Creating gravel garden without weed membrane

[LizzieLobelia]

Hi, I'm using the lockdown to tackle a garden project. I want to turn the end bit of my garden into a gravel area (will put furniture and potted plants there eventually). But I don't want to use a weed membrane. Should I just dig over the area, remove weeds etc, level it as much a possible, then lay the gravel. Or am I missing an important step?

The important step is that you will be doing nothing to stop weeds coming straight through the gravel. Which they will. The other important step is that there won't be anything stopping soil and gravel from mixing together. Which it will.

Why don't you want to use a membrane?

Thanks morecoffeerequired. Lots of gardeners I know don't like them coz they're not good for wildlife and soil richness etc. But I'm wondering if it might be too much hassle without. Also I have weed membrane in my front garden and the weeds come through a lot anyway. I'm thinking I might use it anyway.

I would put the membrane, otherwise it will just be weedy gravel mess soon.

Thanks omgnoplanes. It's less the weeds that bother it's more the idea that all the gravel and the earth beneath might mix and become really revolting...

We recently put down gravel, I initially didn't want to put a weed membrane down, but dh wanted to so we did in the end.

I don't expect the weed membrane to be very effective. I hope it will slow the weeds down but it won't stop them. When I got my allotment the previous person had put down weed membrane on the paths, but there were loads of dandelions and dock growing right through it. Similarly the council put weed membrane down on a flower bed near me and the tough perennial weeds were growing through it within a month.

If you decide to use it, still try to dig the weeds out beforehand.

My parents have gravel down around their house with no membrane, it was put down on top of compacted hardcore. They only get the odd weed coming up at the front, but loads of horsetail coming up through it around the back of the house.

Thanks lookingglassmilk

Whatever you do don't substitute a weed membrane for old bits of plastic rubble sack like the previous owners of our house

The poor plants have been suffocating

it's more the idea that all the gravel and the earth beneath might mix and become really revolting

Oh gosh yes.

Some weed membranes are better than others.

Definitely put weed membrane down first - you will still get some weeds seeding into the top of the gravel but they are easy to pull out as roots dont have very far to go.

Don't do it. It's really hard work to weed an unprotected area of gravel. You can't get at the weeds properly, so in order to weed you have to push the gravel out of the way and then push it back into place. And you'll get LOADS of weeds. (I bought a house with an area like this, and it's no fun - trust me.)

It's less the weeds that bother it's more the idea that all the gravel and the earth beneath might mix and become really revolting... I didn't use weed membrane because I knew our garden was long term - we've been there 30 years already. Eventually weed membrane fails because dust accumulates on top and becomes soil. And eventually the membrane will break down, and I didn't fancy that.

Yes, it is a lot of bother to weed (though on the plus side it's a very good rooting medium, and all sorts of nice plants turn up in it too). Soil/gravel mixing hasn't been a problem, though after 25 years I found it necessary to put another 3inches of gravel on top.

If you’re interested in wildlife and soil richness why do you want a (rather sterile sounding) gravel area?

@Fieldofgreycorn really? You've obviously never looked up #gravelgarden on Instagram or 'gravel garden' in google images! Have you ever seen Derek Jarman's garden?
😄😄 don't be so snippy!

We did this at a house years ago. I just couldn’t afford membrane. So we used lots of gravel and I then sowed seeds from plants like foxgloves and hollyhocks. We did have some weeds but a light raking of the gravel was enough to destroy them. I did have to top up the gravel every couple of years. Initially we put down two tons, I topped up with half a ton at a time.
It was also used as a pathway from front to back of our home. - that might have made a difference to weed growth.

I laid metres and metres and metres of weed membrane under gravel a few years ago.

As pp says, some are better than others.

The soft fabric stuff isn't that great. I have the more plasticky type stuff (NOT actual plastic!) and the weeds are negligible.

You can bulk buy online for a very good price if you need a lot.

The other thing is not to skimp on the gravel. You want it to be several cm thick.

I would think if the gravel was deep enough the weeds that really get rooted would be quite few.
I put lots of black membrane down when I first moved here, eventually leaves and spilt soil from flower beds gets onto the membrane and you still have to weed.
I would think it might depend on whether soil and leaves will fall onto it, not that easy to get leaves out of gravel imv. and whether it will get kicked about alot and become thin. If it doesn't get a lot of use I would guess just gravel should work.