To be clear, what I'm talking about is mainly the grass and weeds growing up through the stones and paving.
I know you can buy the little hand sprays of Resolva (other weedkillers are available) but this feels like a bigger problem.
I did try vinegar and salt, but we're quite low and the ground is fairly damp.
I've also pulled some or the weeds out by hand, but there's some that just aren't budging. I don't know if there's a layer of polythene or how old it is.
For some context, this is our second summer in this house, and it's only now that we're getting round to doing anything about this.
I'm looking for advice on how to tidy it up, what tools and chemicals to use safely with dogs and cats and no experience, knowing that we're not going to be able to afford to remodel, but we do want to slowly make it our own.
by TheUmpteenth
15 Comments
I would avoid chemicals if possible as they’re bad for your garden’s ecosystem. Salt and vinegar are also bad for the ecosystem and end up in the water table.
Personally, I would get the weeds out with a knife between the slabs and then put sand into the gaps. This will minimise further weeds from developing there but won’t stop them completely. It will take a few goes to get the weeding and sanding complete but this way is best for wildlife and your dogs too.
For the clumps in the stones I’d say try a hoe, as this can scrape and cut through weeds quite easily.
You could use boiling water on the paving slabs, although I always worry about the creatures in the soil underneath! Other than that, get yourself some good hand tools, gloves and a kneeling mat and just crack on by hand- it’s surprising how quickly you’ll make progress, and very satisfying!
Boiling water on the weeds
As others have said, digging the big weeds out is your best bet.
However, for the weeds between your slabs you could use a heatgun if you have one. You just need to heat them enough to wilt them (you aren’t trying to burn them) so it won’t damage your slabs or the soil.
There’s no rule that says you need to sort it all at once. Decide which area you want to solve first and go for that. Then work your way around. You could leave part of it for the wildlife this year, maybe get the areas done that you’re most likely to use. Then move round to the rest later.
It’s basically gonna have to be done manually. Pick an area and focus on it for a few hours, you will see how much progress you can make.
Cutting your lawn more frequently would start to help. Letting your grass grow long enough for it to seed is part of your problem. During the growing season you should be cutting your lawn weekly. Lots of weedkiller to kill the rest off on your paths, but I’d keep the cat indoors for a day or two
I see a cat which means no chemicals!
Graft, there’s no other way forward. You need to remove them by hand or get a weed puller. Mow the lawn first and it’ll give you a clearer idea. You could also put some grass seeds on the lawn and the grass will overtake the weeds.
Do it by hand. It will take about 1 hour to clear a 2ft x 2ft area.
Use tools with sharp blades. Look up BBC Gardeners World for recommended hand-weeding tools. They look like mini axes, and things with claw prongs. I’m fond of a Japanese style Hori Hori knife, which is a tough wide blade designed for digging.
Tackle it in sections.
Once you’ve cleared a section, push a hoe through the gravel every couple of weeks over the summer, to kill off weed seedlings. Eventually, add some sort of dividing curb or tiny fence to separate the gravel and the grass/ lawn.
If you can bribe ~~children~~ anyone to help you, great!
Cut grass, pull weeds hardly rocket science.
I’m currently working my way through removing all the gravel borders and replacing them with soil. I’m planting wildflower seeds and encouraging dandelions, daisies etc. Constantly weeding the gravel is pointless and the weeded gravel doesn’t even look pretty. Let the weeds flourish, you can mow the lawn when you need to anyway. My neighbour powerhoses and poisons his way to a monoculture of grass and stone, but it takes a lot of work and looks dull.
I didn’t realise this was a garden post. As I was scrolling, I saw your picture and was wondering if you would rather have your cat wash himself in the pool 😂😂
White vinegar, lemon juice and liquid soap mixed together in a spray bottle and spray the weeds on stones, if that doesn’t work, ? Ya gonna have to rake stones back into a pile, remove membrane and start digging grass out, then dig down more as there will be roots everywhere that will need pulling out, once all roots have gone relay membrane and rake back stones, you might have to do a top up of stones as well after
You’re just going to have to keep digging them or cutting them back, they will eventually all die back. or you can cover them with cardboard and leave them for a while. When that’s done get spent wildflower seeds in place of the weeds- lawn daisies would do well