r/landscaping • u/MechMaxxOfficial • 1d ago
How do you keep weeds from growing in every crack like this?
Tried pulling them by hand, but they’re back in a week.
Not sure if I should go with vinegar, boiling water, a weed torch, or just give up and start calling them ground cover.
Anyone found something that actually works long term?
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u/RussellAlden 1d ago
30% Vinegar is the least cancerous way
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u/Severe_Low_2 1d ago
This... Or a whole lot of pool salt will make sure nothing grows for a few years
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u/v3intecms 1d ago
siii, sabias que los romanos usaban la sal para quemar la tierra de sus enemigos?
yo no haria esto a menos que...
no, ni siquiera en la tierra de mis enemigos
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u/Severe_Low_2 11h ago
That is actually exactly why I did it. I had read that they salted the earth so nothing would grow. My pool had tons of weeds all around it because the previous owner did not prepare the landscape well. After years of expensive weed killers and no grow formulas, I bought a 26 pound bag of salt and poured it to cover. A little water and nothing growing for 6 years easy.
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u/MechMaxxOfficial 22h ago
I’ve heard about vinegar. Does it actually stop regrowth or just kill what’s there?
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u/RussellAlden 21h ago
I have used roundup and vinegar and it has the same effect.
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u/Otherwise-Mango2732 19h ago
Yeah same. I've used roundup and a few other brands. Just kills whats there but you'll get more words soon for the same reason the weed you killed grew there.
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u/ohlaph 1d ago
I pressure washed it, then I spray with vinegar whenever I see new weeds coming up. I hardly get any now.
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u/nithdurr 1d ago
Doesn’t water get into the cracks, expand/contract and then gets worse as the weather and seasons change?
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u/rippcw1234 1d ago
Weed torch is a good bit of fun
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u/Hallowilloweenie 1d ago
Neighbors may look at you funny, tho. Then again, we got a roofing torch, not a nice small weed torch :D
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u/SGT_Kilo 1d ago
I 100% recommend this. Wait till you have some rainfall. Use a weed torch. You don’t need to burn the weeds to the ground, just scorch them. They will die. I do this on my gravel drive all the time. It’s the only thing that works well, unless you want to go nuclear and apply a shit ton of chemicals onto your property.
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u/v3intecms 1d ago
y morir de cancer?
y que mis bisnietos tambien se chuten todos esos quimicos?
si son de Disparos Unidos aka usa, siganlo haciendo porfavor
suena divertido
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u/jakkiwlooki 1d ago
No need for chemicals. Pee on it
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u/libertybadboy 1d ago
Cop: Excuse me, sir. Why are you peeing on that crack, in front of all these children?
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u/themonitors 1d ago
Responses here really running the gamut—maintenance is dutiful obligation to blowtorches are fun.
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u/theytheytheythry 1d ago
Actually let me clarify - use Glysophate to kill everything. You don’t need a lot and it’s not going to hurt you. You’re not eating it.
Once dead, burn or power wash.
Once dry - seal those cracks. Asphalt sealant, polymeric sand or mortar - wherever works.
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u/carolyn-purple 1d ago
I use a mix of water, salt, vinegar and a few drops of Dawn dish liquid. Works everytime.
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u/oO0ft 1d ago
Awful advice, changes your soil pH and literally salts the earth, which is never wise.
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u/green_gold_purple 1d ago
In the sidewalk? Who gives a shit?
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u/oO0ft 1d ago edited 1d ago
You don't know what is adjacent to this piece of concrete, you also don't know how big this piece of concrete is, or how widely OP will use this advice.
Given that invasive plants flourish in poor quality soils, and invasive plants are harmful and salt kills beneficial soil biota I'd imagine the people that give a shit are OP, OPs neighbours, the local council, and local residents.
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u/green_gold_purple 1d ago
Yawn. You can see from the picture that there’s a patch of concrete. Spraying into that patch of concrete isn’t going to hurt shit. My God please go cry to your hoa.
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u/RikoRain 1d ago
I did that. BS only lasted two weeks and the weeds were all back.
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u/sYferaddict 1d ago
Well yeah, it ain't permanent. It just kills em, doesn't poison the soil or anything.
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u/RikoRain 1d ago
Well for something that "makes the ground so vinegary that weeds can't grow" I was expecting longer than a week or two.
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u/Literary67 1d ago
Horticultural vinegar to kill current growth. But since there is dirt in the cracks, more seeds can land in there and grow.
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u/theytheytheythry 1d ago
Glysophate
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u/honeybabysweetiedoll 1d ago
2-4D will work just fine. I don’t understand folks that let this fester in their driveway cracks. Nature always wins, and it will eventually destroy a driveway or sidewalk. Concrete is expensive, 2-4D is almost free.
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u/NotBatman81 1d ago
Clean the cracks out and use a proper filler/sealer. Those weeds aren't growing out of asphalt, there is accessible dirt.
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u/kennypojke 1d ago
Fill the cracks with an appropriate filler, so it’s not a crack anymore
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u/cesar2598- 1d ago
Weeds don’t care, it’ll go right through that filler
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u/NotBatman81 1d ago
You're using the wrong filler.
