Weedkiller for gravel driveway

Spinnaker

Hi

Have attractive gravel driveway, maybe 20ft x 30 feet. Weeds have started sprouting for the summer. Not relishing the physical act of digging them out each week again this summer. Recommendations for something chemical and good value versus the usual overpriced from the homebase/woodies/b&q etc

Thanks for advice......

prospect

Local Co-Op, Build Merchants or garden store (not mass market places) for a big bottle of Round-Up (will last you years).
For the type of spraying you are doing, you can go with the least concentrated mix.


Actually, you reminded me, I need to pop out tomorrow and get some myself.

paddy147

Spinnaker wrote: »

Hi

Have attractive gravel driveway, maybe 20ft x 30 feet. Weeds have started sprouting for the summer. Not relishing the physical act of digging them out each week again this summer. Recommendations for something chemical and good value versus the usual overpriced from the homebase/woodies/b&q etc

Thanks for advice......

What ever you buy and where ever you buy it.....

DO NOT spray it in wet weather or in very breezy/windy weather either.

Overspray carries in the wind and can quickly and easily kill garden plants and any new hedging off.


Be carefull in how you use it.

shedweller

paddy147 wrote: »

What ever you buy and where ever you buy it.....

DO NOT spray it in wet weather or in very breezy/windy weather either.

Overspray carries in the wind and can quixkly and easily kill garden plants and any new hedging off.


Be carefull in how you use it.

Which, unlike the weeds, will never come back! Tough bastids!

dupeters

yeah as suggested round up but wear a mask and only spray in low wind conditions.
follow dosage on container.
lock up pets and watch ur grass if any this stuff is deadly

RealExpert

My neighbour uses boiling water and the water thats strained off the spuds.We tried it too and yes it works providing that there are only a few weeds on it.I tried salty water as well but im not sure how well it worked.

Round-up is very expensive.You could use gallup 360 it does the exact same as round-up and its a lot cheaper.Your local hardware store has it its around 18euros per liter and will last you a long time.

donalg1

If I was to use roundup or an equivalent weed killer on a piece of lawn I'd like to cut back and plant with hedging could the weed killer ruin soil to an extent that the hedging would be ruined when planted.

belcampprisoner

salt boiling water or viniger

Daithio12

donalg1 wrote: »

If I was to use roundup or an equivalent weed killer on a piece of lawn I'd like to cut back and plant with hedging could the weed killer ruin soil to an extent that the hedging would be ruined when planted.

No roundup isn't a residual weed killer.

bbam

Look for GALLUP in the hardware store..
It has the same active ingredient as Roundup and should only cost half the price.. I bought a 25l drum last spring for €63. Works perfectly.

carlowplayer

im not entirely sure how effective round up is at maintaining a weed free lawn as it kills the weed(the normal type of round up I know variants exist
( http://www.scotts.com/smg/gocat2/roundup-kill-prevent-weeds-and-grass/cat10001// ) but im sure from what i know round up will just kill all plants without attacking seeds(someone can correct me here). I use hyrotol it exists in both powder and liquid forms as well as selective and non selective.If you use the non selective systemic form it will kill plants(weeds,grass etc.) and if it is labelled on the can will persist in the soil and prevent and germination or growth for 3-6 months depending on conditions.
I use a concentrated 10%(500ml in 5 litres of water) to keep my driveway and patio weed free.
As said above use it on a dry still day(when at least the next few days are dry with the pets inside for the day.
Just some extra info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbicide

http://www.landscapedepot.ie/hytrol-total-weedkiller-200g

Access

Round up does the job but you are paying for the brand name pure and simple...

Round up is a Glyphosate Weedkiller and there are many many types of Glyphosate Weedkillers out there.

"Barbarian" is a Glyphosate weedkiller as is "Gallup" and they have the same exact active ingredients as Round-up and they are available from all good Agristores.

Its about €25 for 5 ltrs and about €100 for 20 ltr drum.

We have a long gravel driveway here and i use 300 to 400ml to about 15ltrs of water in a backpack sprayer twice in the summer about 2 months apart (now in May and again in July) and i dont get weeds at all.

the €25 5ltr container should last you about 4 to 5 years!

Round up and the company that owns the brand are always running adverts on tv and thats how the name is out there always... but ask any farmer (who would be using large amount during the year to kill off large areas) what they use and they will simply says any strong Glyphosate weedkiller solution.

If you dont believe me... just look at the side of the over priced round up bottle in woodies or B&Q and check out what the main ingredient is.

prospect

Access wrote: »

Round up does the job but you are paying for the brand name pure and simple...

