killing off grass?

[mopower440]

getting ready to spread some gravel from the driveway to the pole barn im building, as it is, i have a heck of a time with grass growing up through the gravel driveway, what can i use to kill off the big area im getting ready to gravel so i wont have to deal with this? I know roundup works but it would take a lot to do the area and is expensive, any home made stuff?

 

[Gatorboy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( do the area and is expensive, any home made stuff? )</font>

How large of an area do you have? Roundup isn't that expensive if you buy it in concentrate and mix your own.

I would think the best way is to roll out weedblock before you dump the gravel.

 

[Golfgar4]

You might consider an atomizer to apply the Roundup with. Someone in the lawn maintenance field could probably answer the question better. But when I built my house, by the time I was ready to put in my lawn, there were weeds everywhere and they were a good 2' - 3' tall. I had hired a landscaper (my secretaries husband) to help design our landscaping and to take care of the initial creation of the planting beds, sidewalks, etc. He came in one day with a walk behind push type atomizer. He said he was using roundup, and he walked back and forth just like you would with a broadcast spreader. I remember asking him if the thing was working, because I couldn't see anything coming out. He said it was working just fine.

Two or three days later, every weed in the yard was dead. As far as I know, he used the regular Roundup concentrate, but with the atomizer, it goes a lot farther.

 

[AndyM]

OK, I'm back to being serious again.

I agree with Dave. If you absolutely don't want weeds, you're going to have to spend the money for the weedblock.

I had a driveway that I put roundup on and every other spray on product, and I got caught up in a never ending battle with the weeds. It seemed like the weeds developed an immunity to the spray or something. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Now that I don't live in town anymore, I've learned not to let it bother me as much. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[rdln]

wait a minute guys! dont you want to scrape off the organic matter before trying to install a driveway? if the weed/grass producing soil was stripped, no roundup needed.

But keep in mind some weeds will grow in anything so you will always have that maintanence.

 

[Junkman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I believe you have a neighbor that might be able to help you out. All you need to do is give him a match and hold his beer for him while he's working...

)</font>

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( OK, I'm back to being serious again. )</font>
Yeah..... Right.... Like you think we are going to believe that???

Mopower,

I must apologize for Andy's comments. You see, he just don't know how to talk to a fine Southern gentleman such as yourself. Andy, as a child just wasn't taught much respect for others and sometimes he just doesn't know how to act properly. He is what some people call "one of those simple people /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. When that fine barn of your is finished, a few of us TBN'ers are going to take him back there and teach him a lesson or two in manners. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[pilonidal]

Golfgar is on it. Roundup will kill anything on the surface. It doesn't go into the soil though, it neutralizes it. So any seeds in the soil or whatever floats in after you spray will sprout. Just a small mist on a single leaf will kill the whole plant/grass whatever. No need to drown the stuff. A Little will go a looong way. In about 3 weeks though you'll start to see new vegitation start to come back. (seeds left in soil) I sprayed my entire yard, prep for sod, with a hand held 2 gallon sprayer walking fast as I went and in a few days - dead vegitation - everything. I see you only have a lawn tractor in your profile. If you have a friend with a tractor and a blade/box blade scrape off a couple of inches of topsoil when you see the grass dieing off and use it somewhere else. Drop some shale first in your trough then gravel over the top. The shale will hold the gravel up out of the dirt and form a good barrier for grass/weeds in the drive. Otherwise put the shale on the ground then the gravel. In time the drive will level out with the turf. Best bet for a relatively weed free drive, except on the edges where it meets the turf.

 

[Junkman]

pilonidal ...........
One thing to remember.. this is a National, if not International board in scope. I realize that where you live, shale is a relatively common product to acquire. Here in the Northeast, shale isn't very common at all, but granite and other "hard" rocks are. In Tennessee, where Mopower is located, I am not certain that shale might be locally available. All this has to be taken into consideration when making suggestions. Just pointing this out because I see you are new here and i am trying to be helpful and respectful.

