On Friday, 15 June 2012 13:15:56 UTC+1, keithwood57 wrote:
Hi
Forgive me if I am covering old ground.
I am not skilled in web use and find it very difficult to navigate.
I am a retired man living in the West Midlands.
I recently changed churches and I was asked if I would take on the
church garden. This was no big problem as it had been quite well
maintained.
However, I realised that part of the job involved keeping the patio area
weeded.
Now, this is a HUGE area of paving stones and, as the church is about
fifty years old, weeds have very seriously established themselves
between them.
I have already weeded the patio twice this year. It takes (me anyway) a
full day and it is very hard work.
I have never had this problem before so I wonder if anyone would like to
make a suggestion - bearing in mind that if a weed-killer is suggested
it needs to be cost-effective. A friendly council worker who passed by
while I was weeding suggested Roundup. Now, I don't know how good this
is - but it is hugely expensive for a pensioner (and, yes, I would like
to bear the cost myself as part of my church giving).
Thank you
Keith


A generic preparation containing glyphosate is about the best thing for the job. I use Clinic Ace (just an old formulation of Roundup out of patent and cheaper) You won't get it from a garden centre, a local agricultural merchant will sell it in 5litre bottles. I don't know what dilution you'd use for dribble bar but for spraying I use 300ml per 15litres so it's going to last you a good while. For an overall spray a 15l knapsack spray would do about 750sq metres but for spot treatment as you would be doing the 15l sprayer would probably keep you working for a good hour or more. Keep the pressure down for spot treatment to minimise drift because this stuff kills anything green that it touches and in certain conditions the drifting spay can be difficult to see.
Especially if you could get other parishioners to chip in, a good knapsack sprayer with a proper herbicide nozzle would be a good investment and make light work of the job. You don't try to heave the pack up to your back from the ground, fill the sprayer on a platform about waist height and then back into the straps. The Bastion 15 litre spayer is an excellent machine, cheaper than the yellow Cooper Pegler ones that seem to have become the industry standard and more comfortable (for me at any rate)
I did this when I retired 5 years ago and no longer had access to the work kit. It's used at home, also on my allotment and for some voluntary work around our village. (Haven't finished the first 5 litres yet)

Rod