?more sprouts than a christmas diner - Can you put weedkiller on cement flags

[Rolyan]

I'm still waiting for it to stop raining, to finish the pointing. In the meantime, the birds are chucking the seed out of the feeder and on to the patio.

There are a lot of seeds in the gaps. The flags are Marshalls Chancery (brilliant flags by the way, highly recommended). These seeds have started to sprout.

1) Should I try and rake these seeds out somehow, or will it be alright to point on top of them. Will that stop them. I dont want them to come up through the pointing (if I ever get it finished!!!).

2) Could I put weedkiller into the gaps before I point, rather than rake it all out. Does anyone know if the weedkiller would stain the flags. Has anyone done it successfully.

Comments welcome.

[Tony McC]

Better to get rid of the seeds if at all possible. You might be able to vacuum the unsprouted ones, and then use a screwdriver or similar to dislodge the rest. I wouldn't worry too much about the odd one or two, as long as you're using a decent mortar or quality jointing product - the seed will rot away over time, leaving a small void in its place, but a decent joint should be able to cope with that.

Weedkiller might prevent any further germination but it does nowt about removing the organic matter, which is the prime concern.

[Rolyan]

Once I sat down and thought about this it was obvious. I think I was looking for an easy way out, rather than do it properly. I raked them out as you suggested, then pointed on top the next day. Once again thanks for taking the time to assist - much appreciated.