Q: My mother is an organic gardener in Texas, and she told me to use twenty percent vinegar to kill weeds, Virginia creeper, etc. in my pine island. I have tried everywhere I can think of and have not been successful in locating it locally. Do you know where I might buy concentrated vinegar?

A: I checked several places and couldn’t find it either. Nature’s Glory Weed & Grass Killer contains acetic acid (vinegar) but at a five percent rate. Household vinegar is also a five percent concentration.

Such a low concentration is useless except on very young weeds.

I imagine your mother gets her concentrated vinegar from a feed supply store (it is sometimes used as a disinfectant). Concentrated vinegar has an extremely strong smell and is considered a hazardous material because of its acidity.

For this reason most garden centers do not stock it.

In any case, vinegar would only burn off the leaves of your weeds. Most would sprout right back. If you’re looking for an organic weed solution, I recommend you pull the plants out of the ground right after a hard rain.

Acetic Acid as a Herbicide