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slabbed patio
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 |
slabbed patio
"keithwood57" wrote in message ... 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 I admire what you're doing. 'cost effective'.....depends what you can afford. Yes, Roundup or similar might be the answer. Perhaps parisherers might like to donate some? Pete C |
slabbed patio
On 06/15/2012 05:51 PM, Pete C wrote:
"keithwood57" wrote in message ... 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 I admire what you're doing. 'cost effective'.....depends what you can afford. Yes, Roundup or similar might be the answer. Perhaps parisherers might like to donate some? Pete C Hi Keith, "Generic" Roundup is any weedkiller based on the chemical "Glyphosate." Buying in the generic form will already be cheaper than Roundup, but if you need a lot it is worth it to get it from a farmer's coop. Alternatively if there are farmers in the parish they may be able to provide it; they often use rather a lot of the stuff. |
slabbed patio
On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 16:51:19 +0100, "Pete C"
wrote: "keithwood57" wrote in message ... 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 I admire what you're doing. 'cost effective'.....depends what you can afford. Yes, Roundup or similar might be the answer. Perhaps parisherers might like to donate some? Pete C One thing to watch for is that in supermarkets you will often find sprayer bottles of ready-diluted weedkillers. If you buy these they are very expensive and you're paying for a lot of water. If you can get to a garden centre or a DIY place look for concentrate packs. And get a cheap plastic watering can. This will work out a lot cheaper if you have a large area to treat. Maybe the PCC/Elders will pay for these materials for you or there may be a gardener who can spare a sachet of concentrate and already has a watering can used for weedkilling (it's not a good idea to use a can for both weedkilling and normal watering). Weedkillers are usually applied using a sprinkler bar that slows down the flow of liquid from the watering can but these bars also spread the liquid over almost 2 feet wide strips and you only need to treat the cracks between the pavers. So stick with an ordinary rose on the can to minimise waste and pour gently. It may take a few days before the weeds start to die but this is good - you want the weedkiller to get right down to the roots and kill them from the bottom up. Don't be tempted to pull any weeds up until they're really dead. Cheers, Jake ======================================= Urgling from Swansea Bay. Dave's at that end; I'm at this end. Bill G's in the middle. Come to think of it, where is Bill G these days? |
slabbed patio
"keithwood57" wrote
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). Roundup is the trade name for Glysophate and like all trade names it's dearer. Try looking for the generic name Glysophate. I think B & Q sell a Path and Patio Weedkiller that is actually Glysophate but most Garden Centres now sell the generic stuff as well as Roundup. Now this will kill off any growing ( green**) plants but will not stop the weed seeds germinating so you will need to reapply every so often. There are other weedkillers out there that will kill and prevent regrowth for a while, normally called Pathclear or some such but again they are more expensive. ** works only on green leaves, you spray them and they take it down to the roots and it then kills the plant. It does become degraded in the soil so will leave no lasting weedkiller. -- Regards. Bob Hobden. Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK |
slabbed patio
On 15/06/2012 17:26, Bob Hobden wrote:
"keithwood57" wrote 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). Roundup is the trade name for Glysophate and like all trade names it's dearer. Try looking for the generic name Glysophate. I think B & Q sell a Path and Patio Weedkiller that is actually Glysophate but most Garden Centres now sell the generic stuff as well as Roundup. Now this will kill off any growing ( green**) plants but will not stop the weed seeds germinating so you will need to reapply every so often. There are other weedkillers out there that will kill and prevent regrowth for a while, normally called Pathclear or some such but again they are more expensive. ** works only on green leaves, you spray them and they take it down to the roots and it then kills the plant. It does become degraded in the soil so will leave no lasting weedkiller. What every you use, don't pull up the dead weeds, they will break down in time, if you do then you disturbe the soil and new weed seed will germinate. |
slabbed patio
On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 17:26:08 +0100, "Bob Hobden"
wrote: [...] ** works only on green leaves, you spray them and they take it down to the roots and it then kills the plant. It does become degraded in the soil so will leave no lasting weedkiller. If I may drift the thread a little, I said very firmly, on a non-gardening newsgroup in which the subject had arisen for some reason, that glyphosate worked only on growing green parts of plants. I was equally firmly told by a couple of posters that they had successfully used glyphosate to kill leafless stumps. Are we underestimating the compound's power? -- Mike. |
