Weeds on gravel driveway - Help!

budgie123_2

Hi,

We have a long gravel driveway and are having problems with weeds. The driveway used to be part of a field and it seems the field is trying to reinstate itself Along the edges we have grass creeping (hoping to edge it but probably not till next year) in and down the middle we have weeds growing.

We bought one of those pump style pressure sprayers and have been spraying thin bleach but that doesn't really seem to be having a great effect. Also tried boiling water but that hasn't been very economical due to the size of the drive. If we pull the weeds up, it pulls out chunks of the drive (not pretty).

Our drinking water in the house comes from a spring too so have been worried about putting down chemicals. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what we can try now?

Many thanks.

MaximumImpact

You could get a couple of Geese...they make good and cheap guards as well as giving you eggs from March til July???? They decimate weeds and grass!!!

budgie123_2

Haha, yes good idea but we were thinking more of a weedkiller of the non living variety :-)

adouglasmhor

Buy a flame gun, or mount a blowtorch on a long broom handle, singe the weeds so they go dark - not burnt to the ground, they will then try to heal and this will weaken and kill them (it may take two or three goes). no chemicals and not too pricy. If you burn them to the ground they will grow back from the roots.

kandyfloss

Hi Budgie,

I was going to say to use Roundup on the drive weeds but if you are worried about your drinking water it might not be a good idea.

We get weeds where the drive butts up to our house and they are murder to try and pull up.It is amazing how deep those little roots can get and they are a so and so to try and pull out,so I ussually boil up some water in a kettle and pour that onto the weeds which usually does the trick or else I sprinkle salt onto them which burns off the top growth and then I use the boiling water method on whats left.

I thnk you will find that whatever method you use you will always have a fresh lot of seed waiting to germinate so it will be a constant battle to get rid fo them once and for all.

A_Star

as adouglasmhor said. We've had good success with a flame gun.

amcluesent

>Does anyone have any suggestions as to what we can try now?<

Glyphosate weedkiller. It's not a poison to us.

A_Clock

amcluesent wrote: »

>Does anyone have any suggestions as to what we can try now?<

Glyphosate weedkiller. It's not a poison to us.

Don't they say that about all the other weedkillers they end up banning in x amount of years time

Suzy_M

Sounds as though you need one of the weedkillers that become inactive on contact with the soil and is not harmful once dry. Can't remember what the active ingredients are. You'll just have to have a good browse through the chemicals section in a good garden centre to check out the labels.

angelavdavis

Suzy_M wrote: »

Sounds as though you need one of the weedkillers that become inactive on contact with the soil and is not harmful once dry. Can't remember what the active ingredients are. You'll just have to have a good browse through the chemicals section in a good garden centre to check out the labels.

This is glyphosate based as amcluesent has mentioned. It neutralises when it hits the soil.