WITH Spring just days away, if you want to get your patio and driveway ready for the warmer weather, you’ve come to the right place.
But a landscaper has warned homeowners against a ‘quick fix’ weed-killing method, which is actually doing much more harm than good.
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Not only is it damaging your patio and driveway, but it’ll cost you a fortune in crack repairs too.
Whilst many cleaning fans have been raving about a viral three-ingredient solution to banish weeds, Trevor Knight, an award-winning landscaper and expert at Marshalls, has shared a stern warning with his professional advice.
While the quick-fix trick, which involves using a mixture of salt, vinegar, and washing-up liquid, may sound appealing, experts are revealing that it could cause long-term damage to your patio and driveway.
The hack involves combining a gallon of white vinegar, one cup of salt, and a splash of washing-up liquid.
Read more gardening stories
It has been hailed by many as an effective way to kill weeds in just a couple of days, but according to Trevor, while it may seem like an easy solution, it poses a significant risk to the integrity of your hard landscaping.
Trevor explained: “On the surface, these hacks look great and are a quick fix to get rid of pesky weeds, of that there is no doubt; however, using salt and vinegar normally reserved for your fish and chip supper could be detrimental to the quality of many of the primary materials used to manufacture driveway and patio products.”
Trevor recognised that in particular, salt can cause serious issues.
He claimed that “when it comes in contact with paving products, salt or sodium chloride can accelerate the breakdown, especially if the product has a porous mix design.”
He also added: “Salt gets into cracks, and when it absorbs moisture, the material expands and contracts, leading to cracking and degradation over time.”
And the risk is even greater in the UK, where it rains frequently, as moisture can exacerbate the damage.
Salt can even cause rust formation in any metal components beneath the surface, making the damage much more far-reaching.
Additionally, according to Trevor, vinegar, which is acidic, also presents its own set of problems.
Trevor claimed that “many paving products, especially limestone, sandstone, or concrete, are susceptible to erosion when exposed to acidic compounds.”
Using salt and vinegar normally reserved for your fish and chip supper could be detrimental to the quality of many of the primary materials used to manufacture driveway and patio products
Trevor Knight
In turn, this could lead to the gradual breakdown of the material, leaving behind discolouration and unsightly stains that are challenging to remove.
Trevor then shared: “It has also been known to cause etching on some paving materials, which appears as full spots or large visible stained patches over time.”
March gardening jobs
The Sun’s Gardening Editor, Veronica Lorraine has shared the first gardening jobs of spring.
Start sowing seeds
You can plant Aubergine seeds into propagator – or outdoors after the last frost. Or you could try growbags in a coldframe – and hopefully you can harvest from August onwards.
Have a think about planting some different varieties of seeds this year – check out She Grows Veg and other sites for heirloom varieties. There’s an astonishing array on offer, like purple carrots, globe-shaped aubergines, lime green cauliflower or storage tomatoes that stay fresh for months.
Buy and plant summer bulbs
Summer flowering bulbs provide huge big blousey blooms – with some bringing a real touch of the tropics to your garden. Try Gladioli, dahlias, calla lilies, peonies and crocosmia.
Lawncare starts now!
Start your lawn care with a boosting high nitrogen spring feed, reseed any bare patches – and you’ll probably start mowing regularly in earnest this month. If you can – keep a corner long to help wildlife.
Check compost
Dig well rotting compost into your soil. If you have the space, it’s even worth digging trenches and chucking in your rotting veg that’s usually destined for the recycling bin – then cover. It adds great nutrients for free.
Clean outside spaces
Time to blast your patios and paths with a pressure washer – if your children are responsible enough it’s a great job for them – they’ll get soaked and have fun at the same time.
Soak sweet peas
Soak your sweet peas before sowing into long narrow pots or toilet rolls – put two seeds in a pot. These can go in an unheated greenhouse – and when there’s three or four pairs of leaves, pinch out the growing tip which will make them grow outward instead of upwards.
Create a wildflower meadow
Sow a wildflower meadow – if you have room. A lot of shops now sell wildflower mixes to make things easier – or even seed bombs which can just be scattered onto the soil.
As a result, Trevor advised exploring other, safer alternatives such as boiling water, manual weeding, or carefully applying vinegar directly to the weeds, which can be more effective and less dangerous.
Not only this, but there are other preventive measures which involve using corn gluten meal or polymeric sand, which help stop weeds from growing in the first place.
So if you want to get your patio and driveway sparkling, before you reach for that bargain bottle of vinegar that’s been sitting in your cupboard for months, consider the long-term and costly impact the cheap hack may have.
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