Weeds over river rock
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Anonymous
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I have a drain covered in river rock that I’ve left untended and it’s covered in weeds, mostly creeping Charlie. It’s about 30 ft long. Here are my options as far as I know:
1) leave it, the weeds aren’t affecting the drainage and the rocks were a bad idea. Just keep them short with a weed whacker. 2) Weed by hand 3) round up 4) flamethrower 5) pressure washer? I would like to eliminate 1, 2 and 3 if possible. 1 looks bad, 2 sounds miserable, 3 is not my bag re:the environment. A flamethrower sounds fun/awesome but also risky. It’s near a wooden fence. There’s also landscape fabric under the rocks. I guess I could just make sure I have the hose handy? Would a pressure washer work? Would it just kick up the rocks? They’re like baseball sized, mostly. Is there something else I haven’t considered? Thank you all in advance. |
Anonymous
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2 ideas:
1. There is natural weed killer stuff that kills everything (so that’s why it isn’t a good choice for lawns). 2. Get a black tarp and cut it up and stake it down over the weed areas. Water will flow over and around it, but but the tarps will kill the weeds. |
Anonymous
| Try vinegar sprayed on, after it turns brown try pulling it up. |
Anonymous
| Torch is the easiest option that is what we do with our gravel drive and side walk. |
Anonymous
It doesn't melt the rock? I know this is likely a dumb question |
Anonymous
| If the rock is rock and not plastic, it doesn't melt it. |
Anonymous
Did you get a big torch on a stick for weeds, or just a little handheld one with the smaller bottle? I’ve never used propane or propane accessories so wondering if I should start small. |
Anonymous
| I have a electric tea kettle and find boiling water the most effective weed and moss killer for my patio. Not only destroys the plants but destroys the seeds under the ground. |
Anonymous
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NP. Exact same problem. At first we weeded by hand, but that was too hard. Then we tried sprays, and the only thing that seemed to work mostly WELL was the 30% concentrate version of vinegar you can often get at home depot or online. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Harris-128-oz-30-Cleaning-Vinegar-Concentrate-and-32-oz-Professional-Spray-Bottle-VINE128-PRO32/310917674?ITC=AUC-77859-23-12140
We mix it 50/50 with water, but beware it will kill grass outside of the trench if you aren't careful when spraying - and avoid doing it when rain is in the forecast. We also go the hand torch that takes the small 1 lb propane bottles. It works but is SLOOOOW. It took us overt an hour just to do half the trench and neighbors two houses down could smell it... Not sure how safe that was to breath in.. In any case, if you DO try this I would splurge for the larger torches that you can hook up to a grill size tank. But yeah, the torch felt a bit dangerous. |
Anonymous
Torch with a long handle. They sell them at Lowes and Tractor Supply, $60-80. For the driveway we have one that has several nozzles that we attach to front of our golf cart and just do one slow pass every month or two. |
Anonymous
+1 for vinegar. It won't hurt the Chesapeake Watershed (if you're in the DMV then you're in the CW area) and it is effective. It also is CHEAP! |
Anonymous
| Does torch method burn slate (or concrete)? We get weeds that grow between slabs in our slate walkway and between sections of our cement driveway and never considered torching! Sounds easy and fun! |
Anonymous
We've only used the torch on asphalt, river rocks and paver stones and it hasn't left any residue or discoloration |
Anonymous
| The answer is round up, but you know that. |
Anonymous
Yeah I would like to avoid using it if possible. I’m not opposed to it, but it gets so much use already. I live near the NE branch of the Anacostia and the army absolutely drenches the banks with it every year. I know my little bit wouldn’t matter much but I just want to try something else, at least. |