The One Thing Missing From Your Gravel Driveways' Weed Control Routine

There's nothing more infuriating than an unyielding weed invasion that won't seem to go away. These resilient plants are tough to get rid of. Even after spending an excess of time kneeling down to yank up the little plants out one by one, they always seem to pop back up quickly — sometimes even the next day. This can be especially frustrating in areas where you don't want any plant growth. It's easier to ignore the occasional straggler in a flower bed but when weeds continuously pop up in areas like a gravel driveway, it can be maddening.

If you're struggling to get rid of weeds in your garden, their presence in your gravel driveway can be even more difficult to deal with. Pulling them and hoping they won't come back is not an effective solution. Even applying weed killer alone often won't be enough to combat your weed problem. Complacency can cause mistakes everyone makes after removing weeds from their yard. But for a gravel driveway, it's even more problematic, as it's essential to keep repeated and consistent removal efforts in your weed control routine. 

Day one of weed mitigation is only the beginning. You'll need to continuously repeat your efforts until the issue fizzles out. You can never completely eradicate weeds; seeds are always bound to blow in from a neighbor's yard or get dropped on your property by birds. Even so, by taking them out over and over again, you can significantly reduce the amount of effort it takes to keep weeds from growing on your gravel driveway.

The simplest solution for removing weeds isn't going to be perfect, as the problem often lies below the surface. Even if you pull or kill all the visible weeds from your driveway, there's still a hidden seed bank below the gravel. You may be battling a backlog of seeds deposited under your gravel driveway years ago. Furthermore, weed roots can be tricky to pull or completely kill. If even a small amount of the root remains, the plant will eventually come back. This is why consistent, repeated weed control is so vital. It's not a one-and-done maintenance task. To get rid of the weeds on your gravel driveway, your mission is twofold — eradicate the current weeds and prevent new ones from popping up. 

Start by hand-weeding. You can always use a weed pulling tool if you have issues kneeling down. If you're battling a full on weed takeover, you may need a quicker solution to kill the existing plants. In that case, consider reaching for a propane weed torch, which you can either rent or buy. This tool makes short work of annual weeds, but it still won't be enough to rid your driveway of deep-rooted perennial weeds. While you can continue to pull these by hand, if you want to get rid of them for good, you can opt to use a glyphosate-based weed killer. If you want a chemical-free alternative, pour boiling water over more stubborn weeds to kill their deep roots.

In order to prevent new weeds, consider adding more gravel to your driveway. A   four-inch layer will help suppress new plant germination. You can also apply a layer of corn gluten meal to help prevent sprouts from growing.