How to deal with old gravel?

GusMac

Hi All,

In December 2011 we had an issue with our drains... whilst unblocking it.... sewage spilled out onto the gravel at the front of our house.  Over the past year... the weeds got pretty bad - but that said, there we a number of areas where the gravel thickness was thin and semi permeable layer was visible.

So... I have decided to start again... I have lifted all the sones and pulled up the semi permeable layer and relayed new....  I have also ordered new stones which are due for delivery on Monday.

The question I have is what do I do with the old stones???  They are pretty dirty and have moss and weeds etc.... should I junk them and arrange them to be taken away? Should I clean them... if so how? Should I simply put them back and the new gravel on top?

I've thought about using weed killer on them, however with a cat and kids in the house - my wife is not a fan of using weed killer....

Thoughts and any help would me much apprecited.  Below is a link to a Google picassa album with all the pictures to bring the problem to life.

Pictures

Thanks

Angus

 

Fairygirl

Hi Angus. Am I right in saying it doesn't look like a huge amount? If so, I would dig them into any borders you have but spread them out a bit, spray them with weedkiller and leave for a little while first. If you pick a dry,calm day and do it at night the weedkiller really isn't an issue. I'd recommend Resolva as it works very quickly. Even just spreading them out and leaving to dry for a few days would probably see off the weeds. The other thing you could try is blasting them with a hose before digging them in but that may be messy so it would depend on what's nearby!

If you don't want to, or can't do that it's a case of bagging them up and taking to the nearest tip which is a bit of a chore. 

nutcutlet

I'd go for the spreading them out to kill the weeds if they're not dead already. putting them on the garden sounds a good idea. weeds always come whatever you do. They're part of gardening

BobTheGardener

Also be aware that weedkiller doesn't kill moss.  If you wanted to re-use them, an hour in a concrete mixer while spraying them with a jet-hose would do the trick but would be a messy job, something to which Fairygirl has alluded - you would likely end up being saturated with dirty back-spray!  If you have heavy/clay soil then digging them in to flower beds would benefit the soil.  They also make an excellent drainage layer at the bottom of raised beds if you are considering making any.

CluelessGardener

Gus

Bag them and sell them as use gravel or keep them and use for dranage in pots I always put 2" or 3" in my patio pots 

 

James

archiepem

got the  same problem cant give them away . going to reuse them as mentioned above

Fairygirl

I use them in pots too James- I've got loads of the red ones here (they match the red fence ) and i'm gradually removing them. Have used loads in my concrete as well!

X

Put them on Ebay or Gumtree as a give away for 'buyer' to collect