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How to kill weeds in a gravel driveway without using RoundUp?

Metalhead

Metalhead

Video game and movie addict.
V.I.P Member
RoundUp is bad for the environment.

I have a weed outbreak in my gravel driveway and my landlord told me it is my responsibility to get rid of it.

I have never had this problem before since this is the first house I rented - I lived in apartments before then.
 
Au Naturel said:
I think salt will do the trick. Very few plants will tolerate a high level of salinity in the soil. Worked for Rome when they used it on Carthage.

www.thespruce.com

Killing Weeds With Salt - a Non-Toxic Herbicide

Salt (sodium chloride) is an effective non-toxic herbicide for controlling weeds in the garden. However, it must be applied properly and safely.
www.thespruce.com www.thespruce.com
Click to expand...
That sounds worse than glyphosate, which eventually breaks down. On my driveway, I pull the big weeds when the roots are loosed by rain, and just use a weed eater to chew up the rest. Then I blow off the clippings so humus does not build up. However, the more permanent solution would be to dig it up and run it through a sieve to get all the gravel back on top. Another option is to cover the driveway, possibly a section at a time, with black plastic to shade out and cook the weeds.
 
This trick makes the driveway a little unsightly for a while, but it does work. I sometimes just put a tarp over it. Cover an area with a tarp, put something ontop of the tarp so the wind doesn't get it and leave it there for a while. The lack of light and water and the heat build-up when the sun shines on it gets rid of the weeds.
 
Yes, covering with a black tarp works. There will still be some rhizomes poking out (horrizontal underground stem/root structures) from the sides, but they will be stringy and pretty easy to pull (and impossible to get rid of without poisoning, it is a highly successful plant strategy) but they won't pop up under the plastic. It will take a little while but works.
 
An alternative to tarps, if you have it available, is pine straw. I use it for my garden mulch. It blocks light doesn't allow any but the most aggressive weeds through. It does decay, and can become slippery in rain, so might not be the best thing for a driveway, but it is prettier and more natural. And it won't block all the weeds, it'll just keep their growth down, and if they poke up through, they are loosely rooted through the pine straw so easier to pull up. And it degrades down to soil, so 100% natural.
.
Anyway, probably not a great solution for a driveway, but figured I'd toss it out there.
 
Weeds are tough!

- call an exorcist to banish the plant demon
- put a radio out there tuned to a golf tournament; they will die of boredom,
- drag. No I don't mean the performance art but I do mean a sort of harrow or rake dragged behind a lawn mower.
- how about a cultivator rake (the kind people step on in old cartoons.) Those were made for weeds.

Only some of these were serious suggestions.
 
I find that Spectricide Weed and Grass killer works for unwanted growth in your driveway.

But that's me.
 
Many people have written about mixing white vinegar, dish soap and salt as a natural solution to kill weeds. Here is the specific mixture from a Martha Stewart article:
  • 1 cup of salt
  • 1 tablespoon of dish soap
  • 1 gallon of vinegar
For reference, the online article is here:
www.marthastewart.com

This 3-Ingredient Homemade Weed Killer Uses Vinegar to Safely Remove Pesky Growths from Your Garden

Vinegar weed killer is an effective way to remove weeds from your garden. Here, experts share how to make this 3-ingredient homemade weed killer and why it works.
www.marthastewart.com www.marthastewart.com
 
I've heard of people pouring boiling water on them. Just boil a big pot and be careful not to pour any on your foot while you're spot treating them.
 
1ofakind said:
Many people have written about mixing white vinegar, dish soap and salt as a natural solution to kill weeds. Here is the specific mixture from a Martha Stewart article:
  • 1 cup of salt
  • 1 tablespoon of dish soap
  • 1 gallon of vinegar
For reference, the online article is here:
www.marthastewart.com

This 3-Ingredient Homemade Weed Killer Uses Vinegar to Safely Remove Pesky Growths from Your Garden

Vinegar weed killer is an effective way to remove weeds from your garden. Here, experts share how to make this 3-ingredient homemade weed killer and why it works.
www.marthastewart.com www.marthastewart.com
Click to expand...

^I've used this method. It works. Just don't do it around garden plants that you want to eat rather than kill them. It doesn't sound like that would be the case so you should be able to spray like crazy.
 
Slightly said:
I've heard of people pouring boiling water on them. Just boil a big pot and be careful not to pour any on your foot while you're spot treating them.
Click to expand...
This works well for ants to, if they become a problem. I have fire ants where I live, they hurt. I haven't had to kill any nests where I am now, fortunately. I don't like killing. At the last place I lived, it was them or me.

(you have to go down to the queen, it helps to dig until they climb up the shovel or boots to reach her easier)
 
Rake back the gravel. Pull/dig up weeds. Lay weed cloth. Replace gravel. You won't have any weeds for quite a while because seeds don't sprout well in pure gravel. Any that sprout under the weed cloth have no way to get to the sun and die. It is a lot of work to do it that way and it isn't permanent. Life always finds a way.

I don't have a big problem with Roundup (glyphosate), but we have a desert tortoise, and I wouldn't want to treat something and have him get into it. It is non-toxic to humans unless you expose yourself to large volumes. It biodegrades quickly.

Our neighbor had a "Tree of Heaven" and cut it down. When you do that without first killing the tree's root system, it sends out bazillions of shoots all over for a hundred feet in every direction. Digging them up only kills that shoot, not the root system, and another pops up somewhere else. Treating the shoot with glyphosate kills the shoot and goes deeper into that particular root section. I painted it on the leaves rather than spraying it to eliminate overspray.

Fortunately, the tortoise doesn't eat tree-of-heaven leaves. They are toxic and stink if crushed. It was two years before we didn't have a tree of heaven forest trying to grow in our backyard.

www.invasivespeciescentre.ca

Tree of Heaven – Invasive Species Centre

Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) Fig. 1: Tree-of-heaven. Chuck Bargeron, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org French Common Name: Ailante glanduleux Order: Sapindale Family: Simaroubaceae Did you know? Any part of the tree-of-heaven will release a foul smell when crushed. It has been...
www.invasivespeciescentre.ca www.invasivespeciescentre.ca
Controlling tree-of-heaven requires a persistent regimen of chemical treatments, as its ability to reproduce from stumps and root fragments renders eradication from mechanical methods nearly impossible. Herbicides need to be applied late in the growing season, when they will be taken up by the tree as it is moving carbohydrates to its roots. Stands of tree-of-heaven will require ongoing monitoring for regrowth and repeated applications for successful eradication.
Click to expand...
 
How to get rid of neighbors without using round-up. But that is illegal. So l just will continue slightly cursing them in my grey matter.
 
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