What kinds of weeds?

If the plastic doesn't melt into a mess.

That's the trouble with those barriers, after awhile they either degrade or debris settles on top of them and then you get weeds all the same.

Hehehee, flamethrower :)

Really, in the long run you are best off removing the rocks entirely and cleaning out and resetting the bed. A project better off for end of season rather than prepping the pool for summer at this point IMO.

But for spring into summer, you could try solarizing for a few weeks so long as you got the sun and heat to cook the crap out of the bed. or leaving uncapped, depending on the weeds, keep up on hand pulling as much as possible this season to help deplete the weeds a bit before you reset in the fall.

At some point, you are going to need to fish that plastic out. I'm a huge fan of bio- as in card board and newspaper. Thick layer before laying down the rocks again. Yes, weeds will come back eventually- but at least then the paper stuff will have broken down and you don't have to fish it out like plastic.

Similar search for a no roundup solution. Nursery told me spraying the super strong vinegar (not what you cook with) is a good solution as long as you never intend to grow anything there.

Vinegar will only kill top growth. It won’t kill perennial roots. And after a bit of rain or irrigation you can certainly plant there.

I’d add vinegar to the list too...although not a one and done solution, if you add spraying to a regular schedule it should minimize the amount of weeds

If the plastic has degraded as much as the OP states, then the torch will have no negative effect.....except on the weeds. And it's the most fun you'll ever have weeding!!

We have river rocks in every flower bed surrounding our house. The following spring we moved into the house there were no weeds. Last year I was saddened to see so many weeds pop up. Trying to pull weeds around all the rocks was a never ending job.

Last year I broke down and used Round Up thinking that was the only way to control the weeds going forward. It worked and I only had to spray one time. In February of this year I spread Preen which is a pre emergent in all the flower beds. The Preen controlled all the weeds from growing. NO weeds at all in my beds and I will spread more Preen in the fall.

OP, I know you did not want to apply any chemical but it worked for me.

Thanks for suggestions. A torch?? LOL....have to research that one. As to the type of weeds - I have no idea. Lots of different stuff comes up in there. I have no plans to ever plant anything that close to the pool, so vinegar is definitely an option - will probably try that, although as has been said - the roots remain and likely will send up new growth.

Sandy...I hear you. Working the weeds out of the river rocks is no quick job to be sure and, as you say, is never ending. I have a lot of Round-up so...might have to just go for it on a day when the air is still (rare where we are on top of a hill).

No one formula kills them all. Field horsetail for instance. Which is an example of something that a body can have get in among stones in a decorative landscape, pop up here and there all through the area these cover.

Weed burners work by cooking the plant tops, so that these end up looking as though they had been steamed. You're supposed to make quick passes and keep moving. But of course many users try to burn up the weeds instead. And there is a fire hazard inherent in their use, so that if there is much combustible material present it's not a good situation for these to be employed.

What is a recommended homemade mix...such as vinegar / water, etc.? Any specific proportions?

Undiluted table vinegar. And applied in full sun. But will only be a temporary, stop-gap measure at best.

Everything I've read is that the home-made vinegar recipes only wither the leaves you directly coat with it, and the weed continues to grow. Would it put your mind at ease about spraying roundup if you invest in a respirator, wear gloves and a Tyvek suit with a hood? There are also granules you can apply to areas where you never want anything to grow.

Weed control cloth under the rocks?

I have weeds problem on my flagstone patio, brick walkways and stoned driveway, I just bought a weed torch. I am wondering if it would even work in a large area, the weed torch is small. Hate to use weed killer, but I might have no choice at this point. It's about 4,000-5,000 sq ft.

I agree with beesneeds, to just get the river rocks out of there. We had that situation, and now have beautiful, low-maintenance, low-water plants. I am curious why you have no plans to ever plants close to the pool? Plants near the pool can be gorgeous, and help set the scene.

Well, yeah, I suppose plants around the pool would be nice - but for now I'll stay with the rocks. So many of them - I'd have no idea what to do with them. Biggest mistake was letting a contractor expand the area so much. He put a stone border around it which looks nice and keeps the rocks from migrating into the lawn, but added much more work - like many projects do I suppose!

Sandy,

i need to kill weeds in my flower bed

Which formular round up you used?

Thanks

Houses14

I used Roundup Weed and Grass killer.

A neighbor once told me boiling hot water kills weeds. I have never tried it though.

We used weed torch a few times this summer, it didn’t kill roots, so weeds and grass kept coming back. And it wasn’t fun to use a weed torch, it’s too hot, it works slow too. I finally bought RU to control the weeds and grass on the patio and walkways

Vinegar..salt..and a few drops of dawn is better than any weed killer on the