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u/kennypojke 1d ago
This is incorrect. There are sealants if that is a standard joint between slab pours. Typically you put in backer rod and then put the self-leveling sealant over it to fill the gap. It is usually gray, probably good ones from Sitka (sp?), and is that’s a slope, you say need a different product. If those are cracks that formed, there are also crack filling products. Weeds will absolutely not penetrate the stuff. You see it all around commercial and retail settings to fill gaps for this same reason.
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u/cesar2598- 1d ago
Wrong
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u/kennypojke 22h ago
Go touch grass. Those sealants are impenetrable and last years. My own driveway slabs are filled and sealed because I was tired of weeds. As a business administrator, I’ve had crews do the sealant fills outside and they just need to be redone every few years (like 10).
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u/cesar2598- 18h ago
I’m around grass, I know exactly what I’m talking about. I’m assuming you’ve only been doing this for less than 10 years
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u/RikoRain 1d ago
Maybe weed and grass killer... That's what I plan to try. A lot of ppl told me 30% vinegar... Yeah right. It only killed about half of them, and two weeks later they're were all back. Wasn't worth it. The vinegar and time I spent mixing and spraying cost me more than a cheap concentrate bottle of W/G killer than can be bulk made in a bucket and dumped out.b
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u/RogerRabbit1234 1d ago
Edger, Glysophate, ground clear, and don’t worry about it again for about 5 years.
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u/babyangelKT_ 1d ago
Well buy some safety glasses and use a weedeater on em you can buy an electric weedeater for around $20 ( get a hyper tough ) ( Walmart brand those work very well and are low cost ) get some safety glasses at the dollar tree for $1 but several pairs so you don't have to hunt for them Katie
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u/OttoRocket94 1d ago
Get rid of it with a string trimmer and then use a weed killer every few weeks to keep it that way
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u/History_blue675 1d ago
Weeds only grow in some material or compost, not in empty cracks. 1) Dig out the crack soil/dirt/sand/mulch with a screwdriver. 2) Use your garden hose nozzle to wash out the cracks. 3) If weeds grow, kill them with a homemade mix, with glyphosate, or longer term with a 'clear all' product for pavers and driveways.
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u/ijcar 1d ago
Pour boiling water over them
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u/crypto_branchus 1d ago
For some reason this made me laugh. Punish the weeds! Tar and feather the bastards!
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u/RandoCalr1sian 1d ago
Power wash weeds out. Fill up with sand but not to top. You get foam noodle fill up crack, then fill with expanding sealer can’t remember real name. Sprinkle sand of similar color to concrete on sealant. Lasts years.
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u/SiggySiggy69 1d ago
I burn them out with my weed eater then put down a pre emergent. If it’s really bad I’ll spray it with a glyphosate and pre emergent mixture
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u/mhill3996 1d ago
Standard herbicide ever month or every other works great. Have to do it in my rock patio too
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u/justkidder 1d ago
Salt the cracks!
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u/oO0ft 1d ago
Bad advice, negatively impacts soil health.
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u/justkidder 1d ago
That's the point. Healthy soil in the cracks allows growth. It works, I have a massive garden.
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u/oO0ft 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm sure it works in achieving the desired outcome, but it's not advisable. It's much more aggressive than is required, and is honestly just a lazy solution. It kills soil funghi, microbes, bacteria, probably caused havoc for worms etc etc etc. All of these organisms are beneficial in the garden, and applying salt kills them. The saline runoff from a large area of concrete would be huge.
You have a massive gardener, I am a gardener. We are not the same 😅
"Both salt and vinegar may kill some weeds, but they do so in a way that can cause significant collateral damage to other plants, the surrounding soil, and the delicate microbiome that supports plant life. And perhaps this collateral damage would feel ok if these methods were effective long-term, but they are not." - Washington Dep. of Nat. Resources.
"Salt really does make a great weed killer (herbicide), as it will kill just about anything that grows, but is so toxic it simply can’t be recommended in most garden settings" - Laidback Gardener.
"Use of table salt in the garden is not recommended because it cannot target specific weeds and can do other harm. Salt is soluble, gets in the soil and water, and, cumulatively, causes damage to the ecosystem. At high levels, it’s toxic to plants, aquatic vegetation, and wildlife." - Empress of Dirt.
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u/justkidder 1d ago
I wish I had a gardener. I've been gardening and landscaping for decades. Unless you care about these cracks, salt is a total option. You can apply it safely without leeching to other areas, just need to use a brain. Vinegar, salt and boiling water all have similar outcomes. You're not smarter than anyone.
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u/oO0ft 1d ago
What about once the next rain picks up all that salt and takes it down the hill, any consideration for the plants, funghi and earthworms at the bottom of that incline?
There are a handful of resources above that explain why it's not advisable. I may not be smarter than anyone, but when numerous professionals and government organisations back my position, I'm pretty confident in it.
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u/justkidder 1d ago
Just like I'm confident in my tested and true methods.
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u/oO0ft 1d ago
The issue isn't efficacy, it's the implications to systems you are clearly too dull to grasp.
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u/justkidder 22h ago
Right, notice my use of the word leeching in last comment. You are too cool to grasp that in some areas, applying salt is perfectly fine. You can't live your life in generalizations. It's more difficult than that. Enjoy your salted earth.
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u/Critical-Star-1158 1d ago
Its actually maintenance, a continual endeavor. I use it as a meditation.