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Gravel and weeds... Any tips??

MaisOuiMadame

MaisOuiMadame

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
3,451
Hey PS garden goddesses... I'm clearly not garden goddess material.

We have a huge zone with gravel and per HOA can't change that.

Our neighbors needed access to an otherwise not accessible area via my property and I have stupidly granted this,

They have wrecked that area and are about to repair the damage done.

I'll have the rest cleaned up while we're at it.

I'm in Europe and most effective weed killers are prohibited now. When I remember the scarcity of weeds in that gravel when we bought the house I'm sure that they must have dumped a TON on there ... We have small kids and chickens so wouldn't want that...

I was recommended very highly concentrated vinegar.
That doesn't help.

Going over it with a kind of flame thrower: I've gone through a lot of gas with hardly any effect.

We're driving on most of it and there's a steep part - so any plastic underlay like for decorative gravel beds is out as well...

Weeding by hand is not only tedious, but also leaves ugly holes... We're thinking of just building a wooden deck over one of the worst areas...

Any secret miracle tricks?
 
I was going to suggest using a gas burner for weeds but I see you have already tried that.I don't think you'll find anything chicken or child safe that will be affective on stubborn weeds.
 
You can read up on using diluted bleach/water solution---I think I read that you can add some dishwashing detergent. Probably helps it 'stick' to the weeds?
 
Elizabeth35 said:
You can read up on using diluted bleach/water solution---I think I read that you can add some dishwashing detergent. Probably helps it 'stick' to the weeds?
Click to expand...

Good idea about the detergent! I've tried bleach also, but didn't work really well either...
 
I miss all those really great weedkillers i used to see back in the '90's
Used properly in moderation and safely they had their place
 
I used a solution of the vinegar with dawn dish detergent and epsom salt. There are lots of recipes if you search. The Dawn helps the solution to stick to the plants and stay on it long enough to kill them, and I think the epsom salt helps to dry the weeds out. I remember reading the explanation online too.

We redid our gravel driveway because the weeds had just creeped in too much, and the wood border was rotted out (we replaced it with cobblestones). I feel ya! It's no picnic to deal with.

In the process, I came across this which may be of interest? If you google 'lawn driveway' information and pictures will come up. Basically it is a lattice support system that allows you to drive/live on it (won't let the earth sink, supports weight) while growing grass. There are lots of patterns and effects you can achieve with this system. Maybe if you have healthy grass in the area, it will help keep the weeds at bay?

1603804342966.png

1603804441588.png
 
I don‘t have a solution to kill the weeds. I would suggest adding an extra heavy level of gravel to smother and keep them from growing.
 
Weeds are not in the ground.
They are in your mind.

So, embrace weeds.
They're easier to grow.

As a gay man, i relate to weeds.
Thanks to the culture I was raised in I used to see myself as a weed to be eradicated.
I still am seen that way in America's bible belt, and in many other countries still dominated by religions.

Miraculously the world's religions have failed to exterminate weeds like me.
Weeds are natural.
 
Last edited:
The only thing you can do is put a good weed barrier down under the gravel and then lay on a thick layer of gravel. You'll still get weeds, but they'll be easier to pull. You can also plant a ground cover that grows thickly to try to smother the weeds.
 
it might need a good power raking that will kill the weeds and bring the stones back to the surface.
If it looks like the one in the video it may work wonders.
 
Are you allowed to use Preen? While it won’t fix the current weed issue, it will prevent new ones from coming up.
we throw it on our rocks and mulch twice a year. Really helps to stop weeds from growing.
 
Have had success with boiling water and added detergent. Not sure how practical that will be over a huge area though.
 
Thank you, I will try this concoction next!

Unfortunately the gravel has to stay per the HOA...

rainydaze said:
I used a solution of the vinegar with dawn dish detergent and epsom salt. There are lots of recipes if you search. The Dawn helps the solution to stick to the plants and stay on it long enough to kill them, and I think the epsom salt helps to dry the weeds out. I remember reading the explanation online too.

We redid our gravel driveway because the weeds had just creeped in too much, and the wood border was rotted out (we replaced it with cobblestones). I feel ya! It's no picnic to deal with.

In the process, I came across this which may be of interest? If you google 'lawn driveway' information and pictures will come up. Basically it is a lattice support system that allows you to drive/live on it (won't let the earth sink, supports weight) while growing grass. There are lots of patterns and effects you can achieve with this system. Maybe if you have healthy grass in the area, it will help keep the weeds at bay?

1603804342966.png

1603804441588.png
Click to expand...
 
kenny said:
Weeds are not in the ground.
They are in your mind.

So, embrace weeds.
They're easier to grow.

As a gay man, i relate to weeds.
Thanks to the culture I was raised in I used to see myself as a weed to be eradicated.
I still am seen that way in America's bible belt, and in many other countries still dominated by religions.

Miraculously the world's religions have failed to exterminate weeds like me.
Weeds are natural.
Click to expand...

Sorry you were made to feel this way.

