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Thread: Weeds in pavers

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Princeton, NJ

    Weeds in pavers

    Hoping some folks in the group can guide me. We have a patio in our backyard with stone pavers. There is a lot of moss growing between some of the stones. Looking for a way to get rid of that without using toxic chemicals. Any suggestions? Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    New Bern, NC unless it's a home football game then I'm grilling on Devil's Alley
    Have a pressure washer? You could blast the bejebus out of them.
    Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by freshmanjs View Post
    Hoping some folks in the group can guide me. We have a patio in our backyard with stone pavers. There is a lot of moss growing between some of the stones. Looking for a way to get rid of that without using toxic chemicals. Any suggestions? Thanks!
    Salt the earth! Literally.
    (though i guess technically salt is a toxic chemical).
    https://www.creeklinehouse.com/how-t...control-weeds/

    Burn it! Burn it all!
    https://flameengineering.com/pages/flame-weeding-101

    Enjoy!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    I think you're just going to have to level the whole lot and start over.

    More seriously, vinegar might also be a solution. I know you want something non-toxic, but the easiest most sure-fire method is going to be something from the hardware store that targets moss.

    With regards to the salt suggestion, my searches indicate that it needs to be certain types of salt (most that I saw recommend potassium salts) but PackMan97 might have more actual knowledge on this.


    Edit: It looks like household vinegar isn't enough, you need some kind of "industrial strength" vinegar, whatever that means.

    Depending on your threshold for "toxic" bleach is apparently also an option.
    Last edited by Acymetric; 05-17-2019 at 02:25 PM.

  5. #5
    I like the moss. For me it’s always how to get rid of weeds without killing the moss. I don’t spare the Roundup tho. It’s too damn hot to pull weeds here.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Santa Cruz CA
    Quote Originally Posted by freshmanjs View Post
    Hoping some folks in the group can guide me. We have a patio in our backyard with stone pavers. There is a lot of moss growing between some of the stones. Looking for a way to get rid of that without using toxic chemicals. Any suggestions? Thanks!
    Pics? A lot of times pavers/stones are used with intentional spacing to grow moss/herbs/ground covers in between. Like someone else said, the trick then is to grow the preferred item between the stones instead of weeds.

    I'm guessing you are referring to pavers that are intended to butt up against each other and the moss is just in the cracks. Depending on the type of paver, I would go with the torch method or pressure washer. Washer has the advantage of removing the dirt the moss is growing in, which should help delay the next crop.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    New Bern, NC unless it's a home football game then I'm grilling on Devil's Alley
    Quote Originally Posted by BigWayne View Post
    Washer has the advantage of removing the dirt the moss is growing in, which should help delay the next crop.
    I bought a cheap portable one from Walmart, for like $80, and it works awesome. The first thing it did was de-moss pavers we have, and bring our deck back to life. Of course, I drew pictures in the deck first...I shoulda taken some photos.
    That thing is fun. (I bought it to wash my car with...still haven't done that.)
    Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Durham, NC
    vinegar and salt are both toxic to soil and soil critters like worms. And neither kill roots. It will grow back.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by lotusland View Post
    I like the moss. For me it’s always how to get rid of weeds without killing the moss. I don’t spare the Roundup tho. It’s too damn hot to pull weeds here.
    I advise against supporting Monsanto if you can avoid it. Without delving deeper, I am certain google can satisfy any curiosity on Roundup and Monsanto.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Wilmington, NC
    I have 3 automatic weed pullers that work great.

    One is 10, one 13, and one 15.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Rougemont Nebulae
    Quote Originally Posted by left_hook_lacey View Post
    I have 3 automatic weed pullers that work great.

    One is 10, one 13, and one 15.
    I hope you got the extended warranty.

  12. #12
    Boiling water is effective.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    some weeds are better than others!

    yeah, Roundup is a great idea as long as you don't mind your dog growing a thumb out of his ear...

  14. #14
    Once you get rid of it, there’s a sand you can lay down and then rake around to get it in all the cracks and crevices that’s supposed to prevent or at least seriously impede regrowth of weeds and moss between the pavers. It slowly disappears so you have to do it every few years. We had no growth the first five years or so, but then after most of the sand went away, we started to get some. Haven’t gotten around to putting more sand down yet. Just a thought for future prevention.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Greenville, SC
    Quote Originally Posted by bjornolf View Post
    Once you get rid of it, there’s a sand you can lay down and then rake around to get it in all the cracks and crevices that’s supposed to prevent or at least seriously impede regrowth of weeds and moss between the pavers. It slowly disappears so you have to do it every few years. We had no growth the first five years or so, but then after most of the sand went away, we started to get some. Haven’t gotten around to putting more sand down yet. Just a thought for future prevention.
    Remember when five years used to be a long long time? Now it seems pretty short.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Summerville ,S.C.
    As some others said .I use a 2 cups salt per gallon of water and a gallon of vinegar in a sprayer. Shake it well .spray it sometimes takes two applications. The warmer it is outside the better.if you salt it enough it will change the composition of the soil.it will eventually be tough for anything to grow back.

    I use rock salt around my fence so I dont have to weed eat . I just pour it by the cup rain washes it in.
    Termites dont like salt either.thats a plus in my book.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    I've tried vinegar plus the original blue dawn dishwashing soap. About 1-2 tablespoons of Dawn to one gallon of vinegar. Kills just as quickly as RoundUp. Not sure about longevity, etc., as I just recently switched away from RoundUp.
    "We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Thanks all for the great suggestions!

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