Cleaning and weeding patio

[waggie]

Yet again I have to take a pressure washer to my block paved patio, the main problem is that every year there is a big problem with weeds growing through the joints of the block paving, I have thought that this year I would add a weed killer to the dry sand. Has any body any ideas or could this work and stop the weeds growing through.

[rainbowgardener]

You can make a home-made weed killer that is less expensive and less environmentally damaging. Mix a quart of household vinegar + 1/4 cup of salt + 1 tsp of dish detergent. Put the mixture in a spray bottle. Drench the weeds with the solution on a dry, sunny day, coating all surfaces of the weeds. Any plants soaked with this solution will die within several days and they won't come back for a long time. Don't treat any place like this where you will want plants to be later.

But I'm not sure how well this or any commercial weed killer works as a preventative. You could try soaking your paver sand with it.

[ElizabethB]

Waggie - unfortunately you will always have an on going battle with the weeds in the sand between your pavers. RBG's recipe is a good one but you will need to apply frequently. Birds, wind and water will deposit seeds in the sand on a daily basis.

Good luck

[waggie]

Mixed up a solution, sprayed all over the weeds on my paving and after only 2 days could see all the weeds starting to die off after a week all were dead, however I intend to power wash my drive and re-sand, I was wondering if there is a dry product that could be mixed with the sand prior to application to prevent weeds growing in the future, or am I being a little optimistic.

[rainbowgardener]

If you never want anything to grow there, mix salt in with the sand.

[nltaff]

Hey waggie, I'm a little late chiming in here, but if you're up for the task, you might try polymeric sand, sold under the trade names Gator Sand. There may be other brands out there by now. You could pressure wash the sand out of the crevices and replace it with the polymeric sand. Claims to be impervious to weeds. Another product they make is Gator Dust, a polymeric sand/aggregate mix made for larger crevices. If you are in a dry environment, this will probably work for you. It only worked for me for a few years, as I made the mistake of putting landscape cloth under the sand bed and additionally, my sidewalk is in a very wet, shady, freeze-thaw area. In hindsight, mortar might have fended off the weeds longer, but probably not. Again, if you live in a dry area, this polymeric sand seems to be current state of the art in paver applications. Here's sidewalk done.

Here's sidewalk in construction-puzzle pieces of our property's most abundant natural resource, large, flat rocks.

Another shot of rocks encased with Gator Dust (larger, aggregate product for big spaces).