Can one of you educated gardeners please advise me as what weed killer I need to buy for the following application? I am about to dig up my garden and lay a shingle path. I have been advised to lay a membrane under the shingle and wonder if I should apply weed killer first to stop the weeds coming through later. Any help would be appreciated
Many thanks in advance
Colin Williams
You have choices, depending on your approach to Life and the Universe and Everythang. The uninformed would use a glyphosate and hang the consequences of groundwater contamination. If you are willing to put a bit more into your own property, consider digging up/turning over the garden area where your path is to go, allowing the overturned stuff to decompose once it is covered. You could flame the area first, using a propane torch that has a similar effect on plants, exploding the cellular structures and thus rendering them incapable of growth...THEN turn them over. You could spray (most gardeners just love to spray) 20% vinegar on them plants first to kill them off. My suggestion is not to skimp on the quality of membrane, cheap weedcloth should be doubled (folded over) before you add the path's material. I have actually placed thick poly bits directly on a pathway area, then added weedcloth, then a layer of screening (smallish stones) then level the substrate then add the path surface materials and gently raking that level. Some weed seeds can be dormant for decades, the trick is to cut off oxygen, moisture and light so as they remain dormant. Hey, YOU asked.
I'm not sure what a shingle path is. Can you explain? For my own paths I have solarized them for an entire year using clear plastic. Then I saved all our newspapers for the year and lay those down before putting a thick layer of leaves. Live oak leaves to be exact. They break down very slowly. Next spring the paths will be ready for crushed and decomposed granite and weeds will be virtually gone. In my paths I want wildlower seeds to feel free to germinate.
If you want an easy way to control weeds using landscape fabric, I say go for it, but do not buy the inexpensive, perforated junk. Use true landscape fabric. It looks like a finer version of roofing paper, but it has backing and is hard for anything to penetrate. You do not need a herbicide to do this. If you have any plants in the paths now, I would simply use a weeding blade to remove them at the base and lay the fabric down. If you turn it over, you disturb dormant weed seeds and make a bigger headache than if you left them in place and just go over the stumps of weeds you cut off at the base. You can also scalp them with the lawn mower on the lowest setting and going very slowly, raising the deck as necessary for taller weeds. Go over that a few times with the mower, then lay down the landscape fabric.
Victoria
You may want to consider soemthing that won't harm the garden plants from runoff or overspray. I use a propane torch to kill weeds. You don't need to burn the plant, just enough heat to wilt it. Or, some weeds are easy to pull when the soil is wet. I have clipped weeds off at the stem in my garden path--many will die (or become weak) after two or three clippings. Make sure you clip them before flowers open. Add clippings to the compost.
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