Grass and Weeds in Gravel Driveway

Hey Folks,

What do you do to keep grass and weeds from growing on your gravel driveway?

I dumped about 80 lbs of salt in the spring on mine (approximately 10’ x 30’) that helped until about June then everything exploded.

I’m not completely adverse to chemicals but would prefer not to use them if possible.

Thanks in advance.

 

Roundup is a contact killer. Kills just about all floria. Relatively inert after a few days. Almost all corn grown in the US is grown with the use of glyphosate. You can get generic Roundup at HomeDepot.

 

I've mixed up this formula...it works but it's not going to work forever. It's a cheap way to kill the weeds and grass for a while...ymmv.

• 1 gallon white vinegar
• 1 cup salt
• 1 tablespoon liquid dish soap

 

We do the above mixture and also torch them

 

I’ve heard of guys using a bag or two of Portland cement but i’ve Never done it myself.

 

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in RoundUp and you can definitely get a generic brand of glyphosate at most any farm supply store or Home Depot type store. It is not really a contact herbicide though. It is absorbed into the cells by he plant and moves throughout the whole plant to effectively kill the roots as well as the above surface plant material. It's considered a systemic herbicide. It is a good choice of herbicide though if you have a mix of plants coming up in your driveway. It will take days up to a few weeks to really show it's full effect. Just be sure to follow the instructions on the label and wear all the appropriate safety equipment.

 

I gave up and just mow them.

 

Nooooo......

I can’t bring myself to let that happen. Thanks though!

 

Roundup

 

tiger torch

 

I have been trying that setup since Spring, bet I have put down 25 gallons of vinegar and 50 pounds of salt so far and unfortunately still have grass and weeds in my driveway.

 

Don’t use salt. It doesn’t degrade.

 

That’s kinda the point for driveways...

I’ve tried a lot of salt but it doesn’t seem to matter much w grasses and weeds...

Make me wonder how much was used when they salted fields back in the day???

 

Don’t use household vinegar, needs to be at least 30%. Works as good as roundup. Still need to spray new plants. Even with roundup I’ve had to keep going back. Used that poison for the last time last year and switched to this below.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01EXSPF4U?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image

 

Thanks @shane100700 ! Comes in a 55 gallon drum size, wonder what those shipping charges would be???

Do you use it straight up?

 

If you run the calculations on the vinegar solution, you'll find that it costs as much or more than the generic Roundup concentrate. And it does not work as well in my experience, which involves elevated large gravel beds at the lakefront on my property.

Vegetation growth in that area in Fl is almost a year round project, although it does slow in winter. Some.

My best success was using Roundup on the emerging weeds, once they were about 1/2" above the surface. In about a week they'd be browned out. Then I used a roofing torch on a propane tank ($20 torch from HF) and entertained the neighbors burning out the dead stuff. You could see the roots glowing below the gravel surface.

Every cycle to do this got a little further apart. IE your first effort will return sooner than you hoped. But each time you do it there is a little less to do and it will last a little longer before the next need. But it will never end, just be more manageable.

The key to both is windless working time so there is no drift of chemical or blowback of flame, and controlling your patterns.

I also had some gravel beds by the house. I tried salt under the gravel, copper sulfate in various locations, and other concoctions. Ineffective for any period of time.

 

Please stop salting the ground for no reason. That is probably the worst way to do it, and environmentally fucked. Not only are you fucking up the ground, you are going to mess with the groundwater as well. Up here in New England we have a bunch of shit going into our rivers and killing roadside trees because of how much salt they put down.

Use the heavy glyphosate if you actually want it to work. You will probably need to do it twice, but maybe once if you do a super heavy mix. If you go heavy, it will leak a little and spread to surrounding areas so be careful on the grass...the more sun the faster this stuff works. It kills the plants as it grows, it is not a contact thing. So do it on a sunny day and you will see results in a few days. Do it in the woods in shady areas and it can literally take weeks for results. I did my driveway and some shaded areas this year.

Wear a respirator, long sleeve shirt and pants/gloves. Then wash it all and take a shower when you are done. Do not use on a windy day or it will go everywhere and kill everything.


I don't use the glyphosate anymore because of the spread of it to kill some of my grass around the edges, we use an organic based one. This organic one kills stuff really quickly, but does nothing to stop more from growing. I am finding every 2-3 weeks I need to hit it with some more.

 

Thanks for the info Bill. Can’t imagine what it must be like down in FL.

 

I like all kinds of geographic terrain, but prefer to live here. Paradise to me.

You'll note the weed free gravel beds.

Listed this place for sale (after 27 years) this spring and it sold in 3 hours for over listing price, which I thought was stupid high.

 

Thanks for weighing in.

I thought I had a reason to salt and that was to keep grass and weeds from growing. I appreciate your concern though. This driveway has a barrier about 5-6 inches under the entire length. It was supposed to be a barrier to prevent this exact situation..

Thanks too for the info on organic glyphosate...