Using salt to kill vegetation

Question

I have an area that slopes down towards the street. A while ago I cut down all the vegetation in that area, and no matter what I do I have sprigs sprouting and weeds. This is not an area I care about or ever intend to cultivate. The nearest plants / bushes are 8 to 10 ft away and this sloping down area would not touch them at all. I was going to cover it with landscaping fabric and some rocks but it just seems too much of a waste of time and money and there are a lot of roots from various things as well so it would not be easy to plant. I would like nothing to ever regrow in this area so can I use salt or a salt mixture here? Or is there anything else you would recommend? Thank you.

Answer 1

A specific herbicide will be more effective than salt. Because you have already cut the unwanted growth, it will not be effective to treat the bare ground and stumps. You will need to spray herbicide as a spot treatment as the new growth occurs.
The easiest for availability and cost effectiveness is a glyphosate (active ingredient) product like RoundUP from Monsanto or Rodeo from Dow.
There are two ways to do it; when new foliage is present, spot spray directly on that green growth. The material will be absorbed and translocated down into the root system for a complete kill.
If the unwanted growth is from woody stems, you can cut the stump low and then apply the concentrate to the cut stump immediately after cutting.
If you buy the RoundUp Super Concentrate (50% glyphosate active ingredient) you can mix your own in a hand-held pump-up sprayer. Mix it according to the label rate, or use at full strength for cut stumps. Follow precautions on the label for personal and environmental protection.