Anybody use a torch to get rid of weeds ....NF

[lew]

Hey guys, I've got 250' of gravel driveway and am fighting a losing battle with the weeds. I've tried about every product known to man and nothing gets rid if them for more than a short while.

I'm thinking of buying a propane torch and burning them out but wondered if anyone has tried this method and how'd it work ?

I'm thinking of something like this.

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.inferno-propane-torch-kit.1000697564.html

 

 

[Terry]

My neighbour  uses one just like that and it seems to do a good job on the weeds

[lew]

Thanks Terry & good to hear.

With the $$$$ I spend on weed killer I could have bought a dozen torches hahaha

[farsider]

I have used it.  

Just a quick pass until the leaves have briefly withered is all it takes.  They will completely shrivel away within days.

 

It does nothing for the seeds still remaining in the gravel so, you will still have to do it over again throughout the season.

Good thing you know a fireman, as it can be dicey during current drought-like conditions or on windy days (especially if there is leaked oil,etc.).  I have done it right after it has rained.

Have you salted your driveway?  That should help make it less hospitable for growth.

All the best,

Mark

[ketchenany]

Vinegar and salt with a bit of dish soap.

I buy a gallon of vinegar and cheap table salt. Melt salt in boiling water mix  with vinegar and soap and spray. Haven’t bought weed killer in years. I have river rock patch and it does it great, just finished doing it. There is recipe on line but I just use what I want. 

[aplumma]

Lew you are looking for a product called sterilizing killer. This is a long acting green killer that we use for fence lines and other areas we do not want to deal with for extended times. If you have tractor supply stores up their or a farm co op type of place they can tell you what works best. You also can talk to the guys who maintain the edges of the roads and ask them what they are using. Sometimes for a couple of bucks the will give you some of the extract to use at home. 

Art

[Rattletrap2]

7 minutes ago, aplumma said:

Lew you are looking for a product called sterilizing killer. This is a long acting green killer that we use for fence lines and other areas we do not want to deal with for extended times. If you have tractor supply stores up their or a farm co op type of place they can tell you what works best. You also can talk to the guys who maintain the edges of the roads and ask them what they are using. Sometimes for a couple of bucks the will give you some of the extract to use at home. 

Art

Art,

Things changed up here a few years back. They don't let us have access to any real weed killing chemicals unless you have a farm license or are a licensed pesticide applicator. The stuff that TSC and everyone else sells here is useless. Mostly just expensive water! If you go to the US, you can still get the good stuff  and bring it back here in your trunk! lol

[HTHM]

Lets see,... 250 feet x 12 feet x $5.60 = $ 16,800 to lay asphalt. 

If you know a farmer ask him for some Atrazine. 

[OhioFisherman]

Lew, I have lived in this house for 28 years now, same deal, but my drive is only like 180 feet. It's really a never ending battle, I have used roundup and other things, even tried a propane torch and boiling water.

Anything that has worked has been at best a  year long fix, too many seeds and such blown around by the wind.

Your laws and what is legally available for such use may vary from ours, and ours can vary from state to state.

I believe salt is bad for some trees like pines? So runoff from use could pose an issue? I myself dislike using chemicals, a bit of green on my gravel brightens it up!

LOL even another 20 - 40 tons more gravel seems to be a short term fix.

https://valtecindustries.com/products/banish-weed-killer

I think Art is talking about something like that, I am not sure of what the farmer that used to plant the field across the road from me used, but the corn and soybean crops seemed to be surprisingly clear of weed growth.

Even if you used a barrier over time dust, and stuff will collect on top of it and the problem repeats?

 

[lew]

4 minutes ago, HTHM said:

Lets see,... 250 feet x 12 feet x $5.60 = $ 16,800 to lay asphalt. 

 

Funny you gave that price Albert cause I had no idea the cost but just a guess I told my wife it'd probably be 17 or 18000 LOL

I've tried everything including the vinegar and water many many times and yes it will kill some weeds but they come right back before too long.

I'm gonna give the torch a try and see how it works. 

Thanks boyz.

[OhioFisherman]

https://bartstreeservice.com/salt-damage-to-your-trees-and-landscape/

[Raf]

we have a gravel driveway too Lew although nowhere near as long as yours.  I use the concentrated round-up. dilute and spray.  Unfortunately not available to most ontarians.  The stuff you can get a home depot, etc is diluted and pretty weak you are mostly paying for water. Your options are ordering from a province that still allows the use (MB/AB) or a trip to the states.   Even with this stuff, I have to re-apply though.  It kills everything green just fine but the dead stuff is just replaced with new weeds blowin' in the wind.

