Whether you're growing beautiful flowers or delicious veggies, many commercial weed killers can damage your crop. To get rid of weeds in a safer and more natural way, here's what one TikToker recommends.
The scoop
In a trio of videos, TikToker EastSideFarming (@eastsidefarming) shows viewers what he calls "the safest, most effective way to get rid of weeds" completely within 24 hours.
In the first video, he explains, "Honestly, the best way, hands down, to rid your garden of anything you don't want that's growing is simply hot water."
@eastsidefarming #blackpeoplegarden #blackgardenerstiktok #blackinthegarden #sustainability #gardening #gardentok #gardening101 #organicgardening #plantingtips #farmtotable #eastsidefarming ♬ Sweet Giirrrrllll face beat x Father Philis - Phil
He then clarifies that the water needs to be boiling hot.
"Put boiling hot water on what you want to be gone, and in 24 hours it will be gone."
This incredibly straightforward hack earned EastSideFarming some skeptical comments, so he returned with a second video.
@eastsidefarming #blackpeoplegarden #blackgardenerstiktok #blackinthegarden #sustainability #gardening #gardentok #gardening101 #organicgardening #plantingtips #farmtotable #EastSideFarming ♬ Over - Lucky Daye
"So I see I have some doubters," he says and promises to demonstrate the effectiveness of this method. He points out a small patch of weeds surrounded by pavement, heats up his kettle, and pours steaming water on the plants, which immediately become a brighter shade of green.
The third video includes a closeup of the weeds right after he pours boiling water on them.
@eastsidefarming #blackpeoplegarden #blackgardenerstiktok #blackinthegarden #sustainability #gardening #gardentok #gardening101 #organicgardening #plantingtips #farmtotable #eastsidefarming #eastsidefarmer ♬ BREAK MY SOUL - Beyoncé
"On a molecular level, it's dying," he says.
Sure enough, 24 hours later, the weeds are dead and even dried out. "Most of this is just hay now," he says.
How it's helping
Boiling water is the simplest possible way to kill weeds. It's faster and cleaner than pulling them, especially since many weeds can regrow from pieces of root left behind. And it's much less work for the gardener.
Meanwhile, it's safer for you and your garden than using a store-bought weed killer because once it cools down, all that's left is ordinary water.
"No chemical needed," EastSideFarming explains. "It don't mess with your soil, it's not going to mess with anything else unless you're putting it directly on the other plants … it's really that simple."
Not only will your garden thrive without weed killer, but you'll avoid pollution, too. Water flowing across your yard can wash chemicals into nearby soil and water sources. Boiling water, however, isn't a pollutant and won't do any harm.
What everyone's saying
Most commenters were excited about the hack.
"Ima try this," said one TikToker. "You might have just changed the game for me completely."
Another commenter pointed out, "People don't share this because you can't sell boiling water." EastSideFarming replied with a bullseye emoji.
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