📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Help with Weeds!

Options
alanshave
alanshave Posts: 415 Forumite
edited 9 April 2019 at 9:35PM in Gardening
I had our garden areas landscaped last year, at a fairly decent expense.

The local landscaper, someone highly regarded online and with all the right accreditations and work guarantees, promised me a low maintenance solution.

Part of the landscaping is stone chippings running alongside the driveway.

Within the last year they've developed a notable amount (and variety) of weeds! I've tried killing them once with typical weedkiller and then hand weeding after a few days once the weeds had wilted, but in no time I was back to square one.

So being fairly clueless to this, I need your opinion and help!

1. Am I unfair to think this isn't what I expected and for the landscaper to fix it? He claims that nothing can be done because I live near a road so it's natural. :( I saw them lay down membrane first, so its not as though they skipped that step.

2. If it's something I can deal with myself. What's the best method for lasting results and can I do it without killing the 'buxom balls'?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nDa7HrJtLMpMP3Vm7

https://photos.app.goo.gl/28tn4dbN8bYdY8TE8
«1

Comments

  • unrecordings
    unrecordings Posts: 2,017 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    A simple flame gun is my weapon of choice, although you have to be careful where you point it of course - and its not necessarily going to do your membrane much good (I don't use the stuff)

    Why am I in this handcart and where are we going ?
  • Justagardener
    Justagardener Posts: 307 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Posts
    edited 28 June 2019 at 9:25AM
    The landscaper has done everything right, membranes only stop old perennial weeds coming through. Membranes with gravel on top actually provide a perfectly protected germination area for weeds to grow. Unfortunately you will never be able to prevent this.
    Just keep a little spray bottle of weed killer handy and don't let the weeds take hold. I find Neudorff weed killer very successful and fast.
    https://theperfectgarden.co.uk/the-best-weed-killers-for-your-garden-and-how-to-use-weed-killers-successfully/
  • -taff
    -taff Posts: 15,364 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 10 April 2019 at 10:04AM
    I have a single thickness of good weed membrane down in the front garden and my weed problem comes from [mostly] cornflower seeds blowing into any dirt that gets blown and trapped in the gravel, along with a few spots of couch grass that pop up and some errant muscaria from seeds blown. I did this two years ago.

    My weed problem is nowhere as bad as your pictures, I pull maybe a half bucketful in total a year, if that, but I dug out every bit of weed I found before I put the membrane down.
    Did they? Because if they left roots intact things will sprout. I would not expect that many weeds after only one year and certainly not in the same year. If the grass spots have grown that much there's either a lot of dirt in the gravel, which is possible, or you have unusually fertile seeds. I noticed you have mares tail in there and couch grass, it's possible they've grown through the membrane, and both are a swine to get rid of.
    Are the grass clumps easy to pull out? You've also got hawkweed in there which can quickly grow to colonise an area, I know, because I deliberately planted it in the front garden in the border [ because I like it] but it certainly made it's presence felt within short order nd I had to dig a bit of it out.
    Non me fac calcitrare tuum culi
  • FabFifty
    FabFifty Posts: 152 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    We use rock salt to keep weeds at bay. Preferably sprinkled before rain is due so it soaks in fairly quickly rather than just sitting on the top of the stone chippings. Just be aware it will also kill off any plants so only throw around in areas where it's weedy.
  • Ebe_Scrooge
    Ebe_Scrooge Posts: 7,320 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    All of the above advice is sound. If it's really getting to be a pain, one solution is to remove all the gravel and check that the membrane underneath is still intact. Maybe even put another layer on top of it, then replace the gravel. That should eliminate one potential source.

    It's no small job though - and you don't really want to be raking the gravel off too vigorously, otherwise you'll puncture the membrane (assuming it's currently OK).

    The other thing is to wash the gravel, and remove any soil that's on the membrane. It's always a bit of an uphill struggle, to be honest. With the best will in the world, sand and soil gets blown onto/into the gravel, then seeds get deposited by the wind or bird droppings, and weeds grow. I think once you've established that the membrane underneath is undamaged, and you've got rid of any soil that's accumulated, it's just a case of keeping on top of it with the weedkiller of your choice as and when needed (salt is a good "natural" option, as a FabFifty said - or seawater, if you happen to live right by the coast).
  • unrecordings
    unrecordings Posts: 2,017 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    FabFifty wrote: »
    We use rock salt to keep weeds at bay. Preferably sprinkled before rain is due so it soaks in fairly quickly rather than just sitting on the top of the stone chippings. Just be aware it will also kill off any plants so only throw around in areas where it's weedy.

    I love this idea. We've a very old gravel drive on an incline

    Why am I in this handcart and where are we going ?
  • Grenage
    Grenage Posts: 3,200 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I'd simply spray with Glyphosate occasionally. You'll never win, it's just keeping the stuff under control.
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Something wasn't done right, but the lanscaper will never admit it.


    We put down a caravan pad some 4 or more years ago now, which was vibrated Mot type1 topped with quality geofabric membrane and then granite chippings. Very few weeds have germinated since on the open areas, despite this being the countryside with a wealth of exciting weeds nearby. I really expected trouble, such as I experience on the drive, but the whole pad has probably had no more than 10minutes of attention since we made it.

    I'm not a fan of using salt, so I cope with weeds using a knapsack sprayer and a variety of weedkillers, but mostly I use glyphosate.

    Used at the right time, the sprayer is accurate and causes no harm to nearby wanted plants. It's possible to buy a cone to fit over the nozzle to cope with situations like the box balls too.
  • unrecordings
    unrecordings Posts: 2,017 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Interested to hear why you're not a fan of the salt method

    Why am I in this handcart and where are we going ?
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Interested to hear why you're not a fan of the salt method
    Salt is a chemical which poisons the ground when it accumulates in quantity; just ask the farmers in places like the Nile Delta.


    Glyphosate breaks down quickly when it hits the soil/water and causes no long term harm, which is why it's the only chemical approved by the Environment Agency for use in waterways.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 351.1K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.6K Spending & Discounts
  • 244.1K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 599K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177K Life & Family
  • 257.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.