UPDATE: Patio maintenance is one of the areas of your yard where you can pull out the big guns.
How to Keep Your Patio Area Tidy This Season
A well-maintained patio provides the ultimate outdoor lounge area. It can serve as an outdoor kitchen and dining space or simply a spot to enjoy nature watching. Keeping this space tidy, i.e., weed-free, is a little different from other areas in your yard. Because patios are typically poured concrete, block or another hard surface, you don’t have to worry as much about accidentally spraying a herbicide on the wrong plant. For a patio, if something is growing between the cracks, you probably don’t want it there! That being said, here are a couple of Ragan & Massey products you definitely want to have on-hand to maintain your patio all season long.
RM43
RM43 is one of our strongest herbicides. Made with 43 percent glyphosate, RM43 is effective on brush, vines and more than 150 weeds including the really tough ones like kudzu, poison ivy and poison oak and many more. Because it is so powerful, it is ideal to use in spots where you don’t want weeds, grass or anything else to grow. RM43 contains both glyphosate and imazapyr, which allows it to bind to the soil to prevent the regrowth of weeds for months and months. It can be used prior to pouring or laying your patio and after to keep the edges and cracks clear of unwanted grass and weeds. Follow the label’s directions for spraying and make sure the spray doesn’t drift to plants you want to keep.
Aquatic Herbicide
If your patio overlooks a pond or water feature, Farm General Aquatic Herbicide or Farmworks Aquatic Herbicide can keep the area free from unwanted growth. You don’t want to use a regular herbicide, as these shouldn’t be used near water or water runoff. Instead, aquatic herbicides, made of a 53.8% glyphosate solution, eliminate weeds down to the root while leaving soil and wildlife unharmed. The active ingredient in these products inhibits an enzyme only found in plants and microorganisms so they’re safe to spray around water and fish. The ingredients move through the plant right from the point of contact down to the root, showing visible effects on annual plants in two to four days and perennial plants in seven or more days. Follow the labels’ instructions for the correct, and safe, way to spray these products. Keep in mind, Farmworks Aquatic Herbicide and Farm General Aquatic Herbicide both require the use of a nonionic surfactant at the rate of two or more quarts to every 100 gallons of spray solution. Increasing the rate of surfactant may enhance performance, especially in cases of high-water volumes, tough woody brush, and adverse environmental conditions.
Compare-N-Save Weed Killer for Lawns
Sometimes patios made with pavers have space between the stones for drainage and visual appeal. Compare-N-Save Weed Killer for Lawns can keep this wanted green space weed-free, without harming the grass. It contains dimethylamine salt of 2,4-D acid which only targets weeds, leaving your grass untouched. Compare-N-Save Weed Killer for Lawns easily kills buckhorn plantain, chicory, dandelion, dogfennel, hickweed, lambs quarter, creeping Jenny, ground ivy and ragweed but won’t harm your Bahia, Bermuda, centipede or ryegrass. It can easily be used for spot treatment with a pressure or trigger sprayer.
Keep your patio looking great this season with these products from Ragan & Massey. Go to our Where to Buy page to order them online or find them in a store near you.