"A.Lee" wrote in message
...
I'm laying a gravelled area over existing soil next week - when we moved
here, there was rather an abundance of weeds (ground elder iirc)
scattered over the existing gravelled area.
I didnt realise, until I'd started clearing it, that there was already a
thick black plastic sheet lying on the soil. The weeds had an extensive
root network, that was directly below the plastic sheet - some roots
were 3 feet long, with the majority above the soil, but below the
plastic.

Now I am going to relay the gravelled area, with a deeper gravel cover.
Do I liberally coat the area with Sodium Chlorate weedkiler (then do it
again every 4-6 months), or should I buy one of the black netting type
membranes that are currently available?

The membrane is £40 for the area needed, 2 years of weedkiller is £12.
If the membrane is a waste of time, like the last one, then there is no
point spending the extra to put it down under the gravel.

Thanks for any thoughts.
Alan.

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If you are in a wetter part of the uk its very difficult to keep gravel
clear of weeds with or without a membrane, but having a membrane does make
lifting the gravel easier in the future (mine constantly silts up with plant
debris and has to be sieved) of all the parts of my garden it is the gravel
that requires the most work although it gives me huge amounts of plants like
foxgloves and aquilegia for planting elsewhere! I use a "Path Clear" type
weedkiller

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Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cultivars