Gravel and weed control

[aafadca]

I'm planning to put some white gravel in front of my garage. About a 10x20 section. It's a pretty flat area plus I plan to scrape it a little to make it even more flat. I'm thinking of putting some of that weed control mat/material down first to help keep the grass/weeds from coming back. Has anyone done this? Any thoughts negative or positive?

 

[BADSIX]

buy a gal. of round up or some other grass and weed killer and spray it about ever 3-4 weeks. weeds and grass seeds will blow in and grow on top of your matting. and yes i've done it and rocks **** if you want to keep them clean

 

[WVBrady]

I'm planning to put some white gravel in front of my garage. About a 10x20 section. It's a pretty flat area plus I plan to scrape it a little to make it even more flat. I'm thinking of putting some of that weed control mat/material down first to help keep the grass/weeds from coming back. Has anyone done this? Any thoughts negative or positive?

Not that exactly, but I used some of the woven stuff in my garden once, and in the offseason, grass grew on top of it and the roots grew down through it; wound up just throwing it away.

 

[Will67]

The weed stop material will prevent weeds from growing up through it but will do nothing to prevent weed growing on top of it. So I second spraying with roundup as needed

 

[Steevo]

I agree with those above that preach the gospel of Roundup or 2-4-D, or whatever your preferred chemical defoliant may be.

Also, a gravel area outside your garage means you always have pebbles on the floor of your garage. Better than mud, but still a PITA.

 

[seagravedriver]

There are some types of weed and grass killers that last more than Round Ups couple of weeks. I have one that last about a year. There is also a granular called Casaron that last at least a year, but you have to have the weeds gone first. http://www.amdro.com/Image/Vegetation/vegetation-casoron-application.html

 

[jhelrey]

Thick plastic under it and round up every so often. Like others have said, weeds will grow on top.

 

[Skysurfer]

I have a "pavers in sand" driveway and control weeds with white vinegar. It's much cheaper than Roundup and kills weeds in a few hours as opposed to Roundup which takes a couple of days.

 

[ddawg16]

Gravel is a real PIA....like steevo said....it will get into the garage.

And if you have kids? You will find the stuff everywhere.....trust me....don't do it. Pavers would be a lot better...

 

[rvr6000]

Another on the spray. I have some rock behind the garage with a mat under it. Have to spray it every so often to kill the seeds that have blown in. We have a lot of silver maple **** trees around me and those little helicopters that they drop will grow anywhere.

 

[darkk]

I put a band of white stone around one of my Victorian homes once insted of installing gutters. About 3 1/2 ft wide all hte way around the house. Stopped the dirt from splattering all over the sideswhen it rained. Had to spray with a weed killer every couple weeks to keep plant life down.

 

[Licensed to kill]

I agree with those above that preach the gospel of Roundup or 2-4-D, or whatever your preferred chemical defoliant may be.

Phenoxies (2,4-D/MCPA) are broadleaf chemicals and won't touch grass unless used in very heavy rates. Glyphosate (round-up) is non selective and will take out all but a few resistant weeds. With residual chemicals (soils sterilants) you have to stay height and a half away from trees or you may kill them also.

 

[1991Syclone]

Put down old newspaper instead of the weed control stuff. I've had weeds go through that stuff but my wife put down a bunch of old newspapers, sprayed them with water so they wouldn't blow away then we put down mulch.

Haven't seen anything grow up through it yet.

 

[wolflrv]

I had my driveway graveled several years ago. It looked good for about the first year, but by the second year the grass/weeds just took over. I sprayed gallons of roundup, tried the flamethrower kit, vinegar, hot water, and on and on. It was literally consuming my life, trying to keep it from encroaching. I've now given up and just "mow" my driveway, till sometime in the future when I can have it asphalted. The only good part is I still have some hard packed ground/gravel to drive over when needed.

 

[5lima30]

There are some types of weed and grass killers that last more than Round Ups couple of weeks. I have one that last about a year. There is also a granular called Casaron that last at least a year, but you have to have the weeds gone first. http://www.amdro.com/Image/Vegetation/vegetation-casoron-application.html

+1 Round-Up for that type of weed control is a waste of money IMHO. I have a lot of gravel and what works for me is Year Long Vegetation killer that I get from TSC. It works very well, I also use it on my electric fence lines to keep it clear.
BTW using geo-textile under the gravel will keep the gravel from sinking into the soil as well as being a weed barrier. YYMMV.

 

[Falcon67]

Around here, you would use a ground sterilizer. Round Up works OK, used oil better. But we have to worry about nut grass, and nut grass will bust through an inch of asphalt, no problem. As 5lima30 says, do use something under the gravel bed to keep it up and out of the dirt.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I usually spray the drive twice a year, this year it's going to be more than that. i've sprayed it twice already and stuff is coming right back. I'm blaming it on all the rain we've had this year.

 

[Az Scooter]

We have a gravel front yard. Every year we use surflan, a soil sterilizer. From time to time, about very couple of months, we hit the weeds with round up. Our yard looks great, and is fairly easy to maintain.

 

[BigSteve63]

+1 on the soil sterilizer. Pramitol is the one widely available around here. NOTHING grows after this stuff goes down! Sprayed under my elevated deck a couple of years ago after the mat/gravel combo failed - Still clean and clear after all this time.

 

[csp]

+1 on the soil sterilizer. Pramitol is the one widely available around here.

x2 on Pramitol. A little Sahara mixed with it makes it even more potent.

Roundup is amateur compared to this stuff.

Gotta be really careful of potential runoff with it though. It will kill trees quickly.

 

[Grumpy365]

Thick plastic under it and round up every so often. Like others have said, weeds will grow on top.

I'm not a fan of the plastic. Personally I want the water to be able to absorb into the ground.

 

[Bill Crowell]

I would never use Roundup or any other herbicides. Herbicides have been linked to the development of dementia and brain stem atrophy. Your skin absorbs herbicides very well. My father was a Christmas tree grower and used Roundup. Suddenly he developed brain stem atrophy and died a slow, lingering death. That's how I know. Find some other way to control the weeds. I use a tractor and disc.

 

[camarotoolman]

Save up and pour a concrete slab, no weeds and much easier to work on.