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Gardening

Bloody weeds coming up through the drive !

(44 Posts)
hazel93 Tue 05-Mar-24 15:42:10

Watched weather forecast meticulously this morning. What ? A day with no rain, the attack is on. Diligently mixed bicarb, vinegar, water into old sprayer. Two thirds of the way through a spot of rain, then a torrent for 3 minutes - so pissed off.
Did not help DH arriving back to tell me "Its dry everywhere but here.
Priceless !

Jaxjacky Fri 08-Mar-24 19:54:50

I just regularly use the right hoe, I wont use salt or glyphosate as they damage the ecosystem.
Some weeds are quite pretty, the bees and insects need all the help they can get.

Nanamary19 Fri 08-Mar-24 19:40:00

I filled 1 litre plastic bottle with a 2-inch salt 1 half bottle of cheap washing up liquid I bottle of white vinegar shake to mix .....it worked in my garden and on my patio....
No weeds

Germanshepherdsmum Fri 08-Mar-24 18:15:17

They’re ok for small areas.

Soozikinzi Fri 08-Mar-24 18:10:07

My hubby has one of the weed burner things you use with lighter fluid aerosol can. It works really well and is quite a pleasant job in fact it's favourite!

Germanshepherdsmum Fri 08-Mar-24 17:33:37

It would certainly kill any insects that you poured it on!

rubysong Fri 08-Mar-24 17:24:17

Boiling water kills weeds in difficult places. I take a freshly boiled kettle out to the joins in the patio now and again. It does no harm to anything but the weeds.

Germanshepherdsmum Fri 08-Mar-24 17:18:47

Weed killer Candelle. We get moss at the entrance to our gravel drive after prolonged wet weather. I know it’s not popular on here but my husband sprays it and any weeds in the gravel with Roundup. It works. We have a very large back garden with lots of planting for pollinators and other wildlife so I can live with Roundup on the gravel drive, and hand weeding elsewhere.

4allweknow Fri 08-Mar-24 16:47:12

Candelle I have a large monobloc drive and have tried various moss killing preparations meant for drives. After the usual two week allowed for it to work, yes, there is a difference it looks dead and faded but it's still there. The only way I feel the drive looks cleaned is by scraping the dam stuff out. I section off the drive and do a bit every day for about a week, weather permitting of course. Some people power clean monibloc but then it needs resanded. Just can't win!

Candelle Fri 08-Mar-24 14:00:43

Interesting thread.

We have moss over quite a large area of gravel and have been pondering the way to deal with it. I don't fancy cleaning each individual piece of gravel!

Any ideas on what to do?

Suzieque66 Fri 08-Mar-24 14:00:04

Dont kill dandelions ,, the bees are desperate for the pollen ...

Nannan2 Fri 08-Mar-24 13:24:44

I darent use roundup or such as we have cat and theres about 4 neighboring cats that roam through all the gardens.(theyre very clean though, dont leave me 'presents') 😸

Nannan2 Fri 08-Mar-24 13:21:41

People use rock salt in the winter over th ice i think.🤔

Dillonsgranma Fri 08-Mar-24 12:35:45

Rock salt is very bad for the soil and the surrounding environment. Will kill worms etc and in the end hedgehogs and wild birds. Please don’t use salt in the garden !

Nannan2 Fri 08-Mar-24 12:28:47

Grannybags- does it not kill the grass as well though? We have that stupid'plastic grid' stuff down where the 'lawn' is supposed to grow through and so pretend its not a driveway.(housing assoc.says the council dictated they do that)!

knspol Fri 08-Mar-24 11:44:22

I don't trust myself with the flame thrower weed killer and so use Round Up. I have the remains of some industrial strength Round Up but gather that I won't be able to buy this anymore when it runs out. Think I'll be trying all the examples above before very long.

Cabowich Fri 08-Mar-24 11:17:18

I use a mixture of white vinegar, washing up liquid and salt - it does work and lasts longer than shop-bought weedkillers.

I'll have to give rock salt on its own a go.

Luckygirl3 Thu 07-Mar-24 14:04:37

And works brilliantly!

Rather salt than Roundup!

midgey Thu 07-Mar-24 11:20:34

Salt is a chemical!

Esmay Thu 07-Mar-24 11:02:12

I use salt mixed into washing up liquid on a dry day .

loopyloo Wed 06-Mar-24 08:03:21

Tried a weed wand but the weeds grow back very quickly and there have been some nasty accidents with the gas cylinders.

nanna8 Wed 06-Mar-24 08:00:42

Oopsadaisy1

I’m going to buy MrOops a flame thrower, or the DIY equivalent, let’s hope he doesn’t set fire to the hedge, fence or cars……

Haha- you would get arrested over here with fire bans etc! 🔥

Oopsadaisy1 Wed 06-Mar-24 07:57:55

I’m going to buy MrOops a flame thrower, or the DIY equivalent, let’s hope he doesn’t set fire to the hedge, fence or cars……

Mamie Wed 06-Mar-24 05:34:45

I use 14% vinegar in a watering can and also pull the weeds out when I go past. We have the honeycomb fabric under the gravel which makes the roots much weaker.

AlwaysSmiling Wed 06-Mar-24 01:57:19

I used to use Roundup and it was great, but then I think they altered the make up of it because of all the controversy about it. After two weeks the weeds came back so now I just use White vinegar in a sprayer and it keeps clear for months.

nanna8 Wed 06-Mar-24 00:26:39

Must try that. The worst ones are the dandelions that sprout up overnight . You can’t pull ‘em out, unlike oxalis which, although really prolific here, comes out easily. I found by accident that fly spray kills plants ( I sprayed a much loved, now dead passion fruit vine to kill the bugs on it) but too expensive for weeds.