Gravel driveway - weeds and grass

[Laughton]

I have a longish (100 yards) x 2 car width gravel driveway and with the rain and sun we've been enjoying, the weeds and grass are coming through yet again.

Weeding by hand takes it out of my knees, takes a long time and seemingly needs starting again once I reach the end.

I don't really want to resort to using chemicals - it's always breezy where I live so spray ends up where it shouldn't (including, probably in my lungs).

Does anyone know of a sure fire mechanical way of grooming gravel. I was wondering about one of those petrol driven tilling machines but not sure if the blades would survive working on gravel. Or something I can tow behind a ride on mower. I thought about something with tines but don't think that would dislodge the weeds.?

Please don't suggest tarmac or concrete.

[Mike4]

Please don't suggest tarmac or concrete.

I had a similar problem on a smaller scale in my last house. I found two excellent solutions, which I applied in order:

1) Get a gardener
2) sell it and get a house without a long gravel drive

Hope that helps.....

(Nice wine, this Fleurie.)

[servodude]

Does anyone know of a sure fire mechanical way of grooming gravel.

Might the clue be in the question?

We've got something like this

https://www.bernzomatic.com/Projects/Fix/Weed-Removal

- if you get it right the results are very similarly to weedkiller
- they go a bit wizened (rather than burnt) and die off within a few days

- sd

[tjh290633]

I was going to suggest a flame thrower. I've used one for weed destruction many years ago. Probably belonged to a neighbour.

Plenty of responses on a Google search.

TJH

[mc2fool]

Does anyone know of a sure fire mechanical way of grooming gravel. I was wondering about one of those petrol driven tilling machines but not sure if the blades would survive working on gravel. Or something I can tow behind a ride on mower. I thought about something with tines but don't think that would dislodge the weeds.?

You could try one of these: https://thegravelrake.com/ If you want to DIY it look under "Gallery" where they show how to make one, or you can just buy one, albeit a bit expensive IMO considering what it is. How well it works I dunno ... please report back if you make or buy one.

My block of (self managed) flats has a gravel driveway and parking area, and actually I recommend against anything that leaves bits of the grass/weeds (roots, etc) in it, like chemicals, flame throwers, etc. It's what we did for many years and the problem is that parts are now more dirt than gravel, partly from decomposed roots, along with dirt brought in by the cars and just blown in generally. The parts that tend to get the most grass growth (and have been routinely Roundup'd over the years) are the worst.

In fact, if you search for dirt in gravel it seems it's a problem that eventually afflicts all gravel driveways, and the solution is either to take it up and wash it (!) or just to get it all taken away and replaced. (Putting more on top just makes it higher, which is problematic when it's already at garage floor level.)

[88V8]

In our previous house I made a herb garden with gravel paths. Looked lovely, but even with membrane beneath to keep out the perrenial weeds, weeding it was a perpetual task.
As said, dirt and decomposed herbage eventually provides an ideal weed bed.

There is no mechanical solution. Churning up a properly made gravel area will destroy its graded structure.

I have to say that although I like the look of gravel, I prefer to admire other peoples'.

The best solution may be to replace it with what I think of as rammed earth, which has a hard surface and offers less scope for easy rooting. If you've been to Highgrove, you've walked on rammed earth.

V8

[Mike88]

I have the same problem with a brick drive. The weeds are very persistent even though I have a membrane underneath. I use chemicals with a mask but even they are slightly better than useless. Gravel drives must be far worse. I would have it taken up and replaced with paving slabs or concrete. The problem will never go away otherwise. Expensive but far less hassle.

[Laughton]

Hmmm - I often wonder what ever happened to "Bob A Job" week??

[scrumpyjack]

I have a longish (100 yards) x 2 car width gravel driveway and with the rain and sun we've been enjoying, the weeds and grass are coming through yet again.

Weeding by hand takes it out of my knees, takes a long time and seemingly needs starting again once I reach the end.

