Prevent Weeds in Gravel Driveway

[The Deerslayer]

Looking to see if anyone has had any success with preventing weeds from growing in a gravel driveway. Mine is over 700 feet, so spot-killing is not an option. I just had it redone with processed aggregate, so I cannot place a barrier underneath. Not sure that would work anyway as weeds can grow above over time.
I have heard of applying rock salt or calcium chloride as a preventer. Has anyone had luck with that or other ideas? It looks awesome now, and I would like to keep it up beyond the periodic york raking with my Kubota that I do to maintain it. Thanks in advance!

 

[jdonovan]

I've got 600' of driveway and spray about 5 gal of round up 2-3x a year.

 

[riptides]

My driveway is over 1000 plus feet. I walk down it twice a year with roundup.

Just finished it day before yesterday. Takes about and hour. Get yourself a good sprayer, and I'd say your all set.

 

[Mike Costello]

While my driveway is not as long as yours(about 150'), I use a 15 gallon towable tank sprayer behind my rider mower. I adjust the nozzles for about a 6' foot width and go slow enough to give any weeds a good shot of spray. The time it takes to do this is not much at all, so even your drive could be treated within a reasonable time. I re-graveled my drive last fall and sprayed the old surface before I spread the new gravel.
My tank sprayer also has a hand held wand that I can use for spot treatments if necessary. It's a versatile piece of equipment for treating weeds or even fertilizing the lawn. I"ve even used it to apply flea and tick spray on my lawn in a perimeter fashion around my house. Like you, I want to keep my drive looking neat and crisp and this routine works well. Weeds and insects are persistant, so you have to keep after them. Mike.

 

[The Deerslayer]

Thanks Mike. What solution do you use in the sprayer?

 

[Mike Costello]

Thanks Mike. What solution do you use in the sprayer?

I use Roundup concentrate at a solution of 6 ounces per gallon of water. For larger applications you can buy the agricultural versions of Roundup (under various names--look for Monsanto as the manufacturer) which is much cheaper than the brand name and just as effective. My sprayer is made by Fimco. They make a wide variety of sprayers for just about anything and are availabe at most ag supply stores such as TSC etc. Mike.

 

[jlsmith]

I use some stuff called Erase and it works great. I mix it up in my sprayer and pull it behind my 4wheller using the boom.
Jeremy

 

[Michelle K linnane]

take a look at post round up is my weed wacker

 

[tlbuser]

Spraying is the way to go, hit up the farm supply for some pramitol. Heavier duty I only have to spray once a year.

Salt will help keep the dust down, but will break up the binders in the gravel and make a mess.

 

[zzvyb6]

I use Spectracide or Roundup on the edge of my gravel driveway. I aggrevate the problem by forgetting sometimes to run the mower discharge away from the driveway, so grass gets seeded into it.

My 'solution' is to use a 3 gallon pump sprayer that has been modified to add a Schraeder valve at the top so I can pressurize it from my air suppy via a tire filler. There is a pressure relief valve already in the sprayer so that a Mike Tyson owner wouldn't overload the hand pumped fill.

Then I just ride the golf cart down each side of the drive with the sprayer going and that's all folks. Be sure to leave enough empty room in the tank when starting out, so there is enough air volume to push the entire liquid load or else you will need to reload. I use a sprayer that is commited to weed killer use only so I don't kill off the flowers if 'someone else' around needs the use of a sprayer.