ᐅ Keep sidewalk joints free of weeds

Created on: 18 Jan 2023 02:06
S
SoL
Hello everyone,

This year, a major internet provider is installing fiber optic cables in our town. After the pilot project a few years ago, the rest of the town is now being connected (if residents choose to opt in).

During the pilot project, it was clear that a very skilled and hardworking construction team from Eastern Europe removed the paving stones from the sidewalk, dug the trenches, laid the cables, connected them to the house, then closed everything up, relaid the pavement, and swept sand into the joints.

Now I’m wondering if, while they are at it, they could use something other than sand in the joints to reduce the amount of weed growth in the sidewalk joints in the future.

I have two questions:
1. What product or method would you recommend?
2. The sidewalk officially belongs to the municipality (?), so is there anything I should keep in mind? After all, I am responsible for clearing it in winter and keeping it free of weeds.

Thanks in advance and best regards
H
hanghaus2023
18 Jan 2023 09:40
lastdrop schrieb:

Some people make a big fuss out of it.

I don’t understand why every bit of greenery has to be forcefully fought against... 😕
Off topic.

I am quite sure the original poster does not want to hear that. They want to know how to prevent the GREEN growth.

In the past, this was regularly controlled with pesticides. Today, a small hoe does the job.
Tolentino18 Jan 2023 09:56
There are also these electric weed burners... Has anyone had experience with them?

@TE regarding prevention: I don’t think there is any product that can protect against growth for 10 years. It gets washed away, or new material accumulates on top, allowing plants that can thrive in those conditions to grow. You can’t prevent that.
H
haydee
18 Jan 2023 10:07
I’m not doing anything at all. The vegetation is kept under control. There is some moss and a plant from my garden has seeded itself along the edges.

However, the area is also quite busy with traffic. The no parking zone apparently does not apply to locals.
S
SoL
18 Jan 2023 10:17
haydee schrieb:

I don’t do anything at all. The vegetation is also quite limited. There’s some moss and at the edges a plant from my garden has seeded itself.
However, this area is also quite busy with traffic. The no stopping rule probably doesn’t apply to locals.

The greenery doesn’t bother me either. But we have already received stern warnings from the local authorities because we didn’t remove the weeds often enough...
Since then, I burn them off every few weeks, but of course I would prefer a passive solution...
Tolentino18 Jan 2023 10:43
(A goat) would be low maintenance for you...
With other disadvantages.
I would be interested if we had more space. But with the neighbors, you’d make yourself unpopular with that.
H
haydee
18 Jan 2023 10:48
SoL schrieb:

I’m not bothered by the greenery either. But we already received a stern letter from the municipality because we weren’t removing the weeds often enough...
Since then, I’ve been burning them off every few weeks, but of course, I would prefer a passive solution...
Why? Biodiversity, bees and flowers, vegetation provides natural slip resistance on ice?
In our regulations, only sweeping, spreading grit, and snow removal are required. Hmm, I need to check again.
But as I said, surprisingly little grows there.

I understand that you want a low-maintenance solution. The weed-free sand doesn’t seem to last very long. I’ve only heard about it secondhand. Setting it with mortar or concrete seems to be the most effective solution.