Clearing weeds in driveway

[bkenobi]

I've been using Roundup in a 4 gallon backpack sprayer for years and it has done ok at controlling the weeks but I never have truly weed free gravel. Last year I didn't spray as an experiment and it's not all that much different (either now or during the growing season) than it would have been otherwise. I got a 15 gallon sprayer I plan to use this year, but I'm trying to decide what to use in it.

I can use the Glyphosate as is (typically 8oz/4gal) but that seems to just kill the weeds that are there on the day I spray within 2 weeks. But, by that time, the new weeds have started to get big enough that it doesn't look much different. By summer, they are all dried up anyway so I'm not sure it matters. It's too wet in winter even if I wanted to try to knock them down. I was recommended last year to add Imazapyr to the tank but I can't seem to find it on it's own so would have to buy a concentrate that already has Glyphosate to try it (kinda silly when I have 2 gallons left...a few years supply). If I can find a quart of straight Imazapyr, what rate should I apply? Seems like 0.05% is a common solution. Also, is surfactant required to get best benefits?

If I do get Imazapyr, is there any risk of using that tank later in other areas (mulch near plants I don't want dead)? I haven't used the 15 gallon yet and am a little nervous about getting it clean since the 4 gallon takes several full tanks to rinse.

 

[oosik]

I have a 25 gallon DemCo sprayer with a pto roller pump. Used in the orchard - when we had an orchard. Used Roundup for weeds on this end of my mile long driveway. About 200 feet - right down the middle and both sides.

Now I use my JD riding mower. It's just me - the mower - towering clouds of dust - weed/grass chunks flying everywhere. Right down the middle and about a two foot cut into the weeds on each side.

I do it once and before they get a chance to come back - things have dried out and the weeds are all dead anyhow.

I would transfer between chemicals used on the fruit trees - then RoundUP. Your OP manual for your 15 gallon sprayer should give instructions on how to completely clean out the equipment.

My sprayer has a high pressure re-circulation cycle. Used to mix the chemicals and then clean the machine and hoses. Five gallons of water - liquid detergent - do this at least two times. Dump and rinse.

 

[oosik]

This is my driveway - a day or so after I mowed.

 

[bkenobi]

I probably wouldn't worry about that type of driveway personally. If anything, just throw more gravel on for traction every few years.

I didn't mention that the driveway is not huge but it's big for using a backpack. I typically spray the entire thing because the weeds I have are those little popping bastards (bittercrest I think) as well as a few others (small spots with grass, maple seedlings, etc) that don't get big but are definitely visible when left untouched. I typically pull the big weeds by hand but the small ones are too much effort hence spraying.

The driveway is between 1/2 and 3/4 acre. It's excessive for the 15 gallon unit but I wanted to use it for spot spraying other areas and it's the smallest of the bigger units I found. I had been spraying 3 tanks on the driveway and other areas around the property so I figured I could use up to 1 tank and do the driveway as well as spot treating the mulch, gravel around the raised garden, and the gravel around the shop.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I use the stone rake a couple of times a season. It usually needs to be graded anyway. I make a number of passes until all the weeds have been uprooted. The exposed roots quickly dry out and the wind we have around here takes care of the rest.

 

[deezler]

I just ripped up my entire 1000' gravel driveway using the scarifiers (rippers/shanks) on my land plane. Conditions were right for doing a full "reset" on the drive - pull all the stones up, smooth everything back out, and weeds? None to be seen anymore.

So that's one option, just till up your stones and the weeds get buried and/or shredded. I'm curious to see if they sprout back with any vigor this summer, or not.

Of course the standard caveat applies to always try to vary where you drive. Make sure to run down the edges just as much as you drive smack in the middle, and that should keep the weeds down also.

I would personally not want a gravel driveway if I had to spray noxious chemicals all over it with any sort of frequency. Use your PPE if you feel you have to!

 

[oosik]

Deezler - I feel the same way about the use of chemicals. My property ( 80 acres ) is bound on two sides by lakes. Everything drains into one or the other.

Once the orchard died out - I quit using chemicals totally. It's simply safer for everything - everybody.

AND - I'm no tree hugger or greenie. A whole lot of todays chemicals have some pretty nasty side effects.

 

[bkenobi]

I'm on a different scale with my property only being 5 acres. The driveway is tiny compared to what has been mentioned here. I don't have ruts to speak of so grading isn't really needed. That said, I have used a lawn thatcher around it trying to loosen up the gravel to make manually pulling weeds easier. I also tried using a stirrup hoe in one section last year instead of chemicals. It appeared that the hoe simply cut the tops off of the various types of weeds and they grew back pretty quickly. Hence going back to chemicals. I'll get a picture of my miniature driveway for reference.

 

[JethroB]

I use a mixture of glyphosate and Remedy ( triclopyr.) Glyphosate alone doesn’t seem to do much to woody stuff & vines.

