Weeds. They are the worst. But the last thing I want to do is spray harmful chemical all over my yard and garden. That’s why this all natural recipe (using ingredients in your own kitchen) is perfect. Check it out!

Every year, my husband and I plant a big garden and every year, it gets over run with weeds. But I am nervous about spreading the harmful chemicals found in commercial weed killers or a store-bought herbicide all over my garden. I literally think they can give you cancer. I feel like you have to wear gloves, long sleeves and a face mask. That’s why this natural weed killer recipe is perfect. I’m confident in saying this is one of the best diy weed killer recipes you will find on the internet. It’s safe and effective. Check it out!

Gather your homemade weed killer ingredients

You only need three simple ingredients to make this weed killer and I am willing to bet you already have them in your home. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 4 cups distilled white vinegar (household vinegar)
• 2 cups Epsom salt
• 1/4 cup Dawn dish soap

You could also use apple cider vinegar, rock salt, sea salt or lemon juice in a pinch. The main ingredient (which is also the active ingredient) is the vinegar. It works in conjunction with the salt to draw moisture from the leaves. The dish soap helps the vinegar solution adhere to the weeds. This solution can kill all types of weeds including broadleaf weeds and poison ivy. Persistent weeds and unwanted plants will be a thing of the past.

Make your weed killer

It’s super easy to make this weed killer. Combine the vinegar, dish soap and the Epsom salt into a large bowl. Mix together thoroughly until the salt has dissolved. Then pour the mixture into a spray bottle and you’re done!

Start killing those weeds

You might want to put a label on your spray bottle so you know that it’s a weed killer. Then, just head out to your yard or garden and start spraying those weeds. Try spraying on a sunny day and spray the entire weed, especially the base so it can sink down to the root systems.

In 24 hours, your weeds should be withered and almost if not completely dead. For best results and weed control, spray the weeds in your flower beds and vegetable garden while they are young weeds. Look at this photo below of the before and after just one day later.

Hopefully this natural weed killer recipe will help you as you’re trying to battle your weeds in your own yard. This is a good organic option to kill those annoying weeds without putting toxic chemicals in your garden. Here’s a short video showing how to make this weed killer for your viewing pleasure. Thanks!

More from My Silly Squirts: DIY Simple bath bombs for beginners

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If you like pickled food, then this pickled asparagus recipe needs to be at the top of your list this summer. With only a few simple ingredients, you’re going to love these crisp asparagus that you can eat straight from the jar. Check it out!

Asparagus are one of my favorite vegetables. We have row of asparagus in our garden that produces the most delicious stalks during asparagus season. We harvest so much asparagus that we can’t eat it all. So, that’s why I started pickling our own asparagus that we can eat months down the road. It’s super simple and super delicious. Here’s how you can make this quick pickled asparagus recipe too!

Gather your pickled asparagus ingredients

This pickled asparagus recipe calls for easy and fresh ingredients that you might already have at home. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Fresh asparagus (from the garden is the freshest asparagus or the store)
• White vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• Black peppercorn
• Fresh dill sprig, dill weed spice or dill seeds
• Kosher salt
• Bay leaves
• Lemons
• Garlic cloves
• Sugar
• Quart canning jars (wide rims are the best)

Cut your asparagus

After washing your asparagus, you’ll need to trim the woody ends of each one so they fit inside the quart jar. I like to just hold the asparagus up to the jar and eyeball where to cut it. You’ll want to cut the stalks short enough so that there is still about a 1/2 inch space at the top of the jar. Once they are all cut, you can carefully place the cut spears in the jar.

Don’t throw away the small bits of asparagus. You can put those in small wide-mouth pint jars after first batch using some of the remaining brine.

Add spices to the jar

Next, you’ll want to add all the yummy spices that add a rich flavor to the asparagus. For each jar, you’ll want to add the following ingredients:

• 1 bay leaf
• 2 lemon slices
• 1 Tbs peppercorn
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tsp dill weed

If you want a spicey pickled asparagus for a little bit of heat, you can add red pepper flakes, celery seeds, mustard seeds, coriander seeds or a whole jalapeño. Place each of these spices in the jar with the asparagus stalks.

Make vinegar mixture and add to jar

The final step is to make and add the vinegar mixture to the jar. Here’s what you’ll need for the mixture:

• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbs salt
• 3/4 tsp sugar

Combine vinegar, water, salt and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Pour the hot brine into the jar (it doesn’t have to be room temperature). It should be just enough for one quart jar. If you are pickling multiple jars of asparagus, adjust the quantities as needed. Try to get out all the air bubbles.