Round up is a Glyphosate Weedkiller and there are many many types of Glyphosate Weedkillers out there.

"Barbarian" is a Glyphosate weedkiller as is "Gallup" and they have the same exact active ingredients as Round-up and they are available from all good Agristores.

Its about €25 for 5 ltrs and about €100 for 20 ltr drum.

We have a long gravel driveway here and i use 300 to 400ml to about 15ltrs of water in a backpack sprayer twice in the summer about 2 months apart (now in May and again in July) and i dont get weeds at all.

the €25 5ltr container should last you about 4 to 5 years!

Round up and the company that owns the brand are always running adverts on tv and thats how the name is out there always... but ask any farmer (who would be using large amount during the year to kill off large areas) what they use and they will simply says any strong Glyphosate weedkiller solution.

If you dont believe me... just look at the side of the over priced round up bottle in woodies or B&Q and check out what the main ingredient is.

I have not tried these other brands so cannot comment, however, 400ml per 15Ltrs is an awful lot for standard spraying.

For normal driveway spraying I put 100ml of RoundUp per 15Ltrs and it obliterates everything.
Based on your 400ml usage, a 5Ltr bottle of RoundUp (€50) will last 4 times longer, so that works out at half the price.


(of course, it is entirely possible that you'd also get away with 100ml)

Spinnaker

Right - As the OP here's the report back ...

Avoided the multiples and visited local knowledgable @ Rathfarnham Garden Centre @ Rathfarnfarnham Shopping Centre about 3 weeks ago now. Left with a box of Glysophate sachets by Bayer. Convenient yokes - dissolve in your watering can or in my case an empty Round up can from old. About 15 euro for six sachets.

On one fine rare three sachets - windless day in late April I sprayed -two/ the bejaysus out of all weeds in the gravel - no mercy. Now you must know this gravel doesn't have a membrane and has lots of soil through natural blow-ins and decay from last years weeks. You get the picture. I resisted easily the urge not to go digging the weeds out again.

Week one . What a waste of money ! Still standing tall and green making faces at me. Week two: I'm gonna dig the bastids out. Week three yellowing and falling over quickly. Week three and half yellowed and flat if not broken up. Satisfaction what great value! The control for my experiment of destruction has been some weeds on a cobbled path - yellowed and flat. Nice. Critically however like the domestic economy there are no real new green shoots on the gravel in open areas which i also sprayed liberally. What a bargain. Share, Like , Tweet .

Could miserable May weather be a factor ? Of course. Main point - stuff was terminated and there are no real green shoots in the open areas after Bayer Glysophate while it remains semi-baltic . More later.

paddy147

Spinnaker wrote: »

Right - As the OP here's the report back ...

Avoided the multiples and visited local knowledgable @ Rathfarnham Garden Centre @ Rathfarnfarnham Shopping Centre about 3 weeks ago now. Left with a box of Glysophate sachets by Bayer. Convenient yokes - dissolve in your watering can or in my case an empty Round up can from old. About 15 euro for six sachets.

On one fine rare three sachets - windless day in late April I sprayed -two/ the bejaysus out of all weeds in the gravel - no mercy. Now you must know this gravel doesn't have a membrane and has lots of soil through natural blow-ins and decay from last years weeks. You get the picture. I resisted easily the urge not to go digging the weeds out again.

Week one . What a waste of money ! Still standing tall and green making faces at me. Week two: I'm gonna dig the bastids out. Week three yellowing and falling over quickly. Week three and half yellowed and flat if not broken up. Satisfaction what great value! The control for my experiment of destruction has been some weeds on a cobbled path - yellowed and flat. Nice. Critically however like the domestic economy there are no real new green shoots on the gravel in open areas which i also sprayed liberally. What a bargain. Share, Like , Tweet .

Could miserable May weather be a factor ? Of course. Main point - stuff was terminated and there are no real green shoots in the open areas after Bayer Glysophate while it remains semi-baltic . More later.

Nothing a bottle of white vinegar (acetic acid) some table salt,a squirt of fairy liquid and some water all mixed together couldnt sort out in a few days.

Again..it must be sprayed carefully and on a dry/calm day:)

paddylonglegs

How long does it take to realise my round up spraying hasn't worked? Sprayed on Saturday and still no sign of dead weeds. How long does it take to to kill the weeds?

prospect

paddylonglegs wrote: »

How long does it take to realise my round up spraying hasn't worked? Sprayed on Saturday and still no sign of dead weeds. How long does it take to to kill the weeds?

Just over two weeks.

