Garden gravel full of weeds

n1st

I've quite a large area of gravel around the garde. I stopped spraying year before last and last summer the gravel was filled with weeds.

Also cobble block, full of weeds.

I'm thinking of hiding some of the area with pots, I'm thinking of putting weed control underneath them.

I've seen pictures of creepers growing in the cobble block gaps.

I don't want to spray. Is there anything that can be done?

looksee

Even if you put weed control under the gravel you will still get some weeds as they grow out of the silt that eventually accumulates under the gravel and over the membrane. I have accepted that the only solution to weeds in gravel is to spray them, it only needs to be done at most twice in the year, with a bit of judicious hand-pulling of very stubborn docks and dandelions in between. The problem with hand weeding is that you pull the soil up into the gravel and contribute to making the situation worse.

Adding more gravel would help, if its a thin covering its easier for weeds to come through, also, eventually the gravel sinks down/soil builds up to create a more hospitable bed for weeds. Every leaf that lands on the gravel in autumn is contributing to a layer of mulch to encourage the weeds.

The alternative is tarmac or concrete, both of which are impermeable and not good for the environment. Unless you are prepared to just leave it grow you have to consider which is the least damaging of the options.

n1st

I wonder is there any plant that could be sown over the gravel that might beat the weeds to it. I'm thinking something like a creeper

greasepalm

Salt and vinegar is suppose to be good , weed burner is slow and time consuming . There used to be granules to shake over to stop seeds from germinating.

macraignil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067142#Comment_120067142

I don't have a creeper growing on the gravel area in the garden here but do find having some flowers that are tough enough to deal with the poor growing conditions cuts down on the amount of weeding required. In this video I show how I do some tidying of the red valerian, euphorbia and forget me not flowers. I also have some fleabane, ajuga, saxifraga, viola, calendula and common daisy that sprout up in places but encouraging these means hand pulling weeds or removing them with a trowel is needed in the area at times. All these flowers self seeded on the gravel when I grew them nearby with the red valerian and the fleabane being the most abundant.

Happy gardening!

n1st

That's exactly the type of area I have. That sounds perfect. Many thanks

Now I have an idea what to look for I see lots of ideas, "gravel garden" turns up lots of ideas

Still stihl waters 3

If its worth it I find 2 to 3 inches of 3/4 down gravel with dust, well compacted and topped with a sharp chip really helps to keep down the weeds, a leaf blower to keep the detritus off the path once a month and you'll be relatively weed free for a long time