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30 per cent vinegar diluted with water for a 50/50 mix with some dish soap, no salt. I am a gardener and the rocks heat up in the sun and can damage the roots and dirt accumulates between the rocks and the weeds will grow. The mats do not allow water to get to the roots properly and that includes fertilizer. I have a large garden and am out there almost every day. Every box or bag of weeds is a battle won but, if you think you can win the war, you are mistaken, but I do love my coreopsis, milkweed and echinacea and all the bees and butterflies they bring.

Quote:

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2354413)

Choice Maintenance.

If you like the rocks, all you need is for them to remove the rocks, replace the black weed barrier and reinstall the rocks.

EASIEST & CHEAPEST METHOD
Step 1: spray weeds with (liquid) Roundup
Wait 2 weeks
Step 2: spray weeds with Roundup again (repeat until they are completely dead)
Step 3: Apply Preen (granular) pre-emergent weed killer
Step 4+: re-apply Preen every
6 months

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maker (Post 2354549)

Dirt will still accumulate on top of weed barrier fabrics. Weeds will grow. It is not very effective as it ages.

How are you getting rid of weeds now? Pulling them? They will grow back because parts of the roots will break off. Every broken off part will grow into an entirely new weed. So pulling them makes them grow back worse.

Here is the way to solve the weed problem. As suggested, spray a weed killer such as round up. That kills the weed all the way to the root. Only spray on a very calm day. Wind will blow it onto things you don't want to kill. Now wait a week for it to work. Then pull what remains, but you can leave it and it will shrivel up and disappear.

Highly caution against using salt or vinegar solutions. They may kill the weeds, but it also contaminates the soil. As those migrate with rain or irrigation, they will kill shrubs and flowers. Replacements plants will also die once their roots are exposed to them.

There are 2 versions of weed killers.
The one you want for your garden is active for a few hours after being applied. Once exposed to sunlight it becomes benign.
The other type is a long lasting type. You want that for driveway cracks where you never want things to grow. Never use that in a flower bed because water will spread it around (just like salt or vinegar) and kills grass, shrubs, flowers, etc, for a year or longer.

Weed barriers encourage some very undesirable insects & mold. Soil underneath never gets compost so weed barriers like black fabric or plastic destroy the natural biome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bay Kid (Post 2354412)

I want to have my rock bedding redone around the house. The weeds are winning. Any reasonable suggestions?

Weeds and grass increase tremendously in these summer months with the longer sunlight and more rain. That is to be expected. So for those with low maintenance rock areas, it is good to remember their great usefulness in the winter months because of the need for no grass cutting. Also there is no need for fertilizer on those areas so they keep the fertilizer runoff into the lakes at a minimum, which keeps the lake cleaner. So, during the summer months there is just a little more effort required to keep a rock area looking good. Round-up can be used on a dry day and after a rain storm the weeds are easily pulled.

Unfortunately the more grass, the more constant grass cutting and the fertilizer and chemicals end up in the local lakes. Personally, I think that Florida grass is ugly and not soft like northern grass. I like landscaping rocks better and it adds a more unique style to a house, whereas grass is unexceptional and requires too much maintenance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by villagetinker (Post 2354500)

OP, if you do some research, the weed barriers are ineffective, I now know from firsthand experience, so I agree with above, get a good weed killer, with a battery powered extension wand, and hand spray for the weeds, very effective and very low cost.

I agree that the weedstop-type fabric is a waste of time and effort.

If buying 30% vinegar, and mixing it 1 to 1 with water, you have 15% vinegar. Typically 15% costs less than half the price of 30%. You are spending extra money needlessly.

Remember, vinegar changes the soil. It takes a long time for it to dissipate. During those months, it will make growing stuff you want a lot harder. It will spread to your good landscaping and harm it. Weeds are a lot more tolerant. They will regrow while the shrub next to them dies.
Salt acts the same way.

Roundup kills the vegetation it contacts because it gets absorbed into it. What is left around, in sunlight, changes into an inert form. No longer toxic to anything. It does not kill other vegetation going forward.

The cancer lawsuit lawyers are targeting farmers and landscapers that spray it every day. In windy conditions that blow it back into their faces, and they breathe it often. We are smart enough, and have the flexibility, to pick calm days to spray it. We use it in tiny amounts. I have zero fear of it.

If having to deal with weeds more often than once after several months, you are doing something wrong. Weekly is a total failure.

Thanks for all the weed killing ideas. I am looking to redo the rock beds, so who to use? There is a good underlayment that will drain and protect.