I Sprayed mine last Saturday week (iirc) and they are just going yellow now.

henryporter

I use a flameweeder - more or less instant results but needs to be repeated every couple of weeks.

monkeynuz

If weeds are yellowing after one day of roundup then you have used too much and have only killed the top growth and not the roots.

Roundup takes a full 14 - 21 days to work properly.

Gallup is cheaper because although it is glyphosate it is a weaker solution so you use more of it, one of the correct dilutions for Gallup is 24ml per litre of water.

The reason roundup is popular is the fact that Monsanto developed glyphosate and roundup is also by Monsanto.

You should spray with a very slight breeze upto if I remember correctly 5mph.

You can also buy a hood to go around the nozzle to prexy delicate plants nearby.

Also remember if you accidentally spray a plant you want to keep just wash the spray off quickly with clean water.

mark17j

monkeynuz wrote: »

If weeds are yellowing after one day of roundup then you have used too much and have only killed the top growth and not the roots.

Roundup takes a full 14 - 21 days to work properly.

Gallup is cheaper because although it is glyphosate it is a weaker solution so you use more of it, one of the correct dilutions for Gallup is 24ml per litre of water.

The reason roundup is popular is the fact that Monsanto developed glyphosate and roundup is also by Monsanto.

You should spray with a very slight breeze upto if I remember correctly 5mph.

You can also buy a hood to go around the nozzle to prexy delicate plants nearby.

Also remember if you accidentally spray a plant you want to keep just wash the spray off quickly with clean water.

trust me I got the roots too I fully expect it'll take 14 -21 days to completely kill all roots...

monkeynuz

mark17j wrote: »

trust me I got the roots too I fully expect it'll take 14 -21 days to completely kill all roots...

I think you have completely missed my point......how can you expect it to be transferred to the root system of the plant if you have killed the top growth.

If you have browned the leaves that quickly you must be using way in excess of the recommended dosage rate and at risk of causing environmental pollution.

mark17j

I think you need to come in out of the sun and cool off, it's getting to you.
the roots got a good soaking and i'm pleased with job done thank you:)
I may of applied a little too much in areas, please forgive me.

monkeynuz wrote: »

I think you have completely missed my point......how can you expect it to be transferred to the root system of the plant if you have killed the top growth.

If you have browned the leaves that quickly you must be using way in excess of the recommended dosage rate and at risk of causing environmental pollution.

monkeynuz

mark17j wrote: »

I think you need to come in out of the sun and cool off, it's getting to you.
the roots got a good soaking and i'm pleased with job done thank you:)
I may of applied a little too much in areas, please forgive me.

No need to be rude Mark,

wetting the roots does nothing.

The weedkiller is ONLY transferred to the roots through the leaves......kill the leaves and the stuff doesn't get to the roots.

mark17j

Excuse me, it's you that has the attitude, I've been applying weed killer for years, I know what i'm doing, my place hasn't a weed in sight. I was working on my sisters garden yesterday, your argument is rather petty and stirring in my opinion, in 2 weeks time i'll come back with my success story

monkeynuz wrote: »

No need to be rude Mark,

wetting the roots does nothing.

The weedkiller is ONLY transferred to the roots through the leaves......kill the leaves and the stuff doesn't get to the roots.

emo72

hi guys, when i worked on a nursery i got a course in weedkilling. the correct dosage is really important. contact must be made with the leaf and then it takes the poison in. then as the plant is growing the weedkiller gets transported to the roots and then it will die fully.hope this is okay to post.

monkeynuz

mark17j wrote: »

Excuse me, it's you that has the attitude, I've been applying weed killer for years, I know what i'm doing, my place hasn't a weed in sight. I was working on my sisters garden yesterday, your argument is rather petty and stirring in my opinion, in 2 weeks time i'll come back with my success story

Yeah sorry about that, my mistake.

Mode of Action

Once applied to the leaf uptake occurs within 1-6 hours and glyphosate moves through the phloem both downwards and upwards within 5 days. It tends to accumulate in the growing points, then evens up throughout the plant, leading to a gradual loss of green colour followed by death between one and four weeks later.

Glyphosate works at a single specific site in the Shikimic acid pathway to inhibit the production of the amino-acids phenylalanine, tryptophan and tyrosine. Amino- acids are the building blocks of protein molecules and once the biochemical pathway is blocked the synthesis of proteins is interrupted and the plant effectively starves to death. The process is temperature related and explains why treated plants take some time to die.
For more detailed information about the glyphosate mode of action see the glyphosate infomation portal http://www.glyphosate.eu/glyphosate-basics/how-glyphosate-works