If there's a permament solution that does not involve paving, I'm all ears.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Raf

[bigugli]

2 hours ago, aplumma said:

Lew you are looking for a product called sterilizing killer. This is a long acting green killer that we use for fence lines and other areas we do not want to deal with for extended times. If you have tractor supply stores up their or a farm co op type of place they can tell you what works best. You also can talk to the guys who maintain the edges of the roads and ask them what they are using. Sometimes for a couple of bucks the will give you some of the extract to use at home. 

Art

Here you need an herbicides license to access any effective chemicals

[lew]

Thanks again guys, I went into town and bought a torch and just finished burning about 50' of weeds up the center of the driveway and it really did a good job, but it's so stinkin hot out there I'll leave it till tomorrow to finish it off LOL.

[misfish]

Im going to say this.

With all the wild fires we have had, nature will come back. So using fire to kill, will not happen. The fires have scorched the surface, not the earth. Get it paved Lew. Easier on the snow blower. ?

[lew]

Unless we get 6" of snow the blower doesn't even get uncovered Brian so it's the shovel that takes the beating LOL

[Old Ironmaker]

A dear friend of ours has WPTSD, weed post traumatic stress disorder. I swear she can't sleep knowing weeds are growing in here stone driveway. She uses 1/2 rock salt, 1/4 white vinegar and 1/4 water. Uses a chemical sprayer and it works.

In Italy I'm driving along the magnificent countryside enjoying the rolling hills of Grape Vines and rows of tall Cyprus trees and all of a sudden there is zero visibility, thick acrid smoke and I come to a stop. "What's going on dear cousin?" He says " Don't stop we will never get there, they are cutting the grass,,,,,,,,,by burning it." I tell him " I can't see how can I drive?" If you hit someone that's there problem." Italian logic.

[captpierre]

Hey Lew 

you have weeds because you have too much organic matter in your driveway. Seeds will continue to germinate and the weed roots will add even more organic matter when they die. I suspect torching just kills the tops but not the roots. I would add gravel without any organic matter. And use RoundUp as needed in the future. It kills the whole plant. Pave if you win the lottery ?

[Old Ironmaker]

We have a 1KM long private laneway of 3/4 inch crusher run stone here in our neighbourhood. Weeds never grow on it all year long. Every spring it is scraped down about 6" with a small grader on a tractor. Then re spread. Never any weeds, on driveways yes but not the laneway.

[Fisherman]

1km long driveway,  one way of keeping the jehovahs from bugging ya.

[spincast]

boiling water. kills it dead. Seeds (and ants, too)

[misfish]

2 hours ago, spincast said:

boiling water. kills it dead. Seeds (and ants, too)

That would be alot of X-LARGE Tims.

[captpierre]

On 8/7/2018 at 9:35 AM, captpierre said:

Hey Lew 

you have weeds because you have too much organic matter in your driveway. Seeds will continue to germinate and the weed roots will add even more organic matter when they die. I suspect torching just kills the tops but not the roots. I would add gravel without any organic matter. And use RoundUp as needed in the future. It kills the whole plant. Pave if you win the lottery ?

Lew, our cottage association maintains our gravel Fireroute. 

A good gravel truck operator can easily spread 4-6 inches of gravel along your driveway in 10 min fairly evenly. Bet under $1000

[Old Ironmaker]

On ‎8‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 12:36 PM, Fisherman said:

1km long driveway,  one way of keeping the jehovahs from bugging ya.

Only had 1 show up. Answered the door butt naked, that shoose them away. Works every time.

Have to pass on that my 87 year old Mom passed yesterday. Had a massive heart failure Wed. AM. She has a DNR order but wasn't on file and they did CPR for 20 mins then 3 days of unwanted life support. If you have elderly parents make sure their wishes are on file and clearly stated. She has been dying of the same heart attack since I was in High School. She sure was a handful but will miss her busting my balls. She was American, born in NY so busting balls came naturally for her. When my friends met her they saw this 4'11 little Italian lady that spoke perfect English with a NY accent and they talked to her very slowly so she could understand. She would ask me in Italian if they were "retarded". Sorry for the R word but she was born in the 30's and that's the way she spoke. I got called into the Principals office in grade 5 for using the N word. That's what she called Hazel Nuts. N Toes. Oh man I can write a book. She was one of the first assistances  to John C. Monroe when he ran for Parliament in Hamilton and won. He asked her to move to Ottawa and that wasn't happening. Pierre Trudeau sat in our kitchen on Rosedale Ave. in Hamilton in the late 60's drinking Dad's home made red wine eating home made sausages and peppers. I thought he was a weirdo Hippy. Anyway guys thanks for indulging me.

Johnny D.

Edited August 12, 2018 by Old Ironmaker

[Fisherman]

Sad to hear your Mom pass away.