I don't really want to resort to using chemicals - it's always breezy where I live so spray ends up where it shouldn't (including, probably in my lungs).

Does anyone know of a sure fire mechanical way of grooming gravel. I was wondering about one of those petrol driven tilling machines but not sure if the blades would survive working on gravel. Or something I can tow behind a ride on mower. I thought about something with tines but don't think that would dislodge the weeds.?

Please don't suggest tarmac or concrete.

I have a gravel drive of similar dimensions and have always used chemicals, but with a face mask, and only doing it when there is no wind. I use a backpack sprayer and as long as you keep the spray head low to the ground it doesn't seem to kill anything else. Can't think of anything else practical though I recall a paraffin based flame weed killer being used at my grandmother's house 60 years ago.

[wanderer]

Sorry to say but I always use bleach. Cheap and effective.

If you want to be more kind to the environment then you could use a white vinegar/water/fairy liquid solution. Difficult to class those as "chemicals" but still an effective weedkiller.

I tried the "flamethower" thing but the amount of flame off it is more like a candle rather than something out of "The Thing" so found the whole thing wholly unsatisfying and a bit of a faff.

[PhaseThree]

I have a 150m gravel driveway and the only 100% successful solution to weed control that I have found is glyphosate. I usually buy this in quantity from ebay branded as Gallup XL and apply it with a backpack sprayer.

[bungeejumper]

The Victorians used salt. The Edwardians used sodium chlorate, which I suppose is salt with an extra atom? The fifties and sixties used all sorts of stuff left over from the wars, and the seventies favoured some seriously poisonous remedies, and more modern times have used glyphosate, which appears to be harmless and transient but which doesn't do the soil any favours. (It's been blamed for the spread of algal growths like nostoc.) And so we're back to square one, with glyphosate looking increasingly likely to be banned.

We have roughly a tennis court's worth of Cotswold (limestone) gravel on our drive at Bungee Towers, and we use the smallest amount of glyphosate that we can possibly get away with. (about one watering can a year.) For moss and algae, I use a very dilute (2%) solution of something called DDAC, which is more commonly used as a disinfectant and antibacterial in hospitals. Or for cleaning patios.

We did think of getting a flamethrower device, but they drink an awful lot of paraffin (or cans of butane), and they take hours to burn weeds in any deep kind of way - and even their fans say that the best you can hope for is four to six weeks before the weeds re-grow. Not a workable solution for us.

What to do? I don't like using bleach, because it stays active for so long and it isn't good for wildlife. Oh dear, perhaps I'll have to get a gardener after all?

BJ

[GrahamPlatt]

Salt. Lots of salt.

[swill453]

The Victorians used salt. The Edwardians used sodium chlorate, which I suppose is salt with an extra atom?

Extra oxygen.

Scott.

[88V8]

On the other hand, this is the Natural World board....let it be.

The 'weeds' are wild flowers.
The car will not mind.

If you want to be more aggressive, plant the drive with mint to outcompete the weeds.
Go with the grow.

V8

[bungeejumper]

The 'weeds' are wild flowers.
The car will not mind.

If you want to be more aggressive, plant the drive with mint to outcompete the weeds.
Go with the grow.

Up to a point, Lord Copper. Our drive weeds are mostly grass, plus a deadly-slippery coating of moss which could get seriously unpleasant rather quickly. When the postman brains himself because I've failed to provide a safe passage to my front door, I daresay my insurance company will have something to say about that?

In fairness, moss can be contained fairly well by agitating the gravel with a rake, or by scraping off most of the green growth with a shovel once or twice a year. Moss is always present in your soil, and usually its appearance is a sign that there isn't enough drainage or air circulation, or that the surface is compressed. (Hmmm, cars do that sort of thing.)

I could always use a fossil fuel flamethrower on the drive weeds and send Greta Thunberg an apologetic note, but I imagine she'd be too busy swanning round the world on somebody else's carbon fibre yacht to give me a proper reply?