Put the lids on the jars and store in the fridge for at least 24 hours before eating. If you prefer to can your jars, you can cook prepared jars in a water bath canner and water bath them for 10 minutes. Place them in long-term storage. Personally, the longer the asparagus stalks can marinate in the brine, the better they taste.

My favorite way to serve pickled asparagus is on charcuterie board, cheese board or relish tray. You can also add it to asparagus soup. Check out my step-by-step guide on growing your own asparagus in your backyard. Thanks!

More from My Silly Squirts: Delicious canned homemade salsa

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It’s canning season! And no canning season would be completely without your favorite homemade canned salsa. Well you’re in luck because I’ve got it right here! Check it out.

This recipe is literally to die for. It has the perfect combination of spicy and fresh ingredients. You’ll be devouring this salsa all year long. It’s not too difficult as well. So let’s get started!

Print your homemade canned salsa recipe

Let’s not waste any time here. Click on the link below to print your own copy of this delicious salsa recipe:

Click here for your free Homemade Canned Salsa Recipe

Supplies you’ll need for salsa

If you’ve never made homemade canned salsa before, it’s really not hard. It just takes a little bit of time. Aside from the ingredients above, you’ll need the following supplies:

• Large water bath canner
• 30 pint jars with lids and rings
• Food processor

My sister-in-law uses a blender instead of a processor to chop up her food. But regardless, it’s much easier to have a machine chop up your tomatoes, onions and peppers instead of you.

Salsa tips and tricks

So, I don’t need to explain how to make this salsa. It’s basically all explained in the recipe. However, here are some tips and tricks to make the entire process easier for you:

• Dump your tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes to make the skin easier to peel.
• Use large Roma tomatoes for a thicker salsa
• If you like a runnier salsa, process your tomatoes through a Victorio Strainer
• If you’ve never water bath canned before, here’s instructions.
• For a hot salsa, use 40 or more chopped jalepenos. Medium salsa, use 20 jalepenos. For mild salsa, use 10 jalepenos.
• Don’t forget to stir the salsa occasionally while it is simmering so the bottom doesn’t burn.
• Minimize watery eyes. Use onion goggles when cutting onions.
• Prepare and cook salsa outside using a Camp Chef Double Burner Stove. It keeps your house nice and cool and easier clean up.

How did you salsa turn out? I’d love to know. Leave your response in the comments below. Check out this video of how I made my salsa.

Related link: Delicious dinner rolls to feed a crowd

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No more weeds! If you have a garden, weeds are not your friend. But don’t give up. I’ve got some spectacular tips to creating your own weed-free garden. Come take a look.

My husband has worked years and years to grow an amazing garden in our backyard. However, the weeds always seem to take over every season. With four little kids, we don’t have the time to weed every single day. So, together we came up with some simple steps to prevent the weeds from taking over. Here they are:

Step #1: Spray weed killer early in the season

In Utah, we do all of our main planting after Mother’s Day in May. However, the weeds start to pop up well before that. So, my husband carefully sprays weed killer on all of the weeds on our garden. This prevents a lot of the weeds from spreading too quickly early on.

You need to be careful when using weed killer however, because it basically kills any living plants. Click here for some tips to using weed killer. If you’re not a fan of the chemicals in weed killer, try this all-natural homemade weed killer.

Step #2: Lay down weed barrier

As with weed killer, weed barrier is a wonderful way to keep those pesky weeds from popping up. But not all weed barrier is created equal. There are some pretty cheap types of weed barrier that will only last one season. You’ll want to use heavy duty woven weed control fabric. We have had ours for seven years and it still works great.

The only draw back to weed barrier is that it can be expensive. We only laid our down on three rows of our garden. Then we just rotate the varieties of vegetables plants on these rows from year to year. Just cut a small “X” in the spots where you will be planting and fold in the corners.

Step #3: Lay Preen and grass clippings

A weed-free garden needs one more preventative step and that’s Preen. Some people worry about Preen killing their vegetables, but that’s not the case if you do it right. First, plant your seed, wait for it to pop up and then sprinkle the Preen.

Once you have the Preen down, add a layer of grass clippings around your plants. It helps keep the sun from shining down on those pesky weeds.

If you’re unfamiliar with what Preen is, click here to learn more. We’ve had a lot of success with the combination of Preen and grass clippings. It prevents most of the weeds from coming up.

Here’s a video that shows how we prevent the weeds from coming up in our own garden. Take a gander:

Other helpful tools to a weed-free garden

The steps above should prevent most of the weeds from growing in your garden. However, for those remaining pesky weeds, here’s some helpful tools that will make your life easier.

• Save your back, use a winged weeder
• Weed in style with a garden cart
• Be nice to your knees with a thick kneeling pad

Hopefully these ideas are helpful as you are working on your weed-free garden. What are some other ideas that you might have to control the weeds in your garden? Leave your comments below.

