On 21/06/2019 10:17, Roger Mills wrote:
I have a patio area/path consisting of a couple of inches of pea gravel
on top of some weed matting.

When I first created this 20-odd years ago, I gave the soil a liberal
dose of sodium chlorate before laying the weed matting. This kept it
weed-free for quite a few years, but the matting has now deteriorated -
allowing a lot of weeds to take root.

I tend to find that over time enough organic matter accumulates (fallen
leaves etc) in the gravel to support weed growth anyway.

I have removed the gravel and the weeds, and am about to take up the
matting and renew it before covering it with new gravel. I need to be
able to neutralise the soil in order to prevent any roots or seeds left
in from growing. I don't think you can buy sodium chlorate any more.
Most of the weedkillers available seem to be of the systemic type -
which kill existing weeds but don't affect the soil. But that's not what
I want!

Any bright ideas?

I was under the impression that if you cover a patch with something
totally light proof for a few months it will kill off pretty much
anything. Perhaps a layer of old carpet.


--
Cheers,

John.

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