Husband pulled weeds, will he need to pull weeds again in 6 weeks?

[mumznet]

Hey, is there any good weed killer that I can use, I heard my grandmother used to use Daz powder? Or is there a suitable weed killer that I can get from the store/online? I feel my husband would be pulling weeds in the front of the house and back of the house at least monthly, so to free him from this chore, is there any weed killer? He was asking me so thouight maybe mumsnet can help us thanks

I'm talking about weeds on the slabs. Luckily the grass doesn't have any. I personally love weeds, as it's god for the bees, but they look unsightly between slabs/bricks so need to be removed.

Hi @mumznet I’m slightly bemused that I’m replying to a thread on the gardening topic as I am no gardener whatsoever!! However, I have just moved home a few months ago and there were weeds growing through the patio so I have bought a product called ‘Roundup.’ It came in a container with a small hose thingy and I went round spraying all the weeds, then left it for a few days and all the weeds have died/gone yellow. I also bought one of those long handled scraper thingys and have started to scrape the dead weeds out.
Apologies for the rubbish descriptions and terminology!

I’ve tried white vinegar, boiling water, and salt. Only the salt actually worked, but the piles of salt didn’t look attractive.
Ive gone back to a week killer off the shelf, but even that doesn’t seem to work as well as it did years ago.

Round up contains glyphosate which is no longer available for sale. It kills the weeds that are actually there but doesn’t stop seed growth. For something like a patio where you don’t care if the soil is sterile, there are alternatives which will stop anything growing. But no weedkiller is good for wildlife and the environment, so you should avoid if you possibly can

Weedkillers are really bad for the environment, as well as human health.

There are tools specially designed to enable to scrape weeds from between paving as well as ones which enable you to burn off the weeds.

Pathclear always works for me, stops all the weeds coming up between slabs etc. I use it once probably at the beginning of May after weeding & they don't come back all summer.
It comes in little tubes that you mix with water in a watering can or weed sprayer. I bought a really cheap spare can just for this. It's a bit expensive but it really works.

The big thing to do is catch the flowering weeds like dandelions as they flower - do not let them get to the seed stage and then blow their seeds everywhere as this enevitably creates more weeds. On the same basis get as much root up with the weed plant and do not shake the weed over the slabs to remove the excess soil - as that puts the weeds /roots straight back where you don't want them!

But yes even to the happy gardener it is a never ending job!

You can get organic weed killer which doesn't harm

Can't believe someone recommended roundup in this day and age though!

Can't believe someone recommended roundup in this day and age though!

Same here

Plants are going to grow, so no, weeding is not a once a year job.

I got a giant blow torch thing from Aldi, works well and also makes me feel like I'm in some kind of post apocalyptic combat, suddenly DH wants to weed the drive 😂

We have a weed burner too although we jokingly call it the flame thrower. Just make sure you don't go too close to edges and it's best to keep the flame as low as possible. I once accidentally turned the flame up instead of down and set our neighbour's lawn on fire.

Physically remove what can be removed - pull, scrape etc. Haven’t tried burning them - the burning tools tend to be propane fuelled so I worry about the eco friendliness of that - but it’s another physical removal method.

Brush sand between bricks and paving slabs, this helps prevent and reduce regrowth. Mulch in flower beds/containers around the plants you actually want there.

Redesign the garden to reduce opportunities for weeds in the first place!

Burning must be hideous for all the bugs that live in the topsoil.

OMG, please don't use Roundup!

I mean, weeding is a part of life for most people but it's something you want to avoid, a weed burner is probably the more environmentally friendly option rather than a weedkiller.

The only thing you get with chemicals, are weeds that are resistant to chemicals

Your husband doesn't have to weed, anyone in the family can. Even you!

You can buy a hoe, and slice them off regularly, or you can buy a weeder, or burn them. But they will always come back unless you lift each slab, dig them out and relay it all.

Weeds grow where you don't want them, it's pretty much a given in life.

To those saying you can’t believe someone is recommending roundup in this day and age etc - I already said I wasn’t a gardener so I’m not up to date on what’s appropriate so I replied in good faith when this thread came up in active threads. What is obvious to some of the clearly more clued up gardeners on this thread is not obvious to an amateur like me.

I now know going forward so I’ll look into organic weed killers or alternative methods. And I’ll also know going forward to stay off gardening topics when it pops up in active threads as others know better.

Thank you all. I like the idea of sand in between slabs, does that really work @LemonViolet ?

I have heard weedkiller is bad, for pets and kids, so it is poisonous, it's also bad for bugs. are these the main reasons to not be using weedkiller or have I msised something? Sorry just want to know what the reasons are, so we don't just go buying it, it seems every other person these days still just suggests weedkiller!

@Clickncollect not to worry. My husband also said weed killer. Some people are not aware of the dangers of it. I've got a child, and we had a dog before, so I knew not to use it. also they didn't work that long term really.

Sand in between the slabs doesn't work, no. Weeds will grown in sandy cracks just as happily.

If you must get the bigger "weeds" use a scraper and pull them out so they don't take over.

thanks @AlisonDonut I do cooking, feeding the little ones and the older one, lots of other things related to bills and few other things. putting kid to bed.

Husband does help out a lot at home, with laundry and shopping. I recently told him the garden and front of the house is his responsibility. I hope that is fair? Sometimes I think guys have to be told, this is your job otherwise they never do it.

I mean I could help, but I am never free from housework, and the cooking food takes alot of my time. husband can cook, but his style is different and the food is not to my style. sometimes I think I need a cook and a maid especially with a under 5 year old, but seems I am the maid and cook so far!! perhps things get easier when kids start school. In some other countries I swaw people had a maid/servant helping with housework. but in UK I haven't seen that as much.

You need a really good hard landscaper to lay or relay your patios properly and professionally so the cement or whatever they use remains 100% bonded. We have not had a weed at the front since everything was laid. The rear comprises a beautiful brick terrace that is nearly 100 years old and two semi circular patios that need relaying. The quote was £33k so for the time being we have them.professionally cleaned every couple of years and use a patented weed killer.

Yes you can use weedkiller if you want to. You can buy it from garden centres but even tesco etc. Its labelled as non-glyco. Pulling the bigger weeds is still the best way, especially before they seed.

This thread has tickled me. Our DC are grown up and my DH probably doesn't know where the supermarket is. I do the front garden; he does the back, largely by paying the gardener, although I am chief designer inside and out

DH also does the bins and the outdoor paintwork. I do the shopping, washing and cooking. The cleaner cleans. The au-pair was invaluable when the dc were little.

It gets easier op.