Weeds growing in hardcore

ivandrago · 3 Jul 2019 at 23:30

I'm likely going to gravel and/or landscape this area in the future but have just left it hardcored for a while and weeds seem to have grown here. They don't seem to be deep so I am assuming they have just grown from seeds flying around?

My question is, what's the best way to keep this ground clear of weeds until such time that I am ready to gravel it? Some sort of ground control fabric on top? Do I need to pull out the weeds first or just lay it on top and put some brick around to make sure it doesn't move?

Jasoncmor · 4 Jul 2019 at 00:21

You could just cover it in a membrane. Not the cheapest way but the best id say, kills off the weeds and won't allow any to grow bsck.

2004typer · 4 Jul 2019 at 08:03

Jasoncmor said:
You could just cover it in a membrane. Not the cheapest way but the best id say, kills off the weeds and won't allow any to grow bsck.

Agree - put membrane down then some hardcore back on top.

psd99 · 4 Jul 2019 at 08:10

damp proof membrane will do the job.

bimbleuk · 4 Jul 2019 at 08:24

Once cleared of weeds it can be as easy as a can of weedkiller every few weeks. I weed my gravel by hand with a small garden fork as it's easy to sift out the whole weed plant. Usually once after winter when the weeds start to take hold and then maybe once more if I forget to douse the area.

The gravel has a membrane underneath so yeah it's mostly airborne.

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 4 Jul 2019 at 08:38

few options, glycophosphate to kill the weeds there now. BUt wont stop them coming back. And yes thats airborne seeds pretty much doing that.

For stopping them, get ground control fabric. Not weed control, the former is much thicker woven and will work its what I use for paths at the allotment. The later is just like fabric and relies on whats on top to keep the weeds well supressed.

Anything to supress them will need to be held down. You can normally do it with hammer in stakes, the issue is whats the ground like, they will bend if its rock hard. In this case I would rake all the stone off, lay the fabric and then stone over the top.

You want something like this imo, get a decent width to avoid having to overlap the edges, if you do need to overlap you want to do about 15cm
https://www.amazon.co.uk/GroundMast...ontrol+fabric&qid=1562225780&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Just to add you can sometimes find cheap tarpaulins in poundland etc, these are a similar material and if they have them work out cheaper. They are not always UV stabilised so may decay over time, but if well covered they should last years

ivandrago · 4 Jul 2019 at 15:09

Do I need to de-weed (i.e. remove the existing weeds) first or just put the fabric over the top and they will all die?

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 4 Jul 2019 at 17:04

Will be hit and miss

When I got my allotment I strimmed it all down close to ground level, then covered with that matting and by the next spring 99.9% of the weeds were gone. I did do it late sept though so growing season was slowing down.

The easiest approach is probably, 1) rake the majority of the stone up. Get some glycophosphate (Tesco £6) and spray the bigger ones, then either trample them down a bit or strim them down (if strimming leave about a week before doing this so the weed killer is into the plant properly), then cover with the fabric and put the stone back on top. Yout highly unlikely to get any growth come through, if you do just glyco them. You will probably get a few that manage to push up if really well established weeds for a while but should die off fairly quickly.

thenewoc · 4 Jul 2019 at 17:21

Spray weedkiller on and allow weeds to die first before pulling out. The leaves will take the weedkiller down to the roots and kill them fully. If you just pull them out some roots will end up remaining and growing back.

I'd prob use a whacker on that hardcore once the weeds are dead to compress it all down and make it nice flat before putting the ground control sheet down. Then more hardcore on top of that.

ivandrago · 4 Jul 2019 at 23:59

Thanks - I'll see what I can do.

The stones in the pic aren't anything decorate but part of the hardcore I put down.

Entai · 5 Jul 2019 at 01:14

Couple of areas we have where we put a membrane down and then graveled or shaled on top, still get a fair few weeds growing.

They do not grow through the membrane but on top.

As weather wears down the grave and shale and creates dust in between the plants root into that dust.

Dead easy to pull them up, as roots are no more than a centimeter or two down, and not a big deal to be honest, but annoying that even after dowsing the areas extremely heavily in the strongest of weedkiller, within 6 months weeds grow again.

Just so you are aware its virtually impossible to have that sort of landscaping (gravel, or shale) and not get weeds.