killing the grassroots. and everything else i dont want to grow

as part of this summers non car related projects, im putting fresh gravel and borders down on the driveway.

unfortunately, the best grass on my property grows in the driveway. I want it to die. all of it. forever. I want to do something similar to nuclear fallout on this stuff.

roundup doesn't seem to work. diesel fuel/antifreeze work pretty good, but im pretty sure that using it extensively would be frowned upon by most everyone.

so, I really have no idea how to kill this stuff, and keep it killed.

A bag of this stuff mixed with water works WONDERS.

Home Depot

I don't know if there is anything that will kill it permanently, other than paving the drive, but this would allow you to do it naturally (it does work, BTW):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS5RHBR-GbQ

You can't buy the good stuff without an applicators licence. So you're somewhat limited to things like Roundup, which isn't bad stuff. It just doesn't have any long term lasting powers when it hits the dirt.

Though generically, salt does wonders. Salted ground won't grow things.

what kind of salt? how to use?

I remember hearing is history class that some general, in some war, salted the fields on the way through and nothing grew there for like 50 years.

Google up Total Vegetation Killer. Available at all the stores.
If you really want strong, by it in concentrate form and do not dilute.

Finale>Roundup

Salt will leach into the soil and kill things you maybe don't want dead.

Dusterbd13 wrote: unfortunately, the best grass on my property grows in the driveway. I want it to die. all of it. forever. I want to do something similar to nuclear fallout on this stuff.

You want something much better than nuclear fallout. This is Chernobyl today:

Dusterbd13 wrote: as part of this summers non car related projects, im putting fresh gravel and borders down on the driveway. unfortunately, the best grass on my property grows in the driveway. I want it to die. all of it. forever. I want to do something similar to nuclear fallout on this stuff. roundup doesn't seem to work. diesel fuel/antifreeze work pretty good, but im pretty sure that using it extensively would be frowned upon by most everyone. so, I really have no idea how to kill this stuff, and keep it killed.

This sounds like me. I hate lawns. I hate yard work. I hate landscaping. I live in the high desert, so everything here is covered in high desert weeds. When I bought my house the back yard was tons of weeds. I paid a cheap landscaper (mistake #1) to put down some bark dust thinking, "That'll get rid of those puppies."

Well, 2 weeks later, E36 M3 started sprouting out of that. More weeds. Then in a few more weeks, I had a weed forest.

About 2 years ago I ripped all the weeds out, tilled it all, put down landscaper cloth and put river rock down and thought, "HAH! I WIN! berkeley you, weeds!" Then in about 4 months, weed grass started popping up here and there, even through that cloth. I'm at my wit's end. All I want is to kill the weeds, have nothing grow and be a bunch of river rock. That's all I want. Then I can mow my lawn once in a while, and the rest of my yard is river rock, low maintenance...

So I'm on board with hearing what others recommend because I want that crap DEAD.

I use the concentrated 43% glyophosphate from tractor supply. Water it down to 10% and ain't nothing grown in that spot for 2 months so far......

In reply to Dusterbd13:

That was the Roman, Scipio Africanus. He's the dude who finally defeated Hannibal Barca and knocked down the walls of Carthage. History tells us that Scipio knocked down the walls of the city, sold the inhabitants into slavery, and salted the ground to ensure Carthage could never rise in power again.

But no sources from that time make mention of the salting episode. As Henry Ford famously said....."History is Bunk!"

For broadleaf weeds, i.e. not grass, 2-4-D is the go-to, three applications the first season and 1-2 the next.

For places you want dead, alternate generic Roundup one year with Liberty the next. Don't mess with box store pre-mixed junk, get the concentrate and mix it up yourself.

For some herbicides you get a more lasting effect by mixing the concentrate into vegetable oil with an emulsifier than into water. The instructions with the particular concentrate you buy will let you know if it is an option.

Crossbow if you can get your hands on it, otherwise roundup is one of your better options.

Toebra wrote: Finale>Roundup Salt will leach into the soil and kill things you maybe don't want dead.

I am here to tell you that just aint so. My walkway is made of paving stones. I figure I put about 100lbs of salt on the walkway every winter. Does nothing to control the weed growth and does not seem to affect the grass on the edges.

The vinegar solution works, but is very temporary. Seems to burn off the foliage very fast, but then it seems to fertilize the roots so that the weeds come back faster and taller than ever.

Roundup is the answer if you can get it from a farmer. The stuff in stores is not the same.

JohnRW1621 wrote: Google up Total Vegetation Killer. Available at all the stores. If you really want strong, by it in concentrate form and do not dilute.

Sample:
http://www.rm43weedkiller.com/

Do you have unruly vegetation on fencerows, around farm buildings, along gravel driveways or anywhere else you would like to spray just once a year?

RM43™ offers season-long control of grasses, weeds, brush, vines and trees. This concentrate kills existing vegetation as well as prevents future growth of listed species. Use RM43™ only on locations where no vegetation growth is desired for up to one year.

Another

I use Ortho Ground Clear under the fence in the back yard. I put it down in ~triple the concentration on the container. Usually have to redo it in 2-3 years.

The great thing about Roundup is it won't wash off in a rain and run across the neighbors lawn like some soil sterilants will. I had a friend get in a certain amount of trouble over that once.

Roundup will work, but its not instantly permanent. It kills the weeds, but there is a pretty good supply of fresh weed seeds either sitting dormant, or blowing in. After a few years of treating, though, it will give you the scorched earth look you are going for. Might take 20 minutes every couple of weeks for a while. If that's too much of a time commitment, pave it all.

Edit: Everybody else is right. The premixed stuff at the home center is for babies. Find an Ag dealer, or a friendly farmer to give you the straight stuff.

An herbicide kills post emergence vegetation (existing weeds).

A soil sterilant is for pre emergence (keeps stuff from growing).

Sounds like you need a bit of both.

Pramitol

Just scored a gallon of the good farmer round-up. By next week I should be able to find my driveway.

I use TVC (Total vegation control) from DIYpesticide.com Works well at 2 oz per gallon and applied with a garden sprayer. Its slow, takes a few weeks to kick in, but it works. 2 months and not a sprout. I guess you could buy a yard of rock salt and spread it around as a top coat.

Ortho Ground Clear w/ hose type tank sprayer where the hose can reach. Pump tank sprayer or watering can where it won't. Apply every other year. Works.

Years ago I went to work on a project car that had been sitting a few months. I soon realized the car was infested with bees/wasps or whatever they were. So I fired up the pressure washer and went nuclear on the car. A direct shot with the pressure washer killed the flying somabitches instantly.. A few shots went wild and hit the lawn. A few days latter I discovered wherever the mist hit the lawn the grass died... Hmmm pressure washer kills grass....

I'm not sure how effective this is or if it was a fluke.

Anyway, today I'm going to nuke a rock garden on the side of the house with the pressure washer. This may be a viable solution?? we'll see.

Would it be a bad idea to mix even solution in this thread into one tank and spray?

I sprayed pramitol/dexcool on the driveway after stringtrimming to stubble. Its brown. Well wait and see what happens in a week or so.