Partner and I recently bought out first home after living in flats for the last 10 years. We're a bit new to the whole upkeep of a full area now so looking for some guidance if this is the right way to go about things!
We've got paving slabs out our back garden area with weeds and moss growing every all over it feels like. My plan was to power wash the back paving slabs to spruce them up after weeding. However, are the gaps too wide to do remove the weeds? It's soil that is currently between the slabs. Would I need to fill the gaps after removing the weeds with more soil or something else? We've also got a cracked slab which is just soil underneath so not sure what to do with this!
Any help is very much appreciated!!
by thestauner
11 Comments
I don’t have a power washer but all I do is spray them using some cheap patio weed killer spray. It kills them over the next few days so I just pull them out once they go brown. It keeps them gone for a few months before they grow back again.
Pathclear weed killer will kill for 6 months. Or use a gallon of white vinegar and a cup full of salt which sterilises the ground.
Weedkiller, then a big stick with a knife attached. There are garden tools for this. Or a power washer.
Weed killer, salt, flame, vinegar,
Elbow grease
Bloody elbow grease. Clear it out with a trowel and sand in the gaps. Rinse and repeat if/when they regrow.
If you can possibly help avoid using weedkiller, then please do avoid it. It’s not a permanent solution at all, so it’s not necessarily better than other routes and very damaging for birds and bugs.
If it was me, I would start by doing some manual weeding, use a knife or a screwdriver to help get some of them up. Moss can be scraped off easily – you could get a stiff brush or wire brush. Then power wash, but try and avoid blowing too much out of the gaps between slabs if possible. Get some kiln dried sand and fill the gaps with that and it’ll help suppress weed growth.
You could replace any cracked slabs but if it’s stable to walk on, it’s not urgent. You could also remove it and if it’s soil underneath you could plant it up with a nice shrub!
Once you’ve done this, giving the patio a brush over with a stiff brush will help stop weeds getting a foothold. But it is part and parcel of having an outside space and there’s not a way to stop things growing. So don’t get too obsessed with keeping it perfect, there’s no need.
There’s also an alternative to go low maintenance and that is to focus on a different aesthetic. Moss is a really beneficial plant to have in the garden for example and can look lovely. Here are some ideas: [https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/497999671308595628/](https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/497999671308595628/) | [https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/317574211197205505/](https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/317574211197205505/) | [https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/46021227414225369/](https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/46021227414225369/) | [https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/298504281532119130/](https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/298504281532119130/) (this plant is erigeron and looks amazing growing through cracks – daisies, creeping thyme, wild pansy, aubrieta, | [https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/59461657558152565/](https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/59461657558152565/) – If you went down this route then fill the cracks with soil instead of sand.
Boiling water can work well, particularly for moss.
I’ve got a weed burner wand off eBay with the canisters. I just go around burning the little weeds that come back and I’ve got to say the weeds are gradually lessening.
Perhaps after an initial pull of the majority, burning might suit!
Jetwasher will sort these out, then you might want to consider concreting between the slabs to prevent it coming back straight away
Honestly I’ve tried all of the suggestions already mentioned and found the best way to deal with this is hypochlorite and a sprayer. Ideally applied in a spell of dry calm weather. It’ll kill everything in sight in a few days then you’ll have to fill in the gaps to prevent further weed growth.
The suggestions here work but I just find it’s too much effort for a large patio and no power washing involved. It’ll clean your slabs as well as killing the weeds