Any avid gardeners/block paving specialists here?

[ben g]

I purchased this house nearly 2 years ago and I've had 2 years of fighting a losing battle against weeds coming through my paving.

Last year, I jet washed and scraped every inch of it and sprayed all the weeds with many different weed killing products. This has obviously had no affect, because they're back with a vengeance!

I have quite a large block paved front driveway, a side access fully block paved and then a back patio area, again fully block paved it's not my preference for the back garden, but I inherited it this way and won't be spending out on new paving anytime soon.

So, is there any easy way of tackling this dilemma myself? I saw a product called 'wet & forget' in Costco, but it seems it just kills mould and algae, rather than destroying any weeds.

Will it be a case of scraping out the weeds every year, or can I simply get a pump sprayer and fill it with some deadly concoction? I'm not really keen on spending hours and hours manually removing the weeds again

Not the most attractive coloured paving, but it will have to do for now.

 

[RustyZ4]

I have quite a large block pave area too, and the weed issue, so I bought a 5ltr pump sprayer last year also bought a strong weed killer, which you dilute in water, and it only took an hour to spray it all (as opposed to all afternoon, then a soak in the bath to ease the back lol) weeds stay away for a good two months, well worth doing as a hand pump sprayer is not a lot of amazon, and the weed killer goes a long way

 

[Smartbear]

We only had a small amount of block paving at our old place & it was a yearly occurrence to scrape the moss from the gaps, it looks great but it’s not maintenance free
Rob

 

[JamieZ4C]

I think part of the problem it that a pressure washer doesn't just remove dirt from the surface. It can remove a lot of the sand that sits in between the blocks too. This sand, as well as locking the blocks in place, helps to prevent weeds from forming in between the blocks.

So pressure wash and spraying weed killer first. Then, once it's completely dry (a nice sunny and warm day is best), brush some kiln dried sand over the area making sure all the gaps between the blocks are filled in. Done this a couple of times myself over the years and it seems to prevent the real deep rooted ba##ards from taking hold.

 

[Trav]

Weedkiller isnt what it used to be. Glyphosphate is about all you get. You can get slightly stronger strengths online but thats about your only option. No more Sodium Chlorate and that sort of evil stuff. Mine is worse where it is more shaded. So I try to keep stuff cut back a bit if possible. Also as well as the jetting and kiln dried sand to bring it back you must go out and spray weedkiller a lot. Dont wait for weeds to appear in spring. Dose your patio or drive every couple of months regardless of time of year. As it will kill a miniscule weed better than a big one and your not left with unsightly dead stuff everywhere. My Mrs does gardening jobs on the block paving putting earth everywhere which drives me nuts. But I suppose its the same as washing the muck off your car on the driveway.

 

[john-e89]

Might be worth investing in one of these as your area is so big.

 

[Anonymous]

Glyohosate, sand

 

[MefiEcosse]

You need kiln dried sand to brush into the joints in the block paving then a stabilising solution.
Both available at most builders merchants!

 

[PerryGunn]

One of these will destroy weeds - not sure what it'd do to block paving though

 

[ben g]

You need kiln dried sand to brush into the joints in the block paving then a stabilising solution.
Both available at most builders merchants!

I didn't realise the kiln dried sand helps prevent weeds. I should've chucked that down after cleaning it last year I remember thinking about it and then not bothering because I didn't want sand all over the driveway. Big mistake now :lol:

I'll have a look for decent weed killer, but I'm also aware of the current court cases against roundup, which apparently causes cancer I think I'd rather have weeds than cancer

 

[MefiEcosse]

You need kiln dried sand to brush into the joints in the block paving then a stabilising solution.
Both available at most builders merchants!

I didn't realise the kiln dried sand helps prevent weeds. I should've chucked that down after cleaning it last year I remember thinking about it and then not bothering because I didn't want sand all over the driveway. Big mistake now :lol:

I'll have a look for decent weed killer, but I'm also aware of the current court cases against roundup, which apparently causes cancer I think I'd rather have weeds than cancer

Don't forget the stabilising solution, well worth the extra £30-£40!

 

[MrPT]

Yeah the stabilising stu

You need kiln dried sand to brush into the joints in the block paving then a stabilising solution.
Both available at most builders merchants!

I didn't realise the kiln dried sand helps prevent weeds. I should've chucked that down after cleaning it last year I remember thinking about it and then not bothering because I didn't want sand all over the driveway. Big mistake now :lol:

I'll have a look for decent weed killer, but I'm also aware of the current court cases against roundup, which apparently causes cancer I think I'd rather have weeds than cancer

Don't forget the stabilising solution, well worth the extra £30-£40!

+1

Maintains the appearance and stops moss/algae which can turn into mulchy stuff that weeds love.