Orange Oil?

[PennsyNut]

Hi I collect orange, lemon & lime peels. NO grapefruit. Keep them in the freezer in a ziplock bag. When bag full, chop them up into very fine bits. As fine as you can. Place them in a blender with plenty of water. Approx 1/2 cup chopped pieces. Blend thoroughly. Place in a large "sun tea jar". Fill completely with water. Place out in the sun (90º best). In 2 hours, you have an excellent blend. I don't even bother to strain. The whole jar can be used on a normal ? ant hill. ? 1 ft in diam ? Usually does the job completely. I don't know of any cheaper way to kill fire ants. Buying orange oil is far more expensive than even using Pyrethrum. All IMHO, and hope this helps those who like to "do it yourself".

[CaptainCompostAL]

Sounds great to me!

[bossboy2]

PennsyNut, do you know why the vinegar herbicide recipe requires orange oil?

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

RE: orange oil in vinegar herbicide

Orange oil is a powerful organic solvent. In the herbicide it helps to dissolve any waxy covering that might be on the leaf surface of a plant to allow the vinegar to get in contact with the plant.

[johnj]

Where do you buy orange oil for the Vinegar mixture? Also does anyone know if it's too late to use Corn Gluten Meal on the lawn, in Central TX area
this season?

[dcluck]

johnj wrote: Where do you buy orange oil for the Vinegar mixture? Also does anyone know if it's too late to use Corn Gluten Meal on the lawn, in Central TX area
this season?

I'm not sure where you're at in central Texas, but you might try searching for organic retailers in your area in the Organic Business Directory here on the DirtDoctor web site. There, you can type in names of towns in your area to see if there any listed. You might also check out the topics here in the Gardener Exchange forum that list places by city. I believe there's also a listing for online organic retailers.

~Dave

[dcluck]

If you don't any luck with the locating a local retailer, then you can order TKO's orange oil directly from their web site.

TKO Orange Ordering

~Dave

[Guest]

I bought orange oil cleaner, and made some mixture yesterday. We'll see if it works. I used the 5% vinegar, orange oil, and Murphy's oil soap. I will keep you posted as to the outcome. I will say this, it was much easier to clean up and safer by far than Roundup.

[Mr. Clean]

johnj,

You can buy the smaller (16 oz.) bottles Orange TKO just about everywhere now. Lowe's has it, even Tom Thumb has it on the cleaner aisle and the same product labeled Pet TKO (I think) on the pet aisle. It is more economical to buy in the 64 oz. and 1 gallon sizes.

A 10% or 20% vinegar solution will probably yield better results than the 5%. I believe HG reported recently that testing has shown better results with the 10% variety than even the 20%. I don't know. I buy the 20% variety.

One of HG's favorite soaps for this mixture is mine as well. It is Dr. Bronner's Pepermint soap. It is a pure Castille soap.

Spray in the early part of the day and let it work.

And yes, it beats Roundup!

[dustoff79]

what proportions of orange oil/soap/vinegar?

[Mr. Clean]

dustoff79 wrote: what proportions of orange oil/soap/vinegar?

From the dirtdoctor.com Information Center:

Vinegar - The Organic Herbicide
The best choice for herbiicide use is 10% white vinegar. It should be used full strength. I've mentioned 20% in the past but it stronger than needed and too expensive. Avoid products that are made from 99% glacial acetic acid. This material is a petroleum derivative. The proper vinegar is distilled from grain alcohol. Natural vinegars such those made from from fermenting apples have little herbicidal value. They are used in irrigation water and as an ingredient in Garrett Juice.

Herbicide Formula:

! gallon of 10% vinegar
Add 1 ounce orange oil or d-limonene
1 teaspoon liquid soap or other surfactant
Do not add water

Spot spray weeds and keep the spray off desirable plants. This spray will injury any plants it touches.

[khwoz]

Vinegar - The Organic Herbicide
The best choice for herbicide use is 10% white vinegar. It should be used full strength. I've mentioned 20% in the past but it stronger than needed and too expensive. Avoid products that are made from 99% glacial acetic acid. This material is a petroleum derivative. The proper vinegar is distilled from grain alcohol. Natural vinegars such those made from from fermenting apples have little herbicidal value. They are used in irrigation water and as an ingredient in Garrett Juice.

This is from the previous post. Is this (bold & underlined) true & why?

[blittle]

Can this be applied using a tank sprayer or will it kill the bermuda grass? Also does the solution get apllied full strength or in a diluted form for spray application. I have an acre to spray 25 gal. is a lot of vinegar, orange oil, & soap!

Thanks

[Mr. Clean]

blittle wrote: Can this be applied using a tank sprayer or will it kill the bermuda grass?

Yes and yes. Be forewarned that vinegar is highly corrosive to metals, so be sure to rinse to remove any leftover residue. Vinegar is a non-selective and may kill anything it reaches (except for false garlic and Virginia Creeper :( ). Beware of spraying on windy days.

blittle wrote: Also does the solution get apllied full strength or in a diluted form for spray application. I have an acre to spray 25 gal. is a lot of vinegar, orange oil, & soap!

If you are using 10% vinegar, I wouldn't suggest any further dilution. This is not an expensive solution, but if it is more than you want to spend at once, perhaps you could work smaller sections?

[mrscro]

I have not been able to find orange oil in my area, can I use a "orange oil" cleaner or lemon oil?