Salting The Earth

[rbattelle]

I have an area beneath my deck that the former owners covered with black plastic and mulch. I want to remove the mulch and the plastic and put crushed rock down instead.



The area is shaded 100% of the time, so it only grows nasty weeds and moss. I want to prevent these from growing into my rocks.



Since I want this area to be permanently free of vegetation, my first thought was to dump a few bags of salt over the entire area. I figure this will kill all the vegetation and prevent it ever growing back.



Anyone see any problems with this idea? I have considered the possibility of runoff killing parts of my lawn, but I'm not sure how likely that is.



Ryan

 

[ACoyle]

Leaching into the groundwater and spreading to unwanted areas, come to mind.



AC

 

[donnier]

You could try spraying the area with grass and weed killer then put black plastic down and the rock on top of that.

Just an idea.

 

[rbattelle]

Leaching into the groundwater

Is this really a problem? By the time it reaches the water table it will be so diluted as to be nearly unmeasurable.



If groundwater salinity were a real issue I figured the city wouldn't drop hundreds of thousands of tons of salt on the roadways every winter.



Ryan

 

[Jumbo Jet]

Salt is a natural occurring mineral and comes from the ground. Much better than Roundup.

 

[JDiepstra]

How much room is there between the ground and the bottom of the deck? I would suggest going with a rock larger than pea gravel size. Weeds, as you have found, can root into decomposing mulch, and have a better chance of growing in crushed rock than in larger rock. The larger rock should also hold less water, which should help hold off the moss. I am sure you know this but try to grade it so the water drains off rather than collects under the rock. I would use Round Up, then cover it, then use the rocks. That would rock!

 

[rbattelle]

How much room is there between the ground and the bottom of the deck? I would suggest going with a rock larger than pea gravel size. Weeds, as you have found, can root into decomposing mulch, and have a better chance of growing in crushed rock than in larger rock. The larger rock should also hold less water, which should help hold off the moss. I am sure you know this but try to grade it so the water drains off rather than collects under the rock. I would use Round Up, then cover it, then use the rocks. That would rock!

I plan to use #2 limestone rocks, which are roughly fist-sized. I do plan to do some grading, and the soil is almost entirely clay, so that should help water run away from the house. I hope.



Ryan

 

[ACoyle]

I am not a landscaper or anything like that, what I said about the salt was just my opinion.



Salt on the roads is applied to asphault and hopefully the runoff goes in the storm drain. However, now that I think of it, the roads get salted and the weeds grow out from the curb in the spring, don't they? :-laf