discussion Calling all gardeners - stopping weeds forever.

[Andy T]

I hope you don't mind but I know we have a few green fingered types here.

Long story short (ish), I've cleared an area of mums garden that was too much for her to cope with. It has been covered in two layers of weed membrane which will soon be hidden by decorative gravel. However, knowing how persistent weeds can be I'm still expecting a bit of regrowth, especially around the edges.

Most weedkillers seem to act on the leaves of growing plants, which clearly aren't there now, so is there anything else I can put into the soil to hold the pesky things at bay, or will a strong application of regular weedkiller do the job?

There is a metre wide path separating this area from any other plant life and there are no plans to ever replant it, so it can be something pretty potent.

Many thanks.

 

[Valeron]

My experience of weeds, mainly from Veg growing, is that they always find a way.

Weedkiller will work but my preference would be to just rake with a hoe on a regular basis when the weeds are tiny and not established. As long as you've gone a full clearance beforehand weeds shouldn't get too big.

 

[spanner570]

'Round up' all the way. It kills weeds right down, root and all.

 

[Andy T]

Thank you both.

Mike - we've raked as much as we can but will uncover it and have another go before putting anything down.

Ron, thanks. Round up & Gallup were two I was looking at so that's decided it for me.

 

[Guest]

Andy .
Round up becomes inoperative on contact with the soil, so regular spraying would kill any new weeds. The only thing against weed barriers is most weeds come from airborne seeds so why bother to even use it . Unless you have a deep rooted weed such as Dandelion which require to be dug up completely they will grow back through any barrier, just look at the cheap way councils have attempted to surface foot paths , some plants just appear through it . 20 % white vinegar sold on evil bay kills weeds . It will just need a regular spraying , either that or burn it

 

[rtfoe]

I have not actually done it and don't know how it works but when I was in Sydney I noticed a lot of wood chips used to line the bottom of trees and walkways. Perhaps there is much unseen tending but sure keeps weeds away.
Maybe someone can help explaining the use of wood chips.

Cheers,
Wabble

 

[Andy T]

I knew you'd work fire into the solution somewhere John :smiling5:

We have an area in our garden where I've done a similar membrane & gravel cover and it has worked pretty well, apart from the odd one here & there that blows on top as you say. Doubling up the barrier and about 3" of pebbles helps lol.

It's a metre wide strip at my mums that used to have a hedgerow, now removed by the neighbours and replaced with a fence. No way I can dig all those roots out so I'm hoping to suppress the regrowth, and the nettles that sprung up in its place.

 

[Guest]

I have not actually done it and don't know how it works but when I was in Sydney I noticed a lot of wood chips used to line the bottom of trees and walkways. Perhaps there is much unseen tending but sure keeps weeds away.
Maybe someone can help explaining the use of wood chips.

Cheers,
Wabble

Nice idea to use Wabble , but the weeds seed will still land on them and germinate. Remember its used in a finer form in compost !

Wobble

 

[Andy T]

Crossed posts Richard.

I think the wood chips work similar to the membrane & pebbles I'm using. By cutting off their light source they can't / won't regrow.

Or that's the idea :smiling5:

 

[Guest]

I knew you'd work fire into the solution somewhere John :smiling5:

We have an area in our garden where I've done a similar membrane & gravel cover and it has worked pretty well, apart from the odd one here & there that blows on top as you say. Doubling up the barrier and about 3" of pebbles helps lol.

It's a metre wide strip at my mums that used to have a hedgerow, now removed by the neighbours and replaced with a fence. No way I can dig all those roots out so I'm hoping to suppress the regrowth, and the nettles that sprung up in its place.

That should work Andy, just the removal of weeds when they appear .

 

[Andy T]

Thanks John.

I'm sure between us we can keep on top of the ones that appear, I just want to try and suppress the bulk

 

[stillp]

There used to be a pre-emergence weedkiller that killed them as soon as they germinated, but it was taken off the market as too dangerous. As JR said, most weeds come from airborne seeds anyway, so I don't think you can do anything except try to keep on top of them. A flame gun helps... (surprised JR didn't suggest that!)
Pete

 

[dave]

As Pete said there were a couple of weed killers that were persistent and could be sprayed into crack between paving stones etc and prevented seed germination, coupled with round-up, to kill existing growth and roots worked well. However the powers that be banned them.
I don’t know anything effective on the market now.

 

[stillp]

There are still some: https://www.agrigem.co.uk/weed-killers/pre-emergent-weed-killers
Not sure if they can be sold to non-professionals though.
Pete

 

[dave]

There are still some: https://www.agrigem.co.uk/weed-killers/pre-emergent-weed-killers
Not sure if they can be sold to non-professionals though.
Pete

As far as I know they are for professionals only and for certain purposes.

 

[langy71]

Concrete the whole area.... no weeds....ever...lol

 

[stillp]

Concrete the whole area.... no weeds....ever...lol

Until it cracks.

 

[Andy T]

Thanks Pete & Dave.

That's given me an idea actually. The unit next door to ours is occupied by some groundsmen that do football & cricket pitches, racecourses etc. They might have something tucked away.

I asked one of them for a handful of grass seed one day for a bare patch on my lawn. He offered me a 25kg bag :smiling5: They get through pallet loads a week in sowing season.

 

[minitnkr]

Roundup is in litigation here due to a high incidence of cancer occurrences in folks who used it regularly. A friend of mine beat his cancer. He used roundup while working for a gardener through college.

 

[Ian M]

Not in the market names in the UK but once you have go rid of the weeds that are growing you need to spray with a 'pre emergant ' type.
Keeper might be one.
With what you have done and weeds will be airborne seeding which should be easy to take care of.