I’m looking for advice before venturing into Landi or Hornbach and spending a chunk of my afternoon translating various herbicide info.
The issue, various weeds and grasses growing through the patio cracks. There are three very large patios.
I have a small weed burner that took care of the majority of the dandelions and weird plants in the gravel driveway. I am wary about using it on the light colored patio though.
I don’t even know if Round Up is available here, but would prefer to avoid it as I know it’s apparently not good for the environment. Are there any safer alternatives? Pulling doesn’t really work as the roots are both deep and tight, leading to constant regrowth.
Also we have a cat who loves to chew on anything green, so I’d prefer not to poison him either.
Basically, does anyone have a brand that they use that they’d recommend? Cheers.
Roundup is (still, I think) available here but forbidden for use on patios and driveways and really should be avoided anyway for the reasons you state.
Did ours with a high pressure washer.....
First burn or use a high pressure cleaner, and then use boiling water.
The disadvantage is that you need to produce quite a bit of boiling water but it's not bad for the environment.
On the patio, I use cheap alcohol vinegar I buy from HyperU- on a hot sunny day. Works very well- then use my weed burner to finish off.
Does the boiling water kill dandelions and other weeds with a deep tap root?
I use vinegar too. A salt and vinegar combo works even better than vinegar alone.
The vinegar is really cheap in Migros.
I’m fairly certain that RoundUp is no longer allowed here. It is just too potent and it kills everything (except special Monsanto seed crops that have been modified to be immune to it).
I use boiling water which is as effective.
Nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Most of the EU has either banned glyphosate (RoundUp TM) or is in the process. Austria banned it in 2019; Germany is set to outlaw in 2023. There was a contentious scientific debate around these decisions. The largest long-term (I think 25 years?) study of farm workers who used RoundUp every day could find no connection to human diseases or syndromes (and that study was not funded by Monsanto). I used to see it sold in France, amusingly called, "Desherbant TOTALE!!"
Anyway, another vote for boiling water. I just eradicated about 300 dandelions this week after returning from PT to a weed disaster.
P.S.: salt will stay around and sink into the water table; best not use it near any other plantings.
Another vote for high pressure cleaner (patio needs cleaned at the start of the year anyway, so double duty) then boiling water. Then hand pull the few stubborn weeds that remain in between the flagstones.
Along with chemicals, I also ditched my 'suburban lawn' expectations. This attitude re-set was perhaps the best step I've taken - for the environment as well as for my own inner well-being. For the most part, if it's green, it's allowed to grow in among the grass - I just mow over it all and get on with more pleasant activities.
OK, dandelions are hard to love, that I'll admit. Some things are just hard wired into our DNA.
If anyone has seen a long handled 'V shaped' dandelion puller in Switzerland, not the short handled version or the L shaped thingy common here, my aging knees would be most grateful to know where you found it.
Pressure washer. Brilliant. I’ll check with my neighbor/landlord if he’s got one (I’m sure he does as any other tool I’ve mentioned seems to be in his endless garage).
I saw a V weed puller (useless on the patio) at Porte Nyon Migros garden center a few weeks ago. It was a short handled one though.
Yes, the short handled ones are easy to find here. The long handled pullers, allowing you to get to the root without getting down on your knees, seem not to be a thing here. I had several back home, but because I was twenty years younger at the time decided not to bring them. Silly me...
The L shaped tool, which I dislike for lawn or garden bed weeding, is indeed useful for getting in between patio stones/tiles, assuming that the tiles are not cemented in. Mine are set on a gravel bed, with a bit wider margin between stones. Weeds can more easily crop up, but thanks to the gravel and spacing they are very easy to pull out.
Vinegar, salt and boiling water will all affect surrounding plants. They’re great options for use between pavers or on gravel but not in flower beds or the lawn.
Thanks but I wanted personal experience of whether it worked or not.
There are loads of tips on this topic and others on the web which frankly do not work.
I'll let you know how I get on!
Personal experience? Pouring boiling water on green stuff, including dandelions, growing between the cracks kills them. Takes a couple of days then they die and are fairly easy to pull or dig out.
How much boiling water? (per plant).
Really sorry, can’t really say. We’ve got a 1.7L kettle, I fill it and hed for the terrace. Probably 3 or 4 patches per kettle-full.
One recommendation! Don’t do this while wearing sandals even if also wearing socks.
Thanks. I'm going to need a bigger kettle.
Don't worry - I assure you I don't wear sandals with socks!