Weeds- Prevention

Q: We have a large, low deck and weeds are growing up between the deck planks. They are pretty large weeds and I really don’t want to crawl under the deck. How can we get rid of them and prevent them from coming back?

A: One option is to hire a couple of energetic ten-year olds to spread weed preventer fabric under the deck. Give them scissors to cut the fabric to fit around posts and direct them from where you can be comfortable. Another option is to use a soil sterilant chemical. It can be used ONLY if there are NO ornamental plants growing near the deck. Prometon (Green Light Com-Pleet) and imazapyr (Ortho GroundClear) are examples of such products.