Easiest way to kill these weeds for good

[icu222much]

I have this unusable space (~100 sqft) on the side of my home that has a bunch of weeds coming out. The previous owner has placed black plastic on the ground and covered it with rocks. I don't think the job was done very well as I see a lot of dead weeds there. There are now weeds popping up and I am wondering what is the most efficient way of killing the weeds?

I was thinking of either:

1. Spraying the area down with bleach
2. Covering the area with carpet to block out the sun

Does anyone have a simpler and more efficient solution?

 

[cpp gardener]

The carpet will work pretty well. You could use a pre-emergent weed killer to keep any seeds from sprouting. I'm not sure what products are available to you there, but even Home Depot and Lowe's carry some kind. Check with a local independent nursery and see what they have and recommend.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

cpp gardener's answer is good. You do realise that you will only kill those weeds for good, others will arrive, it is in the nature of weeds. I am intrigued to know why the space is unusable? If weeds will grow there I would expect to be able to grow something better with a bit of work.

 

[Jewell]

Weeds will always arrive eventually on air or by critters or even by our own walking through. a lot depends on your philosophy of garden. Herbicides are toxic to not just plants. I have found over the years that using cardboard and covering it with bark is the best method to keep unwanted plants at bay. I’ve created paths this way that makes accessing beds easy. The cardboard and mulch break down so I replenished both usually in the winter. No weeds in the paths and if i wish to change beds or paths it is easy because I am working with enriched soil.

I’ve tried plastic, gets brittle with age and weeds will grow on top; gravel, gets weeds and soil turns hard so removing weeds difficult; used herbicid, it poisoned and killed not just the weeds...no matter what chemical companies advertise (sorry strong personal opinions based on life experiences). Multiple layers of cardboard made pretty with bark or weed free organic matter is my go to. Here are some newly planted and paths in my small side and front yard. The sitting area and narrow side yard were a mass of weeds and dandelions before I started layering cardboard and finally topping it off with bark this spring. There were only three dandelions that came through the layers and were easily removed because of the rich loam underneath, created by this method. A few bulbs along the edges I planted. One pesky wild hyacinth needs to be removed. Can’t wait to see how the side yard develops with the variety of woodland plants I stuck in this super narrow space.

 

[Tetters]

We all have to pull weeds out, and dig the ground over to make a useable garden space. This is what makes us gardeners. Some people who don`t want to do any garden work just cover the lot up with concrete. We reap what we sow

 

[icu222much]

This area is unusable because there is a shed placed directly behind me in the first photograph. The shed takes up the width of this area, so I have to shimmy myself through a narrow gap to get access into this area. I don't need to use this additional area for any reason, and I just want to minimize the amount of weeds in this area.

If I use the carpet strategy, will the carpet create other issues in the future? I live in Vancouver, Canada and we receive quite a lot of rainfall.

 

[Jewell]

Yes, carpet gets icky. I would just layer cardboard to smother the weeds and keep just enough bark to keep it from looking tacky. I live just south of you and bark is readily available and cardboard is plentiful.

 

[Tetters]

Would it be impossible to move the shed up a bit so the space is on the right side

 

[Oliver Buckle]

My experience with carpet is that if it is made of natural material it decomposes and you can simply dig it in eventually. Any artificial threads in it however remain and can be a pain, the cardboard option sounds better. As a plan to get some use with minimum visits how about this...
Lay cardboard with a second layer overlapping, but leave a small access to the surface every couple of feet, put a seed potato there and then cover with bark. The potato will grow through the bark and smother any weeds that manage to do the same, if you have plenty of rain it will probably do fairly well, but under those conditions it will grow across the surface, rather than down, and when you lift the cardboard your crop will be visible half embedded in the ground, you simply loosen with a hand fork and pick them up, you won't need access between planting and cropping.
On the other hand, how about putting a door in the back of the shed?

 

[Tetters]

Wow - a couple of excellent ideas there Mr Buckle

 

[Marck]

If there is no need or desire to use the side yard shown in the OP, plant it with a thicket of low-maintenance native shrubs, so that it can be used as habitat for local wildlife. Depending on the amount of light the area receives, suitable shrubs might include Blackberries (Rubus), Currants & Gosseberries (Ribes), Sumacs (Rhus), Elderberry (Sambucus), and Wild Rose (Rosa).

In truth, the rocks and plastic seem to have done a more-than-adequate job of keeping weeds down, with only the sparsest remnant of grass remaining. The real task at hand here is to make this neglected side yard less of complete waste of space.