Dealing With Weeds In Asphalt Cracks
Fill the cracks in your asphalt with corn gluten meal.
Weed seeds won’t be able to germinate if corn gluten meal is present due to the high nitrogen content. If you’ve never done this before, you should look over the directions on the package. It should tell you how much meal you need to sprinkle in each square foot. Remember, corn meal can only keep new weeds from sprouting, and may actually feed established weeds. You need to sprinkle it before weeds have the chance to crop up. It contains about 10% nitrogen, which burns seedlings, but it can actually fertilize mature plants and makes a great DIY fertilizer for the established plants you want to grow.
Remove any weeds that can easily be loosened by hand.
If the weeds haven’t had a chance to develop seeds yet, you should flip the clump after you pull it. Take advantage of the exposed soil; it will allow you to smother any weeds that haven’t bloomed in the area yet. If seeds have been set, you should remove them from the area.
Use white vinegar or a commercial spray that’s vinegar based on your weeds.
Make sure the vinegar you use is full-strength. After you spray the vinegar, you’ll see the weeds start to dry out and die. Vinegar tends to be most effective on annual weeds.
Try pouring table salt into the cracks in your asphalt.
As is the case with vinegar, salt is a natural material that can help you get rid of some of the weeds on your asphalt. However, you should avoid sprinkling salt too close to the soil. Salt can make soil inhospitable for all kinds of plants, not just weeds.
Try pouring boiling water through the cracks in your asphalt.
If the temperature of the water is hot enough, it will literally cook the weeds. The plant cells will be destroyed. You should show caution when pouring water. Make sure you can safely carry the water that you’re going to be pouring.
Focus your attacks on woody weeds like ivy at the end of summer.
According to the asphalt experts at Calvac Paving this is the time of year when these kinds of weeds store nutrients in their roots. If you cut the weeds and spray vinegar or a spray on the pruned stems, you can keep the weeds from growing back next year.
Patch asphalt cracks when you can.
If there is a large crack you can afford to patch, you should make sure that the crack is completely filled. If there’s a patch you can’t afford to patch, you could try filling it with gravel instead. Holes in asphalt allow water to seep under the surface where it can freeze, which may cause further damage to the road or driveway as the ice expands. That’s why it’s important to patch these as soon as possible and before the next winter season.
