Hi there,
In my backyard there's an area consisting of bricks. The cracks in the bricks are littered with grass, weeds and moss.
[img]https://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2613/img0571z.jpg[/img]
How should I go about clearing this up? Plucking? Most of the stuff I grab at just breaks off, so I know it will be back in a matter of weeks.
Thanks!
I've attacked weeds in my sidewalk and (cracked asphalt) driveway with boiling water, followed by pulling 12 to 24 hours later.
They come out fairly easily then, because the roots have started to die.
A teakettle or other container with an easily-aimed spout does the trick for me; I'm not interested in having to go up the stairs into the house multiple times for extra pots of water.
Best wishes for success against these weeds/unwanted grasses.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
They come out fairly easily then, because the roots have started to die.
A teakettle or other container with an easily-aimed spout does the trick for me; I'm not interested in having to go up the stairs into the house multiple times for extra pots of water.
Best wishes for success against these weeds/unwanted grasses.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
I don't know whether those weed torches are legal around here--we have dry months in most years from April through mid-November. Things get very crackling dry. That's part of what's been behind the sharp increase in wildfires in California the last several years--an earlier start to the dry season, and a later end to it.
No weed torches for me.
The boiling water needs to be added fairly generously to each crack in the pavement. Try again, wait overnight, and see what happens. I worked on the pavement about 8 feet at a time because it was a linear run, not cross-hatched like yours, and running back up the stairs into the house got old after a while...
Cynthia
No weed torches for me.
The boiling water needs to be added fairly generously to each crack in the pavement. Try again, wait overnight, and see what happens. I worked on the pavement about 8 feet at a time because it was a linear run, not cross-hatched like yours, and running back up the stairs into the house got old after a while...
Cynthia
If you decide to use a torch to burn out the weeds, be careful around anything flammable, such as mulch. I've always been amazed that many of my friends don't realize that most mulches will catch on fire and burn. I had one friend put out a cigarette in one of my front flower beds, and it caught fire. I was lucky that another friend noticed the thin wisp of smoke rising from the bed several days later! My house could have burned down! 
Another friend decided to bury her cigarette in one of the wood flower boxes on my patio. I kept smelling smoke, and finally looked out the back door to find the thing fully engulfed in flames!
Non-gardeners seem to think "the ground" won't burn. [img]https://bestsmileys.com/clueless/4.gif[/img]
Another friend decided to bury her cigarette in one of the wood flower boxes on my patio. I kept smelling smoke, and finally looked out the back door to find the thing fully engulfed in flames!
Non-gardeners seem to think "the ground" won't burn. [img]https://bestsmileys.com/clueless/4.gif[/img]
Last edited by Kisal on Sat May 02, 2009 12:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Charlie MV
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applestar
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FWIW -- so you people won't think I'm this awful person that encourages my hubby to go out starting fires 
What I usually do is when I cook pasta, I scoop out the pasta with a perforated ladle and then dump the hot (unsalted) water on the brick patio outside the kitchen door. The starchy water seems to "stick" to the weeds and help "cook" them. When I don't have the time to take advantage of the hot liquid, I dump it in the compost pile later. 
I also weed the bricks after rain when they pull out much better and satisfyingly with all their roots. This works better when the weeds have grown enough so you can get a good grip though.
What I usually do is when I cook pasta, I scoop out the pasta with a perforated ladle and then dump the hot (unsalted) water on the brick patio outside the kitchen door. The starchy water seems to "stick" to the weeds and help "cook" them. When I don't have the time to take advantage of the hot liquid, I dump it in the compost pile later. I also weed the bricks after rain when they pull out much better and satisfyingly with all their roots. This works better when the weeds have grown enough so you can get a good grip though.
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Charlie MV
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I have a nice little hand-held torch that I used to use to "burn off" my big outdoor wildlife habitat cages before putting new animals in them. It's the only way you can destroy certain parasite eggs. My cages were wood with metal wire, so I had to be careful. It can be done, though ... just take care. I'll have to give it a try on some of my weeds this year. 
You made my day, CharlieMV! -
rainbowgardener
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Couldn't you learn to like it? 
Some landscape designers deliberately plant creeping thyme or other ground covery things like that into the cracks in pavers. The contrast between the brick color and the green is very nice. I liked the look of your picture. Just go over it with a weed whacker every once in awhile so that it doesn't get tall... Saves a lot of work!
Some landscape designers deliberately plant creeping thyme or other ground covery things like that into the cracks in pavers. The contrast between the brick color and the green is very nice. I liked the look of your picture. Just go over it with a weed whacker every once in awhile so that it doesn't get tall... Saves a lot of work!