Parents property with a large banked rock retaining wall built with a lawn on top that gets lots of water. We gave up on the gravel at the top and in the process of replacing it with grass, the rock-wall is the main issue.
It was built ~20 years ago with a weed net that has 1-2 inches of soil blown on top of it full of weeds and seed buildup that we have to get on our hands and knees and pull up 1-2ft weeds every year (summertime Australia, holiday house so we only get up here every few months).
My old man is also a weak cunt with roundup (weed killer) and follows the 10% roundup:water ratio, which I personally think is ridiculous.
We want something that will permanently kill everything and for a long time. Been recommended kerosene/roundup but that will stain the rocks, sounds fucking insane, and is a huge fire hazard in the area.
That said we could do it in the dead of winter if it will solve the problem, because fuck this weeding shit, it is proper ass. Any tips is appreciated! Thanks and merry Christmas all!
by Electronic-Tap7910
8 Comments
That is a terrible idea and will leach into the soil and ruin the land for decades. The problem you are facing is classic landscape failure. That weed fabric you mentioned is doing exactly what I tell people it always does. After twenty years it has become a shelf for organic matter and blown-in soil to sit on top of. You aren’t fighting weeds coming from below, you are fighting seeds blowing in from the wind and landing in that perfect little layer of soil sitting on the hot plastic. You can nuke it with all the chemicals in the world but the wind will bring new seeds next week.
You are trying to maintain a dead zone in a place that desperately wants to be alive. Nature abhors a vacuum. As long as you have bare soil and sunlight, something is going to grow there. Your best bet for a low-maintenance holiday property is to stop fighting nature and start using soft engineering. You need to plant a tough, aggressive, native groundcover that will knit together and shade out the soil. If the ground is fully covered by a plant you want, the weed seeds can’t touch the dirt to germinate. Look for a creeping Myoporum or a prostrate Grevillea that is native to your specific area. Plant them in pockets, water them to get established, and let them take over the rock wall.
If you absolutely refuse to plant anything and just want to kill, stop using liquids and get a propane torch wand (flame weeder). It is immensely satisfying, works instantly, and doesn’t involve mixing chemicals. You just walk the wall and fry the green parts. But honestly, until you cover that dirt with intentional vegetation or remove the dirt entirely (which is near impossible now), you will be weeding that wall until the end of time. Cover the ground with plants so you don’t have to cover it with poison.
There are a lot of pre emergence applications you can put down that last 6-12 months.
The issue may not be your herbicide choice, if it didn’t have the pope’s adjuvants or stickers then it may not work right. Weed fabric never works long term and sucks to try and get rid of.
It looks better with the plants, without it will look like a slag heap
Round up once a month would do ya fine but if your not into using the herbicides try the vinegar dish soap and salt mix kills weed too might need to do it more frequently but it’s better for you in general
Torch + round up. Not much other options
Plant something you want… let it cover up and out complete the weeds…likely a 3 year plan…
Enough salt will kill anything, safe use of a torch is good round here too
Weeds grow. It’s the earth. Pull them, or deal with it genuinely not even kidding. It’s the earth, and weeds grow. That’s reality. You piss, you shid, you fart, the earth grows plants. It’s reality. Idk, I’m an agriculturalist and these are the things that just make me so frustrated with landscaping.