time. What is the probability that my plants will die?
If you used cooking vinegar, it might be o.k. it is between 1 and 3% acetic acid. Some people have said vinegar could be used as a bug spray and it can also be used as a non-selective weed killer ( however, the concentration for killing weeds is 10%) It kills by making the soil so acidic most plants cannot grow.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
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- Location: TN/GA 7b
and the fact that you rinsed them off right away suggests to me that they will be fine!! 
Culinary vinegar that you cook with is only mildly herbicidal anyway. If you really want to kill weeds you need to look for horticultural vinegar that is more concentrated.
Question: If the difference is that the culinary vinegar is diluted with more water, would it not work just to let it sit somewhere in an open container and evaporate some water out? Or simmer it on the stove for awhile to drive water out? Would you not then end up with something like horticultural vinegar?
Culinary vinegar that you cook with is only mildly herbicidal anyway. If you really want to kill weeds you need to look for horticultural vinegar that is more concentrated.
Question: If the difference is that the culinary vinegar is diluted with more water, would it not work just to let it sit somewhere in an open container and evaporate some water out? Or simmer it on the stove for awhile to drive water out? Would you not then end up with something like horticultural vinegar?
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CharlieBear
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- Location: Pacific NW
no you will not end up with horticultural vinegar. There will not be enough evaporation of the water to get back to 10% and boiling is a whole other problem from a chemical stand point. You would have to distill it in a closed system at controlled temps and even then you might not get what you want. Also horticultural vinegar is not a easy to use as you might think effectively. You need to soak the area on a day that will be quite hot and not have high humidity or even drizzle for several days. Even then you will only kill some things.