How to I stop anything growing in soil

Question

What can I add to soil to completely kill it so that nothing with grow in it.

I've heard salt works but not sure if thats true.

I dont want to use weedkiller because that targets weeds - I want to kill everything.

Answer 1

Do you want to stop things growing in the dirt forever?  Are there any small children or animals that go into this area?  Do you care about mud when it rains?

You could apply a non-selective weed killer - kills everything that is growing, but most is toxic to humans and animals as well.  Or you could block the sun and water from reaching the dirt with a tarp, thick newspapers, plastic sheeting, etc and then nothing would grow.

Answer 2

Vinegar and water baby!  Its earth friendly and cheaaaap!

Answer 3

by adding salt with sand

Answer 4

Everyone answering have neglected to read the part about "I dont want to spend any money." The best way, if this is a small area, is to lay newspaper down and then sprinkle dirt or rocks to keep the paper in place. Lightly wet to keep in place. The lack of light will kill everything. The shiny advertising supplements from your mailbox or the newspaper work even better than plain old newspaper.  

Answer 5

actually u can use a weed killer some crappy weed killers kill flowers and grass also

Answer 6

There is nothing earth-friendly about killing everything in the soil with salt or vinegar. In large quantities, these are poisonous substances and will cause damage to surrounding plants. The way to go is to smother the weeds with a mulch - plastic sheet, newspaper or cardboard will work.

Or you can just concrete over it. It will be no less attractive than bare dirt.

Answer 7

Why would you want to kill every living organism in your soil? So much for being environmentally friendly. You will never kill everthing because 'nature hates a vacuum' she will always find a way to outsmart you and put plants where you don't want them. Even the

Americans found this out after they napalmed Viet Nam!!

Answer 8

Nothing will stop anything from growing.  Something will grow eventually.  Any chemical or salt treatment will just create an environment that weeds will thrive on.

Sand or multch wil r****d the grown of plants though.  Sand you can get free fram a beach and multch you can get free from either a tree cutter or the local dump where tree cutters dump their chopped up trees.

Answer 9

Ashes from the barbeque coal or woods. That should be it.