Stopping weeds

[TEAK36]

I have a patch of land (approx 20ft x 10ft) which is completely covered by weeds.I keep chopping the weeds down, but its not long before they return.I have tried weed killers, but they only seem to work short term.Ideally I would like to put some flagstones or maybe some decking over the top, but am worried about the weeds coming through.I know you can get these big sheets of 'cloth' which you lay over the dirt and cover with some 'pebbles'.Do these work,or is there a better way to do things.The patch of land accounts for about 25% of my garden and it just looks unsightly.

[Clanad]

Weed control can be a daunting task, especially in higher rainfall areas, as I suspect yours is.  Since the weeds have already propagated, try a product such as one marketed here in the U.S. named Roundup.  It's environmentally friendly and lawns or gardens can be planted within 2 days of using the material.  Next spring, however. look for a pre-emergence weed control.  For now, if you choose to use a weed barrier material, you'll find that they work quite well.  Anything that effectively blocks sunlight from reaching the weeds will kill them.  The barrier obviously works better if used with a covering of some kind of mulch.  The only problem is that after a season or two, blown in dirt and dust will then provide enough bedding on top of and within the mulch to germinate weeds whose seeds are also blown in.  If you have the energy to thoroughly spade up the plot and plant a new lawn or lay sod and tend it for weeds, you'll have the best chance of overcoming the blight.  Best of luck...

[Philtaz]

When I prepared the ground for a similar venture last year I thoroughly soaked the ground with weed killer.  I also used the cloth you described (very cheap in Homebase) and gave a generous overlap with each strip as it was laid.  My final covering was blue slate chippings and so far I've had nothing come through(fingers crossed!).

[Emily Ball]

I laid that cloth in my garden about 5 years ago and overlaid it with Cotswold buff chippings to create a little mediterranean  style patch . I didn't use a spot of weedkiller on it and there's never been a sign of a weed.As Clanad says, blocking the sunlight prevents any kind of plant  growth indefinitely.