Weed control for small area next to house (flower, landscape, growing)

[dgz]

There is grass between my house and pool patio that is an absolute headache to maintain. It's difficult to mow and the pool equipment is there. So, whenever I'm out there fumbling with equipment and hoses, I'm standing in grass and weeds, getting bitten by fleas, chiggers, fire ants, etc.

About 2 years ago, I pulled the grass out, put down 'weed cover paper' and then covered it with 3" of white stones. But the weeds came back. Then, I tried wet newspaper & mulch with the stones. STILL WEEDS. Then last Fall, I tried the solid red mulch covering and still... MORE WEEDS.

It seems costly to hire someone to do a cement patio extension and since I spent a lot of $ on the stone, and I'd like to reuse it. Since I'm planning to cover the area with the stones anyway, I'm wondering if I really need a 'professional' cement job.

I'm thinking that a less expensive way might be to:

1. Clear out the stone and pull any existing weeds.

2. Throw a layer of dry cement mix (or dry hypertufa mix of cement/sand, peat moss, and vermiculite) over the ground (to perhaps 1/8" or 1/4" deep)

3. Wet the mix and let it dry.

4. Add the stone back on top

The ease and low expense of this really appeals me, but it also makes me wonder if I'm overlooking something. Any suggestions on why this might not be such a clever idea?

[flatlander52]

It sounds like it might work. You can always use Round-up on the stubborn weeds that survive!

I am going through a similar situation. I have a 4 ft x 30 ft area right next to the east side of my house that used to be a flowerbed. Over the years it has become overgrown with a ground cover and orange day-lilies and other crap that you just can't kill by digging!
A couple months ago I covered the whole area with a sheet of black plastic and anchored all the edges down good. Whenever I see anything green growing out the edge anywhere, I spray it with Round-up. I haven't peeked under the plastic yet, but I will in a couple weeks. Anything still living will get a few more shots of Round-up!! Wish me luck!!

ETA: It would probably work better if the area got more sun, like facing south or west, but I'm hoping this works.

[cittic10]

So why don't you DIY it then? Pavers are easy. Lots of books in the DIY store that show you how to do it.
Obviously you'll want to lay the pavers or stones in a bed of mortar and mortar any joints.

[Bulldogdad]

You didn't put down a preemergent did you.

1. remove stone
2. remove weeds and old landscape paper?
3. regrade
4. cover area with weed preemergent at twice the recommended rate.
5. "lightly"water in preemergent
6. Recover with non-permeable Landscape FABRIC, not paper.
7. Replace stones.
8. This time check for any weeds BEFORE they get out of control and kill them with roundup.

My solution is a lot cheaper than concrete and reuses your rock.

You would be surprised how many of these rock/planter restorations we do for clients yearly because of the poor installation the first time and LACK of maintenence. Lack of maintenance being the key.

[Ohiogirl81]

Two words: Ground cover.

[dgz]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've been avoiding Round-up because I've been treating the yard organically--and this space is right next to a large flower bed that I've put in to intentionally draw butterflies. I hadn't put down a pre-emergent. I know there are some organic pre-emergents out there. I might try that before taking the concrete route. Thanks!

[kinkytoes]

Hmmm. I would suggest groundcover as well. After putting an herbicide down, the weeds are going to return.

There are airborne seeds...seeds that are dormant in the soil and resistant to herbicide...They'll come back next year.

Personally, if the area's already somewhat level and somewhat compacted, I'd: put down cardboard to cover the entire area, lay down the bigger concrete pavers (at least 12"), and then put the stone in any spaces in between. You can avoid messing w/ concrete and it should last until you can get a professional job...and be somewhat simple to remove.

[antiquesmountainapache]

Bulldog Dad: thanks for the tips. Many posters, including myself, will be using these this fall.

[Butterfly4u]

dgz,
Go buy a big thing of distilled vinegar at a discount store.
Pour it all over the area you don't want weeds.
They will be dead.
When they start growing back, do it again.
Next spring, go to any garden store and buy some creeping
thyme. Plant it. Water it a bit. It will take over and no more weeds.
You can walk on it.
it's beautiful!
Look it up online.

[in_newengland]

What worked for me for a few years was:

Pull all weeds up by the roots-----------and you could use what someone suggested, weed pre emergent but I did it all organically.

Put down landscape fabric--it's perforated so the rain won't puddle on it

Cover it with stones or whatever your choice may be.

It worked perfectly for a few years and then some weeds were coming up but they were coming up from soil that had fallen or blown onto the surface and then airborne seeds had landed on the soil. I did have slits in the fabric into which I had put plants so maybe the soil came from there during heavy rains.

So this solution will need a little bit of looking after from time to time but it's not bad and it looks nice and uses your stones.

I had another area where sand had been put down and a stone patio was built with soil in between the stones--weeds were horrible between the stones. Wherever any soil can get in, you will have weeds.