Skip to main content

HappySprout may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

5 organic herbicides under $30 that will kill weeds every time

Eliminating weeds can be a time-consuming gardening chore, especially if you’re pulling them by hand. Some gardeners will speed up the process with an herbicide like Roundup, which essentially dries up a plant to kill it. However, many gardeners have expressed concern about potentially harmful chemicals used in inorganic herbicides, which may be dangerous on edible crops and lawns where kids and pets play. We’ve compiled a guide that breaks down why you might want to opt for an organic herbicide instead and how you can choose and apply an affordable one that will be effective on your plants. 

Spraying herbicide out of a bottle
Dean Clarke / Shutterstock

Why you might use an organic herbicide instead

The active ingredient in most common inorganic herbicides is glyphosate, which the International Agency for Research on Cancer has determined is “probably carcinogenic to humans.” This revelation has been enough to spike concern in the gardening community — who wants to spray potentially-harmful chemicals on their plants and soil? From this revelation, a desire for more natural weed-control methods was born.

Gardener pulling weed
Effective Stock Photos/Shutterstock

How to use an organic herbicide 

Many people believe that organic herbicides aren’t as effective as non-organic ones, but it depends on the kind you buy and how you apply it. Gardeners can apply pre-emergent or post-emergent herbicides to their plants. You can use pre-emergent herbicides on germinating plants or plants just starting to poke through the soil. Post-emergent herbicides tackle plants that are already established. Most organic herbicides are post-emergent ones. They’re also nonselective, which means that they can’t distinguish between weeds and other plants. 

It’s best to use your organic weed killer on plants that have already been established but aren’t too tall. (The ideal length is under 4 inches). As they’re usually non-selective, apply them to areas that you need to completely clear. If you’re trying to get rid of perennials, you might need multiple applications. Organic weed killers work best when you also manually pull out the roots completely. 

The ingredients list

Sold in concentrate or diluted form, organic herbicides for weeds tend to contain either corn gluten, acetic acid (vinegar), or citric acid. So how do herbicides work? Essentially, natural weed killers work by removing the waxy plant cuticle or damaging the plant’s cells so that it desiccates and dies. As such, they require direct contact with a plant and will usually get rid of everything in an area non-selectively. When sprayed in the soil, the acid will also prevent roots from growing. 

The best organic herbicides under $30

To get rid of weeds naturally, some gardeners will use concentrated vinegar, boiling water, or even flame torches. To make the weeding easier on yourself, you can order a ready-to-go formula that’s usually more effective. Organic herbicides tend to be more expensive than glyphosate-based formulas, but there are affordable options out there. Below, we’ve rounded up organic herbicides that cost under $30.

Corn gluten: Preen Organic Vegetable Garden Weed Preventer

At $21, Preen is technically an organic weed preventer, meaning that it can stop pre-emergent weeds in its tracks. Consisting of corn gluten, it can inhibit the root development of crabgrass, dandelions, clover, and other weeds, so sprinkle it around your vegetable gardens. Because Preen prevents rather than kills weeds, you want to first hand pull any post-emergent weeds that you see. 

Citric acid: Burnout

At $24, Burnout contains citric acid and clove oil to eliminate broadleaves and grassy weeds. It’s a non-selective herbicide that works similarly to vinegar-based weed killers by stripping away the plant cuticle and causing it to desiccate.

Vinegar: Green Gobbler Weed and Grass Killer 

Green Gobbler, which costs $25 a gallon, is a top-selling organic weed killer. It uses ethanol derived from corn and concentrated vinegar four times stronger than the stuff in most people’s pantries. In hours, it kills weeds such as crabgrass, white clover, musk thistle, dandelions, and more on contact. 

Citric and acetic acid: AllDown Herbicide

AllDown, which is $25 for 32 ounces, doubles down with 6 percent citric acid and 8 percent acetic acid. It works best on small weeds in the spring and summer — more mature perennials may require reapplication. 

Ammonium nonanoate: Ortho Groundclear

At under $20 per gallon, Ortho’s ready-to-use herbicide offers the most affordable option on this list. Its active ingredient is ammonium nonanoate, a naturally occurring fatty acid found in animals and plants with low toxicity. This OMRI-listed product works quickly and is rainproof in two hours.

Switching to an organic herbicide may seem like a daunting task, but understanding how the ingredients work, as well as how to apply a weed killer, will help you eliminate unwanted growth in no time. 

Editors' Recommendations

Stacey Nguyen
Stacey's work has appeared on sites such as POPSUGAR, HelloGiggles, Buzzfeed, The Balance, TripSavvy, and more. When she's…
The 5 best soil conditioners we’ve found this year
A hand dropping fertilizer around a seedling

Every gardener wants their plants to grow and thrive, and the first step towards that is to plant them in healthy, high-quality soil. If your garden’s soil isn’t naturally perfect, don’t despair! There are plenty of things you can add to improve your soil’s quality. Soil conditioners are a great example of this. Not sure what a soil conditioner is, or where to find the best ones for your garden? Then you’re in the right place, because we’re going to tell you all about soil conditioners and even recommend a few for you.
What are soil conditioners?
Soil conditioners are any substance that you add to soil to improve it’s texture, pH, or nutrient balance. If that seems like a broad category, you’re right, it is! In fact, there’s a good chance you’ve used a soil conditioner in your garden before without realizing it. If you've ever used a fertilizer in your garden, you've used a soil conditioner, and compost is one of the most commonly used soil conditioners.

Compost is used primarily to improve the nutrient balance of soil, but there are soil conditioners for every factor of soil health. There’s peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite to loosen soil and improve water retention. Limestone, peat moss, and sawdust change soil pH. Gypsum adds calcium, and polysaccharides reduce soil erosion.

Read more
How to choose the best soil conditioner for your garden
Gloved hands holding soil with different colored balls of fertilizer in it

Every gardener wants to grow healthy plants, and the best place to start is with healthy soil. Plants get the majority of what they need through the soil, so having the right kind for your plants is essential. What if your soil isn’t up to the task? If fertilizers aren’t doing the trick, or if the variety of fertilizers available overwhelms you, then you might have better luck with soil conditioners. You may not have heard of soil conditioners before, but don’t worry, that’s what we’re here for! We’ll answer all your soil conditioning questions and provide some simple tips for choosing the right one for your garden.
What is a soil conditioner?
Soil conditioners are mixtures that are added to soil to fix a variety of problems. They can add nutrients, change the soil pH, increase air flow, loosen up soil that has become compacted, and change your soil’s drainage speed. Which combination of these things the soil conditioner does depends on what it's made of. Soil conditioner can be made from natural, organic material or synthetic, inorganic material. Most soil conditioners, especially premade ones, will have a mix of natural and synthetic ingredients. However, homemade soil conditioners are completely in your control. This means you can, and should, tailor your soil conditioner to meet the needs of your garden.

What are some popular soil conditioners?
One of the most popular soil conditioners is actually compost! Compost adds a lot of nutrients to the soil, and it makes a great base for most other soil conditioners. If you have compost, you’re already half-way to a well-rounded soil conditioner. Some other organic ingredients you can add to create the perfect soil conditioner are:

Read more
5 great gardening documentaries to watch for inspiration
watching a documentary

We may not want to admit it, but gardening can sometimes feel overwhelming and irritating, even to the most avid and veteran gardeners. Everyone needs a little bit of encouragement now and then, and a great way to give your gardening passion a boost is through documentaries. Not only are they educational, they're also very inspirational and can get your gardening life back on track.

So if you're looking for ways to spice up your routine and learn new ways to garden, watch some or all of these fantastic documentaries about gardening and farming.

Read more