Getting rid of grass and weeds in a driveway

[bal0123]

That is the hype they want us to believe. I frankly don't believe it. We are being fed this stuff all the time now, and it is turning us into "followers" of the ill-made laws that we are forced to abide by. No offense to those that want to believe it.

AAAMEN!!
beenthere
Well put

 

[Ford850]

CharlieS,
It sounds like you need a grader. There have been many discussions on here about them, with several examples of home built models too. They typically have 2 blades no more than 6" tall tilted back so the cut gravel spills over the top as you drive. The blades are spaced a couple feet apart so the gravel is worked twice with every pass. They have taller sides to contain the gravel or soil so it doesn't spill outside the path being worked. Do a search for Grader or Road Grader to see some examples.

 

[sld]

I don't think there is an easy solution. Spraying seems to work for me on a driveway that is about 150 feet long and 20 feet wide but it is still hard work and can get expensive.

My buddy's dad had a chemical / geology background and he was always pouring used oil on gravel roads and driveways. He said unless your water table was only 12 inches below the surface the oil would break down and be completely harmless. The only thing he was careful about was doing it in excess to where rain could make it runoff. But it is very hard for water to rinse oil off a gravel road and take it very far.

 

[forgeblast]

there are "recipes" out there for a "natural" weed killer.
I remember seeing it in a post in rural living. It was something like water, salt and vinegar with i think a dash of dishsoap, it was cheap easy to make and killed p. ivy

 

[JDGreenGrass]

I have a gravel driveway and I use my rear blade to maintain the ugly, grown in edges. Works great.

I angle my blade to pull the material to the center of the drive. Then, I use a hand rake to fish out the "soil" and re-claim the gravel and rocks. Ya, it's a bit of hand work but, I will always speak highly of a good metal garden rake. I love that hand work.

Can you post some pictures of how extensive the "edging" might be.??

 

[SimS]

JJ;

I agree with you. Most tough problems can usually be solved with the correct application of fire or explosives.

SimS

 

[AlbertaDan]

What we use up here in Alberta to sterilize the soil after the rigs move out is plain old salt. If you spread salt the plants will dry out and die. You may have to do it a coouple of times but after that it should be good for a few years, until the salt gets diluted by rain and snow.

My suggestion is to use a torch to burn the tops to kill that part of the plant then the salt to kill the roots. A few applications throughout the year and you should be noticing results soon.

 

[MW66]

What we use up here in Alberta to sterilize the soil after the rigs move out is plain old salt. If you spread salt the plants will dry out and die. You may have to do it a coouple of times but after that it should be good for a few years, until the salt gets diluted by rain and snow.

My suggestion is to use a torch to burn the tops to kill that part of the plant then the salt to kill the roots. A few applications throughout the year and you should be noticing results soon.

Glyphosate is a type of salt. That would work too, but i think glyphosate would work quicker as it is probably more easily absorbed. I just ordered the 2.5 gallon jug from Rural King today. Even with shipping, it is considerably cheaper than TSC.

 

[SpringHollow]

One of the faculty members here makes a nice side living by being able to follow the flow of hydrocarbons in ground water back to the source so they know who has to pay the multimillion dollar cleanup etc. I would not intentionally pour oil on the ground.

 

[defed]

i've just been working on the same thing. my driveway was originally 20' wide...after 10 yrs, it's down to a trucks width. i was going to add stone this year to raise the drive so it was a bit higher than the lawn to help snow blow across it. so, while i was going to work on it anyway, i took the box blade and peeled the sod off the edges to widen it back up. it's a mess, and it is hard to believe how much the grass/weeds have encroached into the gravel drive in a relatively short period.

once i broke the sod off, i ran the box blade over the edges to drag out the big stuff, then over and over it to keep pulling the dirt/sod out.

now that i have it back, i too would like a way to dress it out yearly to help prevent it from creeping in again.