Instead of the weed wacker, can you use the lawn mower instead? Set the mower high and make one pass. Personally, I think the green strip in a driveway looks nice. Its more eco-friendly to have that green strip down the middle driveway than it is to get rid of it.

I've heard of people planting short flowers in the middle driveway strip for color, that way it looks like its there on purpose. You could also keep overseeding the area with grass, to keep it more grassy and less weedy.

However, if you must get rid of the green, you can use glyphosphate or 2,4 D. 2,4 D (ortho brush-b-gone) is persistent and more toxic than glyphosphate (Round-up.) However you must also realize that weed and grass control will not be a once and done thing. So its not cheap. In order to truly eliminate the green strip you would you need to apply this stuff two or three times per year, every year as weeds will continual fill in over time.

IMHO, a mowed green strip is better than continual pesticide applications.

thanks for the response. i dont mind applying weed killer a few times each year. i just dont like the grass down the middle. it looks bad to my eyes. i guess everyone has their opinions of what asthetics are appealing. i have tried mowing it but the shell dings up the mower blades pretty bad, it doesnt bend the blades but the dings it makes sure cut the lifespan down a bunch. thats why i weed wack it. and mower blades probably cost more than weed killer.
ill take a look at the ortho brush killer.
thanks.

Weeds and grass are growing there,and will continue to grow there, because over time soil has infiltrated into the shellrock giving those plants something to root in. Any spray you use is a short term fix and the dead material that gets left contributes to the growing medium in that area. While the proper fix is a lot of work the results will last several years before it needs to be done again and that is to rake up the shellrock, sift out all the soil that is there, and then put the clean shellrock back and without the soil for seeds to root in nothing will grow.

hee, hee, good luck with plan.

If you do choose to go the route of using herbicides, it's important to remember that while glyphosate products are broad spectrum and will control both grass and broadleaf weeds, 2,4-d will not control grasses. It is selective for broadleaf plants and will leave most grasses unharmed.

It is also important to remember that herbicides contribute greatly to the poisoning of our environment.

While I agree with kimmsr that fixing the underlying problem with the driveway is the best long term solution, it is simplistic to blanketly state that "herbicides contribute greatly to the poisoning of our environment". "Herbicide" refers to any substance that harms or kills plants. This group includes substances that can be very harmful to non-target organisms in the environment, as well as others that present negligible risks. The group includes substances that range from very persistent in the environment to those that break down into natural substances over time. Whenever a choice is made to use herbicides for a particular purpose, what matters is being responsible by choosing proper materials, using them judiciously, and only with an understanding of the potential effects. Organizations such as the Nature Conservancy use herbicides in some of the most sensitive habitats in the world, and they can hardly be characterized as careless "poisoners" of the environment.

Here is a link that might be useful: some links

Sifting out the soil is a task that is way to tedious and won't even be effective. Every time the car drives on the driveway, the tires bring more dirt into the shells, not to mention the soil that will blow in from the wind or wash on from storm runoff... The whole sifting soil thing in my opinion was a joke, wasn't it?

Spreading a fresh clean layer of rock is the usual solution.

Nope, not a joke, simply the only, truely effective way to, for a time, eliminate the weeds growing there. They will return just as they got there in the first place. Ma Nature simply does not like the surface of her earth bare, uncovered with growing things and she will make sure conditions exist for that plant growth by sending dust through the air with the wind as well as organic matter in any way possible and once there is almost enough soil for these sees to root in they will. Spraying an herbicide and killing what is growing there will contribute to the organic matter that accumulates so more "weeds" will be able to grow.

go find herbicide named Sahara made by BASF at a farm/agriculture chemical dealer===lasts a year or more==read the label before you buy

Buy a gallon of RoundUp - follow the directions carefully ... NO MORE WEEDS !!

Not quite a true statement, tommyw, or farmers would not need to spray there fields several times each year or even every year of that were true. That the researchers at Iowa State, and many other places are finding Roundup resistant weeds indicates this is not as effective as once thought.

Here is a link that might be useful: Roundup resistant weeds article

you have a couple of options.

if you want to spray them, buy the generic glyphosphate, i can buy 2.5 gallons of concetrate for less than 90.00 shipped, where as a gallon of RU concentrate that makes HALF as much is 150 minimum. you WILL have to spray at least once a month.

Ortho makes a product called Ground Clear that works great, but each gallon only covers 300 sq ft. It will keep anything from growing for at least a year, IF applied correctly.

the BEST solution is the one that cell site owners use. scrape the drive back to bare dirt, install landscape fabric-the thicker the better, and then cover with gravel. not only will weeds not grow, but you also will not have to haul in gravel every few years to replace that mashed into the ground!

the last option is more expensive than the first 2 up front, but over time pays for itself and is the cheapest way to go.

This is real easy,cheap, and simple. Spread the granular salt crystals, normally used for water softners,on the top w/ your hand or fertilizer spreader. You can also dissolve the crystals in water and pour it over the shells. 1 - 60lb bag at HomeDepot $5 to $6 and it goes a long way and last a long time. You know plants hate salt right? So this solution satisfies all of the prior mentioned criteria. I started using the discharge water from my whole house water softner cause I thought the water could be put to better use than just putting it back into the ground.

That's really disgusting, incredibly irresponsible, and completely selfish. Your totaly disregard for your immediate and general environment is amazing. Please try to educate yourself more fully and refrain from giving the worst possible advice to a 4-year-old question.

And your stupid for commenting on this response! People have their own thoughts on how to do things, who are you to call someone irresponsible and uneducated? Go suck an egg tree hugger!

Pretend it's iced over and salt as if to defrost... You are doing no more than local giveremt do in our roads every year.

I use old turkey fry oil or any vegetable oil; kills everything for years, including grass.

And before any green'y starts whining; vegetable oil is 100% organic material made from; can anyone guess? vegetables... :)

Pouring gasoline, or any other petroleum product, on soil is and has been illegal for years.

Pouring vegetable oils on soil is only a bit better since the amount necessary to kill plants is far much more than is good fro the environment.

Spraying something on vegetation to kill it may work but that now dead vegetation is there in the soil to help support future growth.

kimmq is kimmsr

Try this: https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/home-and-family/hands-down-the-best-way-to-kill-weeds-and-its-not-roundup/

basically white vinegar, salt, and detergent. So safe for animals but is permanent, due to salt. So do not put where might want to grow ever again. Think Romans and Carthage.