Hil says the gravelled area where the vehicles are parked is a disgrace. I am instructed that I must find a remedy. Does anyone know of something I can spray on that will kill moss, grass, weeds, the lot? Preferably for ever? Roundup kills things that have leaves but they soon sprout again. And then there's the moss...
Bill
Not really no. We have a gravel drive which I have to treat two or three times a year with a herbicide that I am only allowed to use because I have been on an appropriate training course.
The best you can do is to use Pathclear or something like that but, personally, I think you'll find it costly and not very effective in the long run.
Sodium Chlorate used to be the answer but for several reasons is no longer allowed to be sold.
Concrete.
The best man to answer your question is Chris Hogg. He may be along soon...
Most of the products available from garden centres to keep paths clear for more than a few months don't work that well. The general rule of thumb is that anything the amateur can buy over the counter is safe but ineffective. If you can find a professional (eg local park gardener) who can get hold of decent stuff, maybe some might fall your way.
That would be illegal to use, of course, as the product wouldn't be licensed for public use. Similarly anything I might recommend that isn't licensed to kill plants would also be illegal to use. But, of course, if you used the product to clean the gravel, or spilt it by accident, or some other plant-unrelated reason, there wouldn't be a problem.
One question I would ask is are there any wanted plants growing nearby, or is the gravel surrounded by paving? If the former, I would be very wary of applying anything which might leach into flower beds and the like. If the latter, you could try keeping the gravel free of ice and snow with rock salt or something similar. You would have to keep reapplying it every now and again as nothing works permanently. Being up t'north, though, you might need to apply it all year round just in case of a snowstorm, even in summer.
If you want a bit of hard work, but a more effective solution, rake the gravel aside and put weed-proof membrane down, then rake the gravel back.
Would something like household bleach work? I'm not sure why that would be illegal to use in the garden? If it gets trodden onto the carpets it could turn out to be expensive.
If you are pining for Sodium Chlorate, why not make some yourself? Plenty of recipes on the www. This is the first I found.
No such animal.
Roundup kills things that have leaves but they soon sprout
Simplest solution is to give Hil the bums rush, whoever it is.
Look for a weeder spray containing Glyphosate, the stronger the better, typically 8% or so by w.w. It even kills Japanese Knotweed.
There are products like Resolva and some made by BASF, but whatever when out on tour go have a look in The Yorkshire Trading Company and don't pay more than about ?2.99 for a 1 litre spray. You can also buy it in powder form for watering on. The nearest branches of YTC that I can find are Skipton, Selby, Driffield, or Newark, sadly.
Two other places to try are JTF which is a warehouse just below Morrisons on The Parkway (but watch their prices) and if you've never been there it is always worth a trip to Hampsons Garden Centre on the left a few hundred yards towards Wakefield on the A636 off M1 J39. Hampsons don't just sell garden stuff - they even have their own ?1 centre - but their prices on plants are amazing. SWMBO recently bought daughter a pear tree about 9ft high for ?10 - we saw the same tree from what looked to be the same source at Wentworth GC for ?38! They also have a reasonable cafe.
Good luck.
Shouldn't be hard ... most of the ones /not/ containing it have been banned.
I didn't know it was illegal to use salt or ash to kill plants. Whatever next.
NT
Copper sulphate? Sulphuric acid and a flame thrower should do it but as for forever, I doubt that. Besides the polution police will come down on yyou. Brian
Yes depriving small boys of their bomb making material, I guess.
Brian
Yes but concrete has other issues, like drainage and flooding and cracking up with frost.
We used to put copper tape on roves to stop moss. Brian
So has Glyphosate, although I don't know when that comes into effect.
The EU hasn't renewed its license due to impending French/German elections, and some misinformation that it is toxic. Well, it is toxic - about the same toxicity as eating red meat, but less toxic than eating ham, bacon, French and German sausage, etc.
Strong glyphosate tends not to work on ordinary weeds, because it kills the leaves before it can be absorbed into the root system, and the plant just grows new leaves. You want it to be absorbed into the leaves without damaging them, so it is carried back into the root system, where it will kill the plant completely in a few weeks.
It's also not the ideal time of year - it really wants the plants to be growing so there's plenty of sap circulating, although there may be enough activity to carry it into the roots eventually.
I thought it was one of the adjuvants in Roundup (and others) rather than Glyphosate itself that got banned?
Roundup is mostly (if not all) glycophosphate. It has been outlawed in many places because it is believed to be damaging. I recommended that my Australian kids checkout what is being used on Centennial Park, Sydney - never a weed in sight. The same in Perth.
In the UK, the city of Bristol has replaced with vinegar. The locals now complain that the place smells like fish and chips!
You can't buy copper sulphate any longer. Same reason as for Sodium Chlorate I believe.
Maybe in a couple of years we'll have proper weedkiller back :-)
Owain
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