How to remove dead weeds from gravel or rock landscape

Weeds grow anywhere, including gardens, paths, driveways, and rock landscapes. Even if you employ the best weed control measures for any of these areas, you can never stop them from growing completely.

Gravel driveways and rock landscaping add a rustic touch to your home and cut down the need for mowing and regular watering. While these are easy to install and maintain than other landscaping alternatives, they are also prone to certain types of weeds and grass.

Regular maintenance is necessary to ensure that they remain as charming as they should be. Fortunately, you can get rid of weeds like those in any other section of your garden.

Once you kill the weeds, you will need to remove them to minimize the possibility of sprouting again. Before choosing the method to use, you will first need to identify the type of weed you are dealing with – whether it is moss, dandelion, woody, broadleaf or grassy weeds.

Some of the common methods you can use to get rid of dead weeds from your gravel driveway include:

Uprooting

Uprooting dead weeds that were just about to bloom helps in minimizing regrowth. This method is best for weeds covering only a small area of the gravel or rock landscape. It would be tiresome to uproot dead weeds from a wide area.

Some of the steps to follow while removing dead weeds from rock landscape or gravel, and which also apply to other parts of the garden are:

Pull the weeds separately but not in batches – if you pull out a handful of weeds at the same time, you may fail to pull out the roots, and the weeds may grow back once conditions become favorable
Hold the weeds from the base – this is to ensure that you grab the weed by the root. Twist the weeds as you pull them to facilitate easier removal
Place all the pulled out weeds in one place – You can throw them in a trash can or compost, depending on the type.

The best time to uproot the weeds is when the soil is damp. A few days after rain is an excellent time.

Digging weeds using a hoe

Pulling weeds by hand may be a lot of work. An alternative is to use a gardening hoe to remove long-rooted weeds such as dandelion. Such weeds are capable of growing through weed suppressant materials placed beneath gravel or rock landscapes. Pulling is also perfect for weeds that have grown out of control.

Use the hoe to loosen the weeds, or a knife if you do not have one. This makes it easy to pull the entire plant out. It can also help you to dig out any weeds that were not destroyed during spraying.

You may also use specialized weeding tools such as a long-bladed trowel or corkscrew for the same purpose. However, these tools come in an ideal shape to remove dead weeds from rocks and gravel and may work better than a standard hoe. Be sure to scrape the gravel or rocks away from the weeds before attempting to remove them.

Burning weeds in rocks

You can also get rid of dead weeds from your gravel driveway or rock landscape using a weed burner. Flaming dead weeds is one of the quickest and most effective methods of removing dead weeds after spraying – better than uprooting.

Before starting the process, you will need to take some safety precautions such as wearing the right flaming gear, waiting for a wind-free day, and removing all the flammable materials within your gravel or rock landscape area.

Once done, you can use a rake to remove the dead weeds as you also get the gravel to move around. Regularly raking your gravel driveway also makes it difficult for more weeds to grow as fast as they would.

You may also use a leaf blower to clear away loose weeds from the rocks and gravel. Follow that by collecting the remaining debris by hand.

If you can keep your gravel driveway and rock landscape free from weeds, you can achieve the perfect look you wish to have for your home. Although the cheapest way is to pull the weeds by hand, you can use specialized tools or a weed burner for the best results.

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Carter

IW’s Chief Editor and a lover of green spaces.