 

[SteveH_CT]

If you don't mind roundish yellow circles my dog could take care of that grass for you... might take a coule weeks of leaks though /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif.

When I did our main driveway last fall we scraped the driveway down to get all the remaining topsoil off of it - then put down a really heavy fabric called "Maraffe" thats a phonetical spelling - I'd like to find more of it - no weeds and it prevents ruts as well. We then added about 2 to 3 " of gravel over the fabric. It's held up through the winter real well.

Good Luck. (And let me know if you need Wally to take care of that grass for you)

 

[ronjhall]

mopower440

I always use a Weed and Grass killer in an area that I do not want grass and weeds to grow. Using Roundup will let plants start growing again after about 2 weeks.

I use a product similar to Ortho Triox.
Here is a link to the product that Ortho has replaced it with.

Click Here

 

[Joe1]

A gallon of roundup at a 2% solution would make 50 gallons of spray. That should cover 1-2 acres. A weed barrier cloth will save a lot of work in the long run.

 

[Egon]

Killing of grass, It's easy. Just come look at my nice brown lawn which my tender loving care managed to destroy last summer. Only the weeds survived.

I used a killex mixture that was too strong.

Egon

 

[Bowhunter]

I'm trying to visualize how this weed-proof fabric works. Seems that around my house and from what I've read this also holds true in the south...the best way to get grass to grow is to put down gravel. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Seriously though, it'll depend on what kind of gravel you spread and how much lime dust is present in it. I think that even if you put down a weed-proof fabric grass/weed seeds will end up in your new gravel and sprout in the lime. You will have to spray with Roundup or a similar product anyway.

When I built my driveway I did as some of the posters here suggested. Remove the topsoil and lay down the gravel. I'd start with a good layer of larger gravel like #2 or #5 to get a good base, then top it off with finer gravel. I spray my drive with Roundup about once every 4 to 6 weeks in the summer to keep the weeds out, but that just because I'm **** about things like that. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[BubbaJr]

When I made our driveway through the woods and up to the house, I was told to take the topsoil off and get down to the subsoil (in my case about 6-10"). I used my boxblade to take the topsoil (and grass) off and level up the drive. Then I put down #2 (fist size) stones, then put what they call 50% gravel (half stones, half fines) down on top of that. Then I waited a year and put a coat of finish gravel on top. With that method there is no need to kill any vegetation. It's been over 2 years and I now have a very solid driveway on top of clay.

 

[fivestring]

<font color="red">"the best way to get grass to grow is to put down gravel." </font>

Bowhunter, I think you got it. Gravel is fertilizer for weeds!!! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

The only way to keep weeds at bay is a regular de-weeding program.
Period.
You can spend all the big bucks you want to on "weed-proof" fabrics but, weed seeds from a neighbor's property will blow over onto your property (and onto your "weed-proof" fabric) and, voila! new weeds.
Roundup or Reward will kill any weed out there. Keep some on hand.

 

[mopower440]

yah, the weedproof blankets are useless, i did a sidewalk, i layed the weedproof blanket down, then put down the 16"x16" stepping stones, then poured pea gravel around them using timbers to contain them, im out there once a week pulling out grass and weeds, matter of fact, i think the blanket actually fertilizes the stuff! never again!

 

[GareyD]

Look for a product called "Baracide" not sure of exact spelling...I get it at the local CoOp...it is what the railroads use on the right-of-ways....sterilizes the soil for 7 years...doesn't allow anything green to grow where it is applied...did my driveway 8 years ago and have never seen a green thing growing in it....

GareyD

 

[fishman]

Mopower,

If I'm reading your post right, it sounds like you want to kill the weeds that will be under the gravel in your pole barn. If so, you won't have to worry about resprouting. I'd just boxblade off the existing vegetation. However, if that isn't possible, buy some generic glyphosate (same as roundup) at your local chemical supply store if you have a big area to kill or if you just want to have it around for when you need it (like I do /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif). If you are just killing inside your pole barn, the little $10 bottle of concentrate at the hardware store will work fine in a 2 gallon sprayer.