Should I remove old weed suppressant from a gravel garden area?

[DogtoothViolentLady]

Quite a big part of the garden is gravel with weed suppressant underneath, it's been there for a long time (since before I moved in ten years ago). There are probably equal amounts of gravel, earth and plants (all self seeded AFAIK) on top of said weed suppressant. I don't mind some of them, they're pretty and good for wildlife but I don't want all of it, especially the grass which roots itself right into the weed suppressant. It's also sticking up in places, seems to be patchy and doesn't go right up to the edges of where the gravel ends.

Has anyone ever removed weed suppressant and how was it afterwards with weeding through the gravel? Also to add I can't grasp weeds with my fingers so have to use tools to remove them, which takes a lot longer than weeding by hand and is less successful.

Should I try and remove it or will I regret that?

Gravel without weed suppressant will just be gravel full of weeds - a complete messy nightmare.

sounds like the gravel needs to be a lot deeper.

Our house had a huge chunky gravel bed with old membrane, it was full of weeds that were impossible to pull up. We got someone in to remove the gravel (used it elsewhere), and got rid of the membrane. It was more trouble than it's worth. If you use new gravel make sure it's really thick, and if you do get a thuggish weed (like a big thistle), it's easy to move the gravel away from it and dig it up.

Thank you for your replies. I do think the gravel isn't deep enough. I'll have a think about the best way forward.

It doesn't matter how deep the gravel is. Sooner rather than later there will enough dust/dirt/organic matter to support weed growth. Gravel is not a maintenance free option.

If you remove the plastic membrane it will allow you to torch the weeds. Using a preemergant will also help reduce the amount of weeds you get.

I'd remove it, at least in sections. Once weed membrane gets old and patchy it tends to make weeding harder, especially with grass rooting into it. Gravel over plain soil is just easier to maintain than gravel over torn fabric full of roots.
You'll probably get more weeds at first, but they are often easier to hoe out than trying to dig them through membrane with tools. In fact, it might even work as a part of your overall garden design, could be worth mocking it up in garden planners (like this one or similar apps) to see if it looks nice and if it is, I'd keep a decent depth of gravel and let a bit of self-seeded stuff stay. Sometimes you need to pick your battles and work with something instead of working against it 😁

Thank you @mynamesaretaken . I think sections will be the way to go, that way when I get to the end I'll get a better idea of how much more gravel I'll need to buy.

I'm a gardener by trade and agree with PP who said gravel, with weed suppressing membrane or not, is not a low maintenance option. Leaves fall on it and rot, moss forms and then weeds seed into it.

When I took on my own garden it had a large area of gravel. I've reduced it to a small seating area and removed the membrane. I garden organically and really don't like how the membrane breaks down over time and gets into the soil. I don't use any herbicide and instead hand weed out the area once early in spring and then again mid summer and mid autumn. I don't have any more weeks in it now than I did when the membrane was down. In fact it's easier to get weeds out, I can let the ones I like stay and you don't get that rush of weeds at the edge where the membrane stops.

Generally speaking and being honest - gravel is a flawed concept.

I have a similar issue but not enough plant knowledge to get rid completely.

I just keep planting perianals in the hope that one day I can gt rid of the gravel and membrane. However, where I took it up altogether gets so so many more weeds/invasive take overs!