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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2012 11:16:33 GMT 1
Gravel driveways are a complete pain in the rear,I have recently weed killered mine at great expense, and the weeds are coming back already!!
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Post by Elkay on Aug 10, 2012 14:16:39 GMT 1
Am I alone in not wanting to poison the planet?
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Post by wibble on Aug 10, 2012 14:26:43 GMT 1
Good comment Elkay - I've tried all the natural salt / vinegar products which make my pathway smell like a chip shop and have soon resorted to the glycophosphate option for a better result thing is until all the large multi-nationals and countries stop pouring millions of gallons of poisonous materials wherever they wish - I for one will go with the poison option
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2012 18:12:17 GMT 1
Am I alone in not wanting to poison the planet? Yes
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Post by willywetshirt on Aug 10, 2012 21:39:50 GMT 1
For those who played with the sodium whatit, do I guess right with added sweetener that things went with a bang?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2012 21:49:45 GMT 1
For those who played with the sodium whatit, do I guess right with added sweetener that things went with a bang? Good guess
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Post by <-Rinky-Dink-> on Aug 10, 2012 23:20:39 GMT 1
Am I alone in not wanting to poison the planet? I don't like the idea of poisoning the planet either, LK ... but frankly I have better/more pressing things to do than spend every waking moment on my hands and knees weeding..... it is a very large area we are talking about and it is just not feasible to hand weed it. However, a while back now I seem to remember something about using steam to kill them off..... so am trying to investigate further.
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Post by Ali on Aug 11, 2012 8:12:41 GMT 1
Well I'm sticking to membrane. Because we simply do not have any problem with weeds coming through. The occasional one yes, but hardly a thing. I think it's because we compacted the soil underneath, laid and extremely good membrane, then 20mm white pebbles on top only (no sand no nothing else) Even where the dogs run round to the gate whipping the stones away in their haste to get their paws moving faster leaving a bare path weeds don't come through. So I say dig it all out and start again
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Post by <-Rinky-Dink-> on Aug 11, 2012 23:36:01 GMT 1
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2012 10:45:40 GMT 1
I don't care if this post is boring. Someone, somewhere, may get something out of it, so I justify it to myself on those grounds....
If the surface you've laid, WWW, is load-bearing enough not to deeply rut every time you drive over it, then it's fit for purpose, and I wouldn't re-work it. The cost of doing so just to combat the weeds cannot be justified on financial grounds....
So combat the weeds alone. Start by knowing that soil contains a seedbank of approx 50,000 weed seeds/m2. And that weeds produce between 1000 & 10,000 seeds per annum, per weed. I'm not making these numbers up.....
During construction you inevitably disturbed the soil. Disturbed soil actually promotes the germination of weed seeds - it's said that the battlefields of Flanders produced an explosion of poppy germination because of the bombardments - so the weed seeds under your gravel have gone 'mental'...
Top-dressing the existing surface with more material will not stop all the weeds getting through. Existing perennial weeds in particular will get through because they have the mechanical strength in reserve, held in their (existing) roots....
As wibble says, you'll still get surface rooting of wind-blown seed anyway. So hard surfacing, and particularly gravel, has an implied annual maintenance, if you want it looking pristine....
But I wouldn't dig anything out - more soil disturbance. Well-timed spraying, and leaving the dying weeds alone, however unsightly they may be, is the surest way. Spring and now are when weeds need to be hit, to stop them producing seed. Oh, and summer, if wet, because it's a combination of warmth and wet which provokes germination too....
There is some good news. What is now a big chore, because you seem to have to spray the whole area, becomes less so over time, as the seedbank in the soil slowly becomes exhausted, and 'spot' control here and there becomes the norm, instead of having to spray the whole thing. Gravel drives 'mature', and settle down, but you young'uns are always in a blazing hurry to have what you want now, when everyone else knows that if it's worth having then it's worth waiting for.....!
Anyway, I did say all this would be boring. I haven't let anyone down!
Good luck with whatever way you choose to go forward.
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