Brick Patio Weed Control

How to Keep your Brick Patio Weed Free
by: Hans Dekker

In researching this article, I found one instance where a homeowner was so incensed by the weeds in her patio that she set fire to them with a blowtorch!

Luckily, several items provide better service as a weeding tool, and there are several better alternatives for brick patio weed control.

Of course, the best method of weed control for your brick patio is proper installation of your patio in the first place.

Start with an under-layment of pea gravel, topped by a layer of sturdy landscape cloth, and cover with it with a layer of sand.

This will give your brick patio a firm footing, as well as limiting the growth of any weeds in the area.

Nevertheless, if your brick patio is already installed and running rampant with weeds, here are some tips to help you succeed in keeping it weed free without a lot of agonizing work.

First, to make your brick patio weed control plan a success, implement your plan before weeds flower. This keeps weeds from going to seed and helps make a short-term plan last for a longer time.

For the following tip and other tips that involve weed dousing of one sort or another, use a piece of cardboard or scrap of Plexiglas to protect nearby plants.

One of the best ways to kill a vegetable of any kind is to cook it.

Boiling water is a natural and very inexpensive weed-wilter and works to kill most forms of annual weeds. It also kills or weakens many types of perennial weeds.

A teakettle is your weeding tool. Fill it with water and bring it to a boil. While you're waiting for it to boil, go outside and cut the weeds down to their crowns.

When the water begins to boil, grab the kettle with a potholder and pour the water on the crowns of the weeds, holding the kettle high enough only to avoid splashing. Killing weeds with boiling water will also scald any biological organisms that get splashed, but more will return as soon as the soil cools.

Vinegar will kill most weeds. However, grocery store vinegar is normally a 5% solution and is too weak to do the job. Ten-percent vinegar will kill many weeds and usually is found where canning and pickling supplies are sold.

A 20% solution of vinegar kills really stubborn weeds, but is frequently more than twice as expensive as 10% vinegar. Try to control the weeds with the 10% before you make the investment in a stronger solution.

Spray the vinegar directly on the weeds, using the shield mentioned above and taking care not to inhale fumes. You may also want to wear gloves and eye protection as a further safeguard.

These measures will keep all brick patios free from weeds without a lot of back breaking work.

About the author: Hans is an enthusiast gardener. He is one of the authors of www.gardening-guides.com and www.patio-furniture-ideas.com