 

[mrmikey]

I can use the Glyphosate as is (typically 8oz/4gal) but that seems to just kill the weeds that are there on the day I spray within 2 weeks.

Not sure of the actual biological explanation but I believe the way it works is absorbed by the leaves and down thru to the roots to actually kill the plant. What you're seeing green after a couple weeks in the same spot that you sprayed is actually new growth. I too have used glphospate (sp) on my gravel driveway and it works well but I'm not using it any more, not being a hugger but why take a chance on something that's not totally essential other than for esthetic reasons.
I tried the salt and bleach method but that did pretty much nothing.
This year, I'm going to get a propane weed burner and see how that works out.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

This year, I'm going to get a propane weed burner and see how that works out.

I did that twice. Never again. I too had high hopes. It was hot, slow, and expensive. A tank of propane does not go as far as you would expect. Then to top it all off I think the grass grew better after.

 

[bkenobi]

I tried salt one year and it didnt do anything. Might not have used enough though. No research done to determine rate.

I only worry about the glyphosate because the dogs get walked daily and im sure what's on their feet ends up being licked at some point. It's probably not a huge issue but why make it one. One application per year and I'd feel more comfortable.

The weeds are generally in the roundabout and edges where nobody drives. I accidentally got over-spray on the juniper and it was unhappy. The grass got a little once and it browned up real fast. So i know the mix works but it doesn't seem like the weeds care most of the time.

 

[Torvy]

Ortho Ground Clear (used to be Triox) Imazypyr(sp)...

This is the stuff that is persistent and kills over the longer term (about a year).

I've used it on concrete and other places where I don't want anything to grow.

Here's my driveway...

To be fair, it just got installed yesterday.

 

[mrmikey]

I did that twice. Never again. I too had high hopes. It was hot, slow, and expensive. A tank of propane does not go as far as you would expect. Then to top it all off I think the grass grew better after.

Really....well crap, so much for that plan then...thanks for the info.

 

[California]

My experience too. I tried HF's propane weed burner, next to my orchard trees where the disc didn't get that close.

I burned lots of propane with almost no effect on this green grass.This clearly didn't eradicate the weeds down to the roots.

I abandoned the project and took the torch back for refund, it didn't meet my expectation at all.

 

[bkenobi]

I tried burning before but the only time it did anything was after the cottonwood was down in clumps. TBF, I was doing it for entertainment so worth the stick lighter i wasted on it. Green stuff takes too much to burn up but they claim damaging the leaves with heat is all thats required. Tell that to my FIL that set his mulched hill on fire

As for the Ortho Ground Clear, thats the only Omazipyr I found locally but the "concentrate" is 24oz/gal so it would take several jugs to fill a tank. Was hoping for something more potent for the price they had it marked at.

 

[ray66v]

Ortho ground clear, or Roundup 365 are probably your safest bets.

There are commercial per-emergent weed killers, like Diuron, which are extremely effective. But, you will not have application instructions that will be of much help to you, for small applications. And, you do NOT want to over apply it.

Proper application rate, is they key to success with herbicides. Apply it too lightly, they don't work. Too heavy, it kills stuff you don't want dead, as it washes into other areas.

 

[LouNY]

Roundup or other Glyphosate weed sprays are contact sprays, it only kills what is growing when sprayed, it has no residual value to kill anything that germinates after being sprayed.
Weed burners are very effective on broadleaf plants when used properly, they just have to be just singe-ed enough for the leaves to look wet and they will die in a couple of days.
The residual herbicides are what is needed for long term control in driveways or along building edges.

 

[deezler]

Monsanto is paying a settlement of 11 Billion dollars, with a B, because glyphosate clearly causes lymphoma. I understand it still has appropriate uses - just dont let any of it get on your skin, or inhale any vapors, etc.

Bkenobi, your driveway looks great! Maybe the best place to start is to reframe your expectations? Who does it need to be perfect for? If you want it perfectly clean, maybe pave it. Gravel is a rustic surface, a little subtle green mixed in just adds charm, IMO.

 

[LouNY]

Monsanto is paying a settlement of 11 Billion dollars, with a B, because glyphosate clearly causes lymphoma. I understand it still has appropriate uses - just dont let any of it get on your skin, or inhale any vapors, etc.

Bkenobi, your driveway looks great! Maybe the best place to start is to reframe your expectations? Who does it need to be perfect for? If you want it perfectly clean, maybe pave it. Gravel is a rustic surface, a little subtle green mixed in just adds charm, IMO.

Yep, the lawyers really made out on that case for sure. Nobody else does. Glyphosate may cause lymphoma in people readily susceptible to doing so. It does not cause issues in many people. It certainly seems to cause issues with people who take no precautions, dowse themselves with, use excessive concentrations and various other sundry methods NOT on the label.