Hi all,
I see these patches of gravel appearing more and more often where lawns once were. I think they look better - and they presumably require minimal maintenance. What's the secret with these - how do you prevent weeds and grass from erupting from underneath and ruining the effect? Any suggestions?
The gravel is usually underlayed by a layer of water-permeable weed control fabric with say 2 inches of gravel laid on top. The gravel layer tends to move about if it's too thin and the fabric will soon become visible and look unsightly. The fabric does go a long way towards suppressing weed growth from below, but don't go away with the idea that you get no weeds with this type of system, because you do. It's surprising how quickly fine dirt accumulates at the base of the gravel layer, and weed seeds that get blown in by the wind will readily germinate and root. The only solution to these weeds is either occasional treatment with a long-acting seedling killer such as Pathclear (not now as good as it used to be thanks to Brussels!), or more frequent spraying with glyphosate (or scorching with a flame gun if you want fun. Another reason why the gravel should be thick).
Links
There is usually a layer of weed suppressing fabric underneath. It won't stop thistles or invasive bamboo but will stop most other things.
Eventually enough humus accumulates that weed seeds can germinate but they don't have much of a root system in the gravel.
We have a gravel area outside our front door which is a shaded area where the grass never grew well. There's a layer of MoT Type 1, then weed membrane, then ~4" of gravel.
It grows a weed called "Ragged Robin" really well, but nothing very much else.
Wrong. It's Herb Robert.
It doesn't stop anything at all. All weeds come from wind blown seeds that occur ABOVE the fabric layer.
I suspect it stops the gravel sinking into the ground so you need less gravel,. is all.
They have all they need.
Nope, it does indeed stop weeds in the soil - the perennial ones anyway
- from growing (or at least getting very far when they do). Of course seeds germinate and root into the gravel, but these are easily removed (or weedkillered) as long as they don't get to big - things like dandelions will push their roots through the membrane)
I've got good evidence for this in an area of the garden used for growing fruit - it was very weedy before and so most things are planted through a membrane - but some areas aren't - eg raspberries. The bits with the membrane get less weeds growing and are easier to weed when they do.
My garden is either decking or slate chippings. My view is that gardens are somewhere you sit with a cold beer while the BBQ heats up. Not somewhere you have to work at weekends.
Weed control fabric and making sure the gravel/chippings are deep enough
- 2" min.
Or, every few years, lifting all the gravel and sifting it to remove the dirt.
What you need is something called a, hang on, I'll get it in a minute, Oh, yes. A wife.
She's the gardener. I dig holes, mow grass & poison things and that's my lot. I like gardens, but I'm not that bothered about gardening.
They might do where you live but out here there are fields full of thistle, ground elder and neighbours with invasive bamboos.
Thistle and bamboo root/stems grow vigorously enough to lift up and/or penetrate the membrane boundaries if you don't pay attention to it.
They don't get much of a look in. They need to be zapped with a weedkiller or pulled out a couple of times a year but compared to bare ground it is trivial to keep it under control. I find that 2" plum slate works best since the dark colour dries faster and it is chunkier and so harder for weeds to get a foothold compared to finer gravels.
I found exactly the same with gravel and no weed membrane
Nightjar Or, every few years, lifting all the gravel and sifting it to remove the
Done that, it's a real pain. Takes about a day per 3 square yards and you have to renew the weed control fabric. problem compounded by next door reseeding their lawn on a windy day.
Martin Brown wrote: weed seeds can germinate but
Oh, I wish that latter part were true!!
So my gardener tells me :-)
How about salt? Say... start from bare earth. Spread a thinlayer of that cheap salt they sell for melting ice and snow. Then a layer of weed-resistant membrane. Then another thin layer of salt. Finally 2-4" of gravel. Would that be optimal? Or is there something in the Bible (or local authority regs) about not salting the earth?
It washes away far too quickly and is pretty hopeless as a weedkiller to begin with. Check out one of the salt heaps on a rural hilly road. The kill radius barely extends past the edge of the caked material even on the downhill runoff side.
Perhaps in Mediterranean countries or California salt might persist in the ground for long enough to work but in the UK forget it!
Oh! For a tub of Sodium Chlorate.
Richard
When my Mother bought a house a couple of years back that could be managed by an Octogenarian the very small garden was laid with gravel/small shingle which had been down about 5 years and was looking scruffy. Her initial thoughts were to replace it with grass but then decided to keep it as it meant not having to buy a small mower her previous one being a ride on which had been sold . One thing that was not left at the previous place was a Pond Vac and as it was surplus to requirements and sacrificial we gave it a go and it sucked the gravel up nicely. Each load was quickly rinsed in a cement mixer then tipped through a large sift made from and we ended up with a nice clean pile that was spread again.
The sift was one made years ago from some mesh nailed to a wooden frame that was once a bakers delivery tray and hung from a support that was once used for a childs swing. You only use energy shaking it back and forth, not holding up the weight of the contents as well ,easier on the back.
G.Harman
Sounds like the sort of sifter found on archaeological digs.
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