BJ

PS: Have just clocked your suggestion of planting mint. Mint? The most invasive plant in the world? Have you been at the happy juice again?

BJ

[Dod101]

It may not work on a drive with cars but a reasonably deep gravel and regular raking (by which I mean every week) will more or less keep weeds and moss at bay. Also looks good. Cars obviously compact the gravel and that allows weeds to get established. The trouble is that nowadays most cannot give the time for that nor afford to employ someone who can. I changed my drive to the usual blocks but that certainly does not solve the problem of weeds and of course can in itself cause problems with run off of rainwater.

Dod

[scrumpyjack]

I have a 150m gravel driveway and the only 100% successful solution to weed control that I have found is glyphosate. I usually buy this in quantity from ebay branded as Gallup XL and apply it with a backpack sprayer.

Yes effective, but I think it is now illegal unless you have been on a training course and are qualified to spray it!!

[swill453]

I have a 150m gravel driveway and the only 100% successful solution to weed control that I have found is glyphosate. I usually buy this in quantity from ebay branded as Gallup XL and apply it with a backpack sprayer.

Yes effective, but I think it is now illegal unless you have been on a training course and are qualified to spray it!!

I think not. You can buy Roundup concentrate by the litre at any garden centre.

Scott.

[AsleepInYorkshire]

I have a longish (100 yards) x 2 car width gravel driveway and with the rain and sun we've been enjoying, the weeds and grass are coming through yet again.

Weeding by hand takes it out of my knees, takes a long time and seemingly needs starting again once I reach the end.

I don't really want to resort to using chemicals - it's always breezy where I live so spray ends up where it shouldn't (including, probably in my lungs).

Does anyone know of a sure fire mechanical way of grooming gravel. I was wondering about one of those petrol driven tilling machines but not sure if the blades would survive working on gravel. Or something I can tow behind a ride on mower. I thought about something with tines but don't think that would dislodge the weeds.?

Please don't suggest tarmac or concrete.

You have a long wide drive. I'm guessing it's particularly old and doesn't have a weed suppressant membrane below it. Effectively the cost of making a drive weed proof is quite expensive. And over that area you're looking down the barrel of a significant amount of money. Thus you are left with alternatives that all seem to be outside of your comfort zone.

1. Mechanical options - hand weeding - labour intensive & probably difficult as age progresses.
2. Chemical options - not kind to the environment or needs PPE options to be considered
3. Upgrade the drive - expensive

What I'm about to say is a genuinely offered in kindness. It's highly probably you're going to need to compromise. How you do that is of course you choice.

The very first compromise you can consider making is to accept that you can continue to weed the drive by hand. Over time the most likely outcome is that you will not be able to keep up with the demand needed on your time and strength. It's possible that you could surrender some of the drive back to nature? Perhaps you could consider seeding segments of the drive with wildflower? You would have to leave "passing places" but the effect would be to reduce the amount of drive you have to physically maintain. You could also consider lifting the remaining gravel and putting a weed suppressant membrane below. This wouldn't be cheap and would be reliant on any existing sub-base aggregates that may be in place to reduce this as a cost that's acceptable.

Many people will find the use of chemicals difficult to digest. However, with the correct PPE and equipment it may be another compromise you could consider. Jeyes Fluid does not get a good write up on its chemical footprint. It does sterilise and prevent seeds germinating. It's poured, not sprayed and doesn't create a mist. If I recall correctly it's the famers choice in their yard areas. It's disinfectant qualities help livestock protection too.

You do have the option of Weed burners. This may be an option you find more comfort accepting and in conjunction with a reduction in the area of drive that needs treating you may find an acceptable solution.

I think, if I have read between the lines of you opening post correctly, it's time to reach a compromise with your drive. Again and said in all kindness I think it's time to reconsider the strategy of maintaining the entire drive and also accept that your knees can no longer offer nature the support you would like to offer.

AiY