Pool Surrounds and Weeds

[waterbug]

Okay you above ground poolers - how do you keep those pesky weeds from growing up around everything.

I'll do a picture soon, when the weeding is done! but basically we have placed weed barrier around the pool, filled that with river rock and placed pieces of slate around this following the circle of the pool. You'd think that would stop the weeds but it does not completely eliminate them. WE can't use Round UP because of the grass eating schnauzer.....
Aside from spending hours plucking each weed and grass blade, are there any dog friendly compounds we could use to eliminate the weeds?

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Either spray the weeds with vinegar, or pour a little salt on them. Voila! Dead weeds.

Be careful with the salt method if you are near other grass, as it will spread with water/rain and kill it too!

I'd still watch the pooch, but these are both non-toxic, and will wash away with water once they do their job!

 

[waterbug]

Wonderful, thank you!

If you use the vinegar, given the acid base of it, will it harm the pool liner at all if it seeps underneath. Some weeds are very close to the pool structure.

 

[sevver]

You can use vinegar as was stated, pour directly on the crown of the weed, or Boiling Water directly on the crown of the weed. What I did around my pool was spread mulch, and plant plants. Plus I pull weeds occasionally. Just regular yard maintenance.

 

[holemania]

i plan on eventually laying a border and 3-4' of landscape fabric, then filling with rocks/gravel & maybe some shrubbery.

 

[NWMNMom]

weeds

We put down such a thick layer of hardpack Class 5 with gravel over the top of that and a concrete border around it. So far only the toughest of weeds want to come up through it - dandelions and some quackgrass - there aren't a lot but we just pull those.

 

[KurtV]

I'd use Roundup. The little bit your dog might consume won't have harmful effects according to this study: http://www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/righ ... te2005.pdf

 

[divnkd101]

Waterbug,
I also have a grass eating dog. I do not have an AG pool but I do have pool equipment susceptible to the same problem. I dug out the roots of grass/ weeds in question, sprayed the entire area with Round Up, layed down a double layer of landscaping fabric and then put in 4" of Limestone Rock. I will get a pic posted sometime this weekend. I have not seen weed one since doing this in January of this year.

 

[divnkd101]

Waterbug,

I have been meaning to get these uploaded. Sorry it took so long.

 

[DONNIE]

Read your round-up bottle. Once dry it is not harmful to pets.

 

[waterbug]

Thanks for all the tips. Will try some out this weekend, and will read the back of the roundup bottle - duh???? Can't read anything that small without my glasses these days!

Also a friend from Canada sent Canadian Living's version of Weedzapper, which is a combo of 2 tbsp. dish detergent, 4 cups vinegar and 1/4 cup salt.
We'll try that one too.

 

[matt4x4]

I used the black plastic edging, and the winter cover that came with my pool as the groundsheet onto which I piled round 3/4" stone, haven't had any grass issues since (2+ years in some areas).

 

[Howlo]

Oh, come on now. Pulling a few weeds is good exercise!!! :-D

 

[waste]

Waterbug, when I did AG pools (seems like a lifetime ago :? ) we always had ~ 1' of gravel (color/ type you're option) around the bottom of the pool (1' out from the side and 4" at the pool tapering to 1- 2" at the lawn side). I was informed that this was recomended. You can put weed block under it or just plastic trashbags to keep the weeds from growing Hope you're enjoying the pool! and the warm Richmond summer!

 

[matt4x4]

weed control

My pool came with a 35 foot diameter black tarp winter cover, since I don't use it for numerous reasons such as no real leaves to speak of, very high winds that just lift it, more work that it's worth etc etc...it became the free "landscape fabric" under the pea gravel around my pool.

I put the 5" black edging in to stop the grass from emcroaching and the gravel from falling onto the grass, tucked the black tarp around the edging before bacfilling and packing it, then laid the tarp back towards the pool, trimmed and folded it as required, used 6" rigid wire bent into an L to hold the tarp/fabric on place and spread pea gravel all over it.
The pictures were taken last week, the area to the left and right of the steps is now 4 years old and I have not pulled ONE weed.
The area where the solar panels are is 3 years old - also not one weed, the area at the rear under the reel is 2 years old and no weeds either.
Even though the pea gravel is round, it still hurts little feet when the kids go to get into the pool toy boxes, so my wife placed decorative pavers in key locations.
This is about as "no maintenance" as it gets unless you pour concrete, and there's no edging since even the riding mower easily negotiates every bend.

 

[waterbug]

Waste: That warm Richmond weather has been great! We have a friend visiting from my native Canada, weed problem solved -= she has been pulling them all while we are at work! Now we have a clean slate so to speak and I can keep it clean with the weed zapper or round up stuff....and yes, pulling the occasional weed for that exercise!

 

[Marillion Fan]

Here is my grass & weed removal system

 

[matt4x4]

The only problem I see with that is an accidental tusk through the pool wall!!! OOPS

 

[Marillion Fan]

The only problem I see with that is an accidental tusk through the pool wall!!! OOPS

They are pretty blunt because he has broken them a couple of times although they still hurt when he jabs them into your leg :-D

 

[freediverca]

Use a pre-emergent...

Even with a weed barrier and rock eventually enough stuff will blow in on top to give the weeds a chance to survive. Most people won't tell you that a weed barrier won't really stop weeds. What they do is stop the weeds seeds already in the ground from getting all the things they need to germinate and help keep new weed seeds that get blown/dropped in from getting a good hold in the ground to make weeding easier.

That is a good start but using a good pre-emergent at least twice per year will drastically reduce the number of weeds. Since you are concerned about animals what I do is one of two things:

1. If it is a dry year I will water the ground where the pre-emergent is going to go with a solution of dish soap and water. About 1 cup of dish soap in a 20 gallon hose end sprayer topped with water. The soap helps wash off dust etc. that causes the water to sit on the surface of the ground. Next I spread the pre-emergent at the recommened rate then I do another watering with the 20 gallon hose end sprayer this time with a half a cup of dish soap. This time the dish soap is used to break down the coating on the pre-emergent so it will get into the ground away from any animals.

2. If it looks like a wet year I will wait until after the first good rain when the ground is evenly wet then I will apply the pre-emergent just before the next storm and let mother nature do all the work.

After that a good layer of mulch and a couple minutes a week you should be well on top of any new weed growth.

Remember do not apply it anywhere you plan to plant seeds as the pre-emergent inhibits the ability of seeds to germinate. It will not however hurt existing plants or cause any problems with the planting of live plants.

Hope this helps,

Jeff