Article and photos by Rahe Richards, a member of the Richmond Hill Garden & Horticultural Society
Four summers ago, when we moved into our house, we found that the walkway and front patio made of random paving stones were filled with weeds. There were very small, tiny weeds in between the stones. Since we did not want to use chemicals on them, we spent considerable time on our hands and knees weeding them. It was a brutal process—one we did not want to repeat!
Two years ago in April, it occurred to me to cover the spots with thick, black garbage bags. We used stones and heavy items to hold the garbage bags in place for about six weeks. By the end of May, when the bags were removed there were no weeds. We repeated the process this past spring with success—without chemicals and no backache! You may want to give this a try yourself next year on walkways, driveways, or around your pool.
Can’t try Rahe’s solution this summer? Try one of these weed control methods. They are good for hard surfaces such as walkways, sidewalks, and driveways.
- Spray a home-made solution. Mix the following together in your sprayer: 1 gallon of vinegar, 2 cups Epson Salts, and 1/4 Dawn Dish Soap (the blue one). Spray this solution on the weeds after the morning dew is gone and the weeds will be dead by dinner time!
- Use a Weed Torch. These are long-handled tools ending with a flame source near the ground and a small propane tank near the cane-like handle. And yes, it burns the weeds for instant results. But be careful. Wear hard shoes! And remember that fire can travel underground via roots to your yard so have a hose near you. Do not use this tool in your garden or lawn!
Above you can see the areas we covered with garbage bags to eliminate the large amount of weeds that had grown each year.
The amazing result. Weed free for the rest of the summer!
