Gravel cleanup (driveway/parking areas)

[jlgurr]

nothing works permanently as has been said. I found white vinegar full strength works as well as Roundup and is less expensive and is environmentally friendly.

Your yard will smell like rotten apples for a day of two though!

Thanks for the tip oldpilgrim. I'm going to try this the very next time I would have used roundup.:thumbsup:

 

[Kapnfriday]

I'm another one with a pet peeve about weeds in my gravel. I end up spraying about 3 times a year. Finding something that permanently prevents weeds in gravel would be akin to finding a cure for the common cold.

I also use my 48" box blade to touch up my driveway a few times a year and that seems to help with clearing out some weeds too. I've kind of got my pattern down now so I can box blade the driveway in about 20 min and it looks great afterwards. Of course it's impossible to get in all the nooks and crannies with the box blade so I still end up spraying.

 

[lt190b]

nothing works permanently as has been said. I found white vinegar full strength works as well as Roundup and is less expensive and is environmentally friendly.

Your yard will smell like rotten apples for a day of two though!

oldpilgrim,how are you mixing your (Roundup)? and what is the price of white vinegar? lt190b

 

[oldpilgrim]

oldpilgrim,how are you mixing your (Roundup)? and what is the price of white vinegar? lt190b

I never mixed the roundup, just used it as it came out of the bottle. I got the vinegar in the local grocery store in gallon jugs. I can' remember what I paid. It wasn't much compared to the chemicals.

The straight vinegar doesn't work overnight like the Roundup where you can see the weeds wilt almost immediately. If takes a couple of days before the vinegar turns it brown. It's like the Roundup where you have to apply it a couple or three times over the weed/grass growing season.

I finally gave up on using anything and just let the grass/weeds do their thing. I got tired of spraying the driveway so often. I let the center of the driveway turn green, like a typical woods road, with the dirt tire tracks where nothing will grow.

I just put the vinegar out there as a cheaper/safer option to Roundup. The cheapest/safest/quickest way to solve the grass/weed issue is simply mow it when it needs it.

As someone once said, "Too soon old, and too late smart".

As someone else said, "You can't fight Mother Nature."

 

[Cherokee140]

I too can't stand weeds on my driveway. I was gonna try one of those roofing torches this year... you're saying it doesn't work... or just not permanent? I don't mind having to do it every three or four weeks.

I was using gas... worked, but as with everything else they come back.

Don't bother with the torch, tried one. "They say" (internet experts) that it will kill the weed seeds and you will have less weeds.....(why do I want to spell weeds with an "a") anyway....it don't work. Then as I had the torch I tried to burn off the weeds in the center of the driveway, little diesel, little fire....seemed to work for about a month.

I think that this is just one of those battles that you just are not going to win. I did ratchet rake a small area of the drive, but it has not been growing season....I am sure they will come back. Some of these ideas I will try.

 

[Threepoint]

[snip]
I also use my 48" box blade to touch up my driveway a few times a year and that seems to help with clearing out some weeds too. I've kind of got my pattern down now so I can box blade the driveway in about 20 min and it looks great afterwards. Of course it's impossible to get in all the nooks and crannies with the box blade so I still end up spraying.

+1 on the box blade (w/o the scarifiers, as they'll disturb too much, unless your problem is worse than it sounds). I've also had good results with a six foot York rake with especially flexible tines, but I prefer the BB.

Commercial chemicals are pretty expensive, but even with them the battle is incessant. So I'm also concerned about consequences of repeated application. Especially if your critters frequent the treated area, as it sounds like yours may. White vinegar (apple cider vinegar is much more expensive), may be available to you locally in gallon jugs (WalMart, Sam's, Costco). It's something I myself want to try for tight spots.

 

[hhsco]

This is the best thing that can be mixed with gravel to prevent weeds.

View attachment 373275

Bruce

Haha, that's good.

If you were to rip up the whole mess, definitely put a geotextile down under the gravel....unfortunately weeds can still grow in the fines of your driveway but at least the textile would limit any root structure.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I've tried several different approaches, but with gravel nothing is permanent. I've mostly ended up with Oldpilgrim's weed-tolerant approach, EXCEPT, that I toss boiling water from my cooking (eg when I drain boiled spuds, veggies or pasta) across the larger weed patches. I like the sound the exploding weed cells make when the boiling water hits them (cue evil laugh).

 

[Cherokee140]

I've tried several different approaches, but with gravel nothing is permanent. I've mostly ended up with Oldpilgrim's weed-tolerant approach, EXCEPT, that I toss boiling water from my cooking (eg when I drain boiled spuds, veggies or pasta) across the larger weed patches. I like the sound the exploding weed cells make when the boiling water hits them (cue evil laugh).

They explode? Ok you have me very interested.

 

[Coyote machine]

Boiling water does work as well as anything and so does salt, but water is probably the most enviro friendly, and least costly, if using it secondarily to first use; cooking.
I've had good luck with Ortho Groundkleer, stronger than Roundup. There are some pre-emergent chemicals available too which are designed to attach the weeds/grasses prior to their gestating/ maturing. Don't know their names offhand.
I too hate WEEDS!