Unfortunately I have no choice because we'll be getting problems with the HOA.. And in one corner that had to circled off for the neighbors' work the weeds are about 1 m tall. That's seriously annoying from a practical standpoint
 
Boiling water worked for us, it isn't practical over a large area but it might help for a few of the really stubborn weeds , or your weeds at 1m tall. Other than that it might be using whatever weedkiller you are allowed to buy. I imagine if you try Mr Amazon there will be a selection that are allowed in your area. I'd also ask the neighbors what they use.
 
Thank you @Matata. Are there any weed barriers one can drive on? I haven't been able to find any..
 
@Karl_K now I want a ventrac!!
 
Thanks @Kayla , trying tol find out if I can get Preen or an equivalent once the areas has been worked on.

Basically all otc weed killers I can get easily now are basically the same as 8% vinegar with different additives...
 
Tartansparkles said:
Boiling water worked for us, it isn't practical over a large area but it might help for a few of the really stubborn weeds , or your weeds at 1m tall. Other than that it might be using whatever weedkiller you are allowed to buy. I imagine if you try Mr Amazon there will be a selection that are allowed in your area. I'd also ask the neighbors what they use.
Click to expand...

Yes, area is too large for boiling water, but I've tried in spots... Neighbours just weed by hand, since they only have about 1/10th of our gravel -we have an additional driveway to drive right around our house which is steep... Waiting for the contractors to repair the damage they did. Hope they'll include a power raking to the areas they didn't damage, but circle off, so the weeds could get that big.
Then new gravel and I hope I can find some preen or such...

Gardening is not my thing! But I enjoy a somewhat tidy, natural look... Sigh
 
I asked Greg and he said Rock Salt that is used to de-ice pavements will help kill the weeds. You have to experiment to see how much you need but figure a handful on each weed will do the trick. That is what Greg uses here and it works.

When the Romans would conquer various outlying foreign lands they would destroy villages and salt their fields so they couldn't grow anything.

It is very effective.
 
kenny said:
Weeds are not in the ground.
They are in your mind.

So, embrace weeds.
They're easier to grow.

As a gay man, i relate to weeds.
Thanks to the culture I was raised in I used to see myself as a weed to be eradicated.
I still am seen that way in America's bible belt, and in many other countries still dominated by religions.

Miraculously the world's religions have failed to exterminate weeds like me.
Weeds are natural.
Click to expand...

This is how I feel as well. Unfortunately my DH hates weeds and doesn't share my perspective.
 
missy said:
I asked Greg and he said Rock Salt that is used to de-ice pavements will help kill the weeds. You have to experiment to see how much you need but figure a handful on each weed will do the trick. That is what Greg uses here and it works.

When the Romans would conquer various outlying foreign lands they would destroy villages and salt their fields so they couldn't grow anything.

It is very effective.
Click to expand...

Thank you! And thanks, Greg!!
 
kipari said:
Thank you! And thanks, Greg!!
Click to expand...

You're very welcome and I hope this works out for you!

I questioned Greg extensively about this before I shared it as I said I don't want to get @kipari 's hopes up and he swears by Rock Salt. I am not a gardener nor do I have a green thumb. I could share stories, sigh.

I hope this works for you @kipari!
 
Thank you❤!

I'm waiting for the contract to come and clean up... Then I'll put on the salt. I buy it for our terrace anyways, since in spite if shoveling we get a thin layer of ice on it which is just too dangerous not treat with salt!
We're trying to be as eco friendly as possible, so we can actually separately stock that water in order to NOT have it on any plants, so I'll be discarding that on the worst weeds this winter...
 
Do you have any kind of stabilisation grid with a membrane under the gravel? They don't totally prevent weeds from windblown seeds, but they do keep them from growing up from underneath--in my experience, those are the ones that are problematic.
 
missy said:
I asked Greg and he said Rock Salt that is used to de-ice pavements will help kill the weeds. You have to experiment to see how much you need but figure a handful on each weed will do the trick. That is what Greg uses here and it works.

When the Romans would conquer various outlying foreign lands they would destroy villages and salt their fields so they couldn't grow anything.

It is very effective.
Click to expand...

That Greg of yours is amazing! He knows everything...Mr. Google! :lol:
 
MamaBee said:
That Greg of yours is amazing! He knows everything...Mr. Google! :lol:
Click to expand...

Well he doesn’t know everything but he’s the first to say he doesn’t if he doesn’t. And then he follows it up with “what, am I google?”

:lol:
 
If the weeds are very small, spraying them with vinegar, soap, and salt will do. If the weeds have been allowed to grow into even half of their full size, pulling is the only option. Tap roots will keep the weeds alive even when sprayed.

I would hire someone to pull the weeds and lay new gravel
 
House Cat said:
If the weeds are very small, spraying them with vinegar, soap, and salt will do. If the weeds have been allowed to grow into even half of their full size, pulling is the only option. Tap roots will keep the weeds alive even when sprayed.

I would hire someone to pull the weeds and lay new gravel
Click to expand...

Thanks @House Cat !
We'll have the mess taken care of and we also will have new gravel and then attack with salt. And I guess that flame-thrower thingy will at least be good for aggression management for me... It feels kind of A-Team -esque when I operate it...
 
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