I purchased the propane torch attachment that apparently is great for burning up the weeds in your garden. Has anyone used one of these? If I burn the grass up around the lillys and iris’, will I kill the plants (other than the grass and weeds?) If I use it in the vegetable garden, which is a wicked mess, will I be able to kill the larger weeds, or simply set myself and the garden on fire?
Please advise…
Hm, if you had to rate your level of frustration with your garden on a scale of 1-10, where would you be? :lol:
I am relieved I am not the only one who has thought this…
I have no idea how a torch would be used to kill weeds, but when I read about it as a weed control option I just assumed that one would burn the sprouts and seeds in the soil before one planted the garden and would then have to use different weed control after?
I’ve had pretty good luck with heavy plastic sheeting over the entire garden, with just small holes burned into it for the plants. I still have to weed around the plants because if I don’t a weed or two will grow out the hole and take over the entire garden, but pulling a few weeds works way better for me than rototilling and then still having to pull lots of weeds by hand.
Just a minor comment: Using a propane torch will burn off the above ground vegetation, but it won’t necessarily kill any plants, especially this time of year when everything is dormant. Most anything that comes up in the spring from roots or seeds will still sprout in the spring even if you have burned off the above ground vegetation during the winter.
I bought a new house last summer. The previous owner left behind a large raised bed garden planted mostly in vegetables that I don’t eat, so I basically ignored it. I am not much of a gardener. I’ve got other things to spend my time on. Right now, setting fire to the remnants sounds like a great idea. It’s looking pretty rough out there.
Depends on when you blast them and for how long. I used it on some bittersweet stubs a year ago and it sort of tamped them down but didn’t completely kill them off. Mostly it gets rid of the dead stuff. It’s pretty fun. 
However, don’t use it on poison ivy. The smoke will contain the oils and if you breathe it in? Probably a hospital visit.
@Hilary good point! I had a friend end up in the ICU for a similar poison ivy incident.
I made a poor last minute decision to planting a wheat cover crop waaaayyy too late in the season and I’m concerned my entire garden field will turn up wheat come spring! Do you think torching the field/seed would prevent that?
Hm… I’ve never tried torching weeds! I do use boiling water though to pour on bad patches (like that nasty creeping buttercup) or between the cracks on the patio. Not an efficient method for large areas but works great and goes right to the roots for spot weeding.
I just use my tea kettle
A propane torch will work well for spot-killing weeds, but they are a bit slow depending on the weed. My husband used a torch for killing buttercup seedlings. Many parks departments are using them successfully along with hot foam in their integrated pest management weed control programs. A torch works great for the right applications.
I had high hopes for the propane torch weed killer and was let down. It took took me 45 minutes to clean up a simple crabgrass issue around my patio that I can week wack in under 5 minutes. The weeds took a few extra days to grow back, but it wasn’t worth the extra 40 minutes of work.
Oh dear. I, too, had plans to purchase a weed burner in the hopes of better faster and less weeding.
Darn.
Depending on the size of your property, try asking your county agriculture/horticulture agent what are recommended treatments for the pests you are experiencing. They should be versed in IPM (Integrated Pest Management). Bear in mind that IPM doesn’t completely rule out chemical control, it’s just the last control in your arsenal.
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