Related link: How to prune backyard raspberries

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I love pumpkins, so when my friend said that she had giant pumpkin seeds, I jumped right on it. The entire process wasn’t hard and Halloween is much more exciting with a giant pumpkin on your porch. Take a look!

Admittedly, I’m a novice pumpkin grower. There’s a lot of die-hard giant pumpkin growers out there. I’m not one of them, but I can show you what I learned and I hope it will help you.

Find some good giant pumpkin seeds

I got my seeds from my friend who grow giant pumpkins herself. However, if you don’t know someone who grows them, you can actually order giant pumpkin seeds online. You can also join a pumpkin-growing club. Here’s a list of places to start:

• Big Pumpkins
• Utah Pumpkin Growers
• Team Pumpkin

Germinate your seeds

The best way to get a head start on your pumpkins is to germinate the seeds before planting season. In Utah, we can start planting after Mother’s Day in May. So I started the germinating process towards the end of April.

First, take each individual seed and fold them each in their own damp paper towel. Then place the towel in a Ziploc bag. Put all of your paper towels (with seeds in them) into a cooler. Next to the seeds, put two quart jars filled with hot water. This will keep it nice and warm inside your cooler. Replace the quart jars every day for about five days.

Pot germinated pumpkin seeds

Once your cute little seeds have germinated, place each one (root down) into individual jiffy pots filled with potting soil. You can push your index finger down into the soil about an inch or so to make room for the seed. Then cover it up and water frequently.

Wait for your seeds to sprout

Place your tray of jiffy pots inside at night and in the sun outside during the day. In about 5 to 10 days, you’ll see the magic happen! Your seeds should start to sprout.

Plant pumpkin starts in your garden

Once it’s Mother’s Day and warm enough that there is no danger of frost on the ground, you can plant your pumpkin starts. If the soil is too cold, the starts will rot or stop growing. I had so many starts that I was able to share them with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.

Pick a spot with full sun and allow 50 to 100 feet for the vines to spread out. You’ll also want a spot with lots of drainage so the soil doesn’t get soggy. Dig a small hole large enough so that the entire pot is inside the ground. Wet down the pot really well before you place it in the ground so it will break down easily once planted. Cover the pot with dirt.

Watch your pumpkins grow

I found a lot of helpful information on growing pumpkins from The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Here’s a few highlights that will help:

• Water one inch per week
• Add mulch around your pumpkins to keep in moisture and discourage pests
• Fertilize on a regular basis
• Pinch off the fuzzy ends of each vine after a few pumpkins have formed. This will stop vine growth so that the plant’s energies are focused on the fruit
• Place a thin board or heavy cardboard under ripening melons and pumpkins to avoid decay and insect damage.

So, unfortunately for me, I got a little bit over-anxious and planted my pumpkins too early. It stifled the growth of my pumpkins and all my plants died! However, my family planted the other starts that I gave them and their pumpkins turned out amazing!

Some of their pumpkins were so big, they had to use a tractor to place them on their front porch! They turned out amazing.

What other tips do you have to growing a giant pumpkin? Leave your comments below.

Related link: Pruning backyard raspberries in 1, 2, 3!

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Pruning backyard raspberries is a lot easier than you may think. All you need is a good pair of pruning sheers. So, let’s get started!

Raspberries are this magical fruit that grow right in your backyard. I have summer-bearing raspberries. For instruction on pruning fall-bearing raspberries, click here. So instead of paying an arm or a leg at the grocery store for them, let’s start pruning your raspberries!

#1: Cut all the dead canes

Every year, some of your raspberry canes will die over the winter. Using a good pair of pruning sheers, cut the canes at the very base, right next to the ground. The dead canes should be easy to spot. Once those are cleared out, it will be easier to see what else needs to be pruned.

#2: Leave 3-5 canes per foot

Next, you’re going to cut even more canes. You want to be left with three to five healthy, strong canes per linear foot. It might not see like very many are left, but these raspberries need room to grow. Make sure you leave canes that are at least 1/4 inch thick.

#3: Trim the remaining canes

Most of the canes will have probably grown up to six or seven feet tall. You’ll want to prune the tops of the remaining canes until they are only about three feet tall. That way your raspberry canes won’t get too tall before it’s time to harvest. Make sure you trim right above the bud.

Hopefully these tips help when you’re pruning backyard raspberries. Here’s some other tips to keep your raspberries in tip-top shape:

• Three biggest factors in how big and juicy your raspberries get
• Transplanting raspberries
• How to control raspberry cane borers
• How to build a raspberry trellis

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