There are few things more frustrating than weed growth between pave stones on your pathway or patio. Not only do they make the surface look untidy, but weeds are also tedious to remove. We’ll show you how to prevent weed growth between paving stones.
It’s important to understand how weeds get in between the paving stones in order to prevent them from growing in the future. Weeds don’t grow from the bottom up; they grow when the sand washes out allowing seedlings to fall from the top and into the spaces between your joints.
Properly installed paving stones will not be easily susceptible to weed growth. And while choosing the best materials for your project will help prevent weed growth, weeds are experts in finding places to grow. Even just a couple seedlings can quickly spread throughout your entire patio.
Despite how determined weeds can be, there are effective solutions that will prevent and deter weeds from growing. Here’s how to prevent weed growth between paving stones.
- Ensure your patio or pathway has a sufficient slope to drain water when it rains. Weeds want to inhabit a cool damp environment; proper drainage will help avoid weed growth.
- Regular Sweeping. Brushing your paving stones will prevent seedlings from settling, and will disrupt new weeds from fully establishing a place between your pavers.
If you already have weed growth between your patio stones, here are some helpful steps:
- Remove any large weeds between the joints. Larger weeds are more difficult to remove with a pressure washer so it is best to do this step manually.
- Use a pressure washer to remove the existing materials from the joints. This will remove all rooting zones and existing jointing sand. Be sure not to disturb the bedding layer that the paving stones are resting on.Use an organic solution to ensure all rooting zones have been destroyed. Chemical solutions are quite damaging for the environment, and potentially harmful to pets or children. Non-chemical solutions include white vinegar or boiling water. By pouring either of these solutions over top of the infected areas you will kill already existing weeds and prevent new ones from sprouting.
- Let the surface dry and refill with stabilizing sand. Once the surface is dry you can replace the sand between the joints. This is your next step of how to prevent weed growth between paving stones. EnviroSAND has a plant glue that swells into a gel whenever it gets wet, which prevents wash out and acts as a 1st line of defense to weed growth.
- EnviroSAND also has an elevated pH making it difficult for the seeds to germinate, preventing future weed growth.
All the tips listed above will help control and eliminate weed growth. But the best method of prevention is to use properly installed stabilizing sand between your pavers. Stabilizing sand does not allow seedlings to fall between the pavers and grow.