slabbed patio
On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 18:45:50 +0100, Mike L wrote:
On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 17:26:08 +0100, "Bob Hobden" wrote: [...] ** works only on green leaves, you spray them and they take it down to the roots and it then kills the plant. It does become degraded in the soil so will leave no lasting weedkiller. If I may drift the thread a little, I said very firmly, on a non-gardening newsgroup in which the subject had arisen for some reason, that glyphosate worked only on growing green parts of plants. I was equally firmly told by a couple of posters that they had successfully used glyphosate to kill leafless stumps. Are we underestimating the compound's power? I have successfully injected glyphosate into stems of marestail but, in general, it has to be absorbed into the plant's "bloodstream" to get down to the roots and I would not have thought that simply spraying it onto a stump would achieve that. More likely the plant died because it didn't have leaves! Cheers, Jake ======================================= Urgling from Swansea Bay. Dave's at that end; I'm at this end. Bill G's in the middle. Come to think of it, where is Bill G these days? |
slabbed patio
On 15/06/2012 18:52, Jake wrote:
On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 18:45:50 +0100, Mike wrote: On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 17:26:08 +0100, "Bob wrote: [...] ** works only on green leaves, you spray them and they take it down to the roots and it then kills the plant. It does become degraded in the soil so will leave no lasting weedkiller. If I may drift the thread a little, I said very firmly, on a non-gardening newsgroup in which the subject had arisen for some reason, that glyphosate worked only on growing green parts of plants. I was equally firmly told by a couple of posters that they had successfully used glyphosate to kill leafless stumps. Are we underestimating the compound's power? I have successfully injected glyphosate into stems of marestail but, in general, it has to be absorbed into the plant's "bloodstream" to get down to the roots and I would not have thought that simply spraying it onto a stump would achieve that. More likely the plant died because it didn't have leaves! Cheers, Jake ======================================= Urgling from Swansea Bay. Dave's at that end; I'm at this end. Bill G's in the middle. Come to think of it, where is Bill G these days? Hang on Jake, there was no mention of spraying the stumps, they probably drilled holes and then filled them with undiluted glyphosate. david @ the wet end of Swansea Bay |
slabbed patio
On 15/06/2012 19:30, David Hill wrote:
(snip) Hang on Jake, there was no mention of spraying the stumps, they probably drilled holes and then filled them with undiluted glyphosate. david @ the wet end of Swansea Bay That's the method I used to kill a Campsis. It worked on the main stem (cut through about 30 cm above the ground). Still took a couple of years to kill all the runners. :-( -- Jeff |
slabbed patio
"keithwood57" wrote in message
... 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. . . . if a weed-killer is suggested it needs to be cost-effective. Alternatively, try a propane torch, i.e. just burn up the weeds (and sweep away the ashes if visible.). The vicar would probably prefer you to test in an obscure corner, to be sure the heat would not damage the paving stones. -- Don Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) |
slabbed patio
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slabbed patio
On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 15:15:36 -0400, Don Phillipson wrote:
Alternatively, try a propane torch, i.e. just burn up the weeds (and sweep away the ashes if visible.). You don't need to burn the plants with a "weed burner", just waft the flame slowly over them, a slight colour change or wilt is all you need. The cell structure is destroyed and the foliage dies. Note that this will only kill then top growth unlike glyphosate which will kill the entire plant. The small "walking stick" weed burners are too small for fully grown dandelions but OK for running along the paving joints that only have small plants growing through. For a large area and lots of growth the Sheen X300 is probably a better bet. It's pressurised paraffin burner so can be a bit temperamental but people of a certain age may well have come across pressurised paraffin devices before... You can get decent sized gas burners (normally used by roofers) but they will have a hose to the cylinder so not quite as convenient as the X300. -- Cheers Dave. |
Well! Thank you! I am amazed at the thoughtfulness of the folks who have taken the time and trouble to post replies to my query.
Er, check this space sometime next year (DV) and I will let you know how I am getting on. Thanks again, Keith |
slabbed patio
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