Weedkilling driveways

[sanjayp]

I have a long gravel driveway which never had any weedprotection put down under the gravel. Every year I get hundreds of weeds growing though. I realise I can get off the shelf weedkiller for this (path clear or something) but is there something out there that is better than this suff. Ideally I want something that will nuke every living thing known to man so it won't ever grow again

 

[JohnD]

Tarmac.

Or Pathclear once a year.

The choice is yours.

 

[calvert]

we also have a long gravel drive .we find the best thing to do is to spray this time of year with round up
good luck daisy

 

[Nige F]

Tarmac.

.

Have you never heard of a Diddicai Drive.....Sung to the tune of "Devilgate Drive " by Suzy Quattro They`re peppered with weeds growing up thru` the `mac.

 

[megawatt]

Weedblock does little good on drives anyhow IMO, strong systemic weedkiller once a year usually does a good job though.

 

[sanjayp]

do you know the name of any "strong synthetic weedkillers" that you have experience with? I did a google search on "Pathclear" and read some reviews on it. The general impression was that it was pretty bad and one had to apply it several times...

sanjay

 

[Kes]

Hi,

I think you mean systemic weedkillers. We, or I, use Roundup on our large gravel drive. It kills all but doesn't remain in the ground so you do get new growth. You can get a 5-litre can from farm shops at a more economical price than you will in garden shops, or you can use Wilko's far cheaper but slightly weaker glyphosphate killer. It's £7.99 a litre and treats 400 sq mtrs. Roundup was £17.99 a litre, at the farm shops I think it's about £40 for 5 litres. Buy the concentrate, not the already diluted spray stuff, you'll be paying through the nose for that. Weeds in a gravel path are indeed a pain.

Rgds.

 

[ModernMaterials]

The problem with using pre-emergent herbicides on gravel is that it is too unstable to allow the barrier to stay intact. Consequently, hand-weeding or systemic herbicides are the only option.

i second the 'tarmac' suggestion


when i see gravel drives i dont see the simplicity or beauty, i just see 'staff on weed removal duties'

or you could get into japanese aesthetics and rake it lovingly for long periods of time...

 

[megawatt]

Some people have gravel drives because they have no other choice ... We live on Dartmoor National Park and cannot have tarmac or paving (a covenant on our mortgage).
Otherwise we'd have brick paving ... Or tarmac

 

[Pensdown]

One of my neighbours has just had what I thought was Tarmac drive layed. Then a few days later it turned into a gravel drive. I don't know if the builders have just rolled gravel into the tarmac? It's very effective and looks just like mine but without the weeds.

 

[JohnD]

You can get a topping which is like shingle mixed with clear glue, you roll it down soft and it goes hard (but slightly flexible so it does not crack easily). Has the appearance of gravel but does not crunch. Looks good to me.