I have all rock in my yard, but weeds are coming in like crazy. I need a money-friendly tip to get rid of all of these. It is a huge area, and I have been spraying vinegar, but I may not be using enough. Anything else you can recommend? We have had 80 degree weather after a large rainfall, so that is against me, too.
Maybe you don't like chemicals but I do know Round-up works great. Vinegar seems to do it as a one time spot kill but they come back. (01/30/2009)
By Judi
You might try salt if you are sure it will not run off into other vegetation. Boiling water works on smaller areas--I've used it on grass coming up in a brick walkway. (01/30/2009)
By OliveOyl
I would put newspaper down and cover it with dirt or use plastic. This might work for you if the rocks are close together, but not so much if the rocks are spaced far apart.
Racer (01/30/2009)
By Robyn Fed
Buy the vinegar from a plant nursery (it's much stronger!), also if you heat it up it works even better. Boiling water works temporarily. You can also buy the kind of salt they put on roads, but this will stop everything from growing forever! If you use the salt, first dissolve it in water, then pour or spray it on.
Here in Seattle we never salt our roads because it can change the salt content in our rivers, lakes, the sound, and it kills the salmon. But in places like Chicago and Minnesota they use rock salt all the time on the roads. If you can't find rock salt buy the salt they use in water softeners (it's sold at Home Depot where they sell water purifiers and it's pretty cheap. It looks like crystals).
Stay away from chemicals. (01/30/2009)
By Cyinda
I don't know anything about your rock area, but rather than pouring salt or vinegar on it which will kill any grass or others plants it leaks on to, I would just plant some creeping thyme or something like that.
Thyme, is very low lying and grows even more as you walk on it. It will also keep the area a little cooler rather than just having heat reflecting rocks. Plus it smells good as it is walked on or trimmed. It will drown out the weeds and take over the area providing beauty and be usefulness. by the way, rock salt has other chemicals in it, it is not purified salt. (01/31/2009)
By Melissa M.
My sister swears by straight Clorox for removing weeds from her rock garden. She sprays it on like Round-Up and it works just as well, only cheaper. I haven't tried it myself but I've seen her garden and she has no weeds! (01/31/2009)
By Dena Jodway
I don't know what the other person did that they had bad results with Round Up. Maybe they watered too soon after using it. You need to wait 48hrs after using it, also it needs to be at least 78 degrees for it to work. I use it all the time. I like it cause it doesn't hurt the ground or birds and bees after it hits the ground. I have also heard that pouring boiling water on the weeds works. I tried it once and it didn't seem to help. (02/03/2009)
Rock salt can destroy a lot more than you plan on ridding yourself of. Check out my MN yard. If you are set on that, go buy solar water softener salt. Comes crushed in some brands.
I swear by the vinegar. Straight from the jug to the spray bottle. If you have rain, have to do treatment again. And you can control where you spray. This is the most earth friendly I can come up with. (02/03/2009)
By Grandma J
They do make weed torches. They are light and easy to use. They are not pricey either. (02/04/2009)
By Laura Meller
I have a 20'x40' dog pen that I de-weed monthly. I use 1 gal vinegar [store brand], a 'healthy' squirt of any lemon dish soap, and and half cup table salt. The vinegar burns the part of the weed below the surface, the salt gets what the vinegar doesn't and the soap is for absorption by the plant of the entire mixture. Have used it for years with great success.
I use a granular product called Noxall, it works for a year. I love the flaming torch, it's fun to go around making little weeds droop and die. You could put down thick (one inch) newspaper and have carpet or gravel over that for a longtime no-chemical solution. Carpet lasts for years with a barrier underneath it. Check the dumpster behind a carpet store regularly and they'll thank you to take it away. (02/05/2009)
You can use boiling hot water, whether you cooked your brussel sprouts in it or not. It will kill the weed. It will also loosen the roots enough so you can pull it out the following day. If you make yourself tea from a kettle, you can empty the remainder onto a specific weed to try it out. Can't hurt and it's practically free. (02/06/2009)
By poepadoe
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