Recent results from a survey commissioned by the Common Sense Gardening Group, and conducted by Yolo Communications, has revealed that 43% of gardeners say they use garden care chemicals to control weeds.
In fact, 17% of gardeners agree that garden care chemicals are the only successful solution to manage weeds.

Organic alternatives don’t have the same impact, as 41% say they needed a faster impact on problem areas. Unfortunately, organic options don’t provide the instant gratification that many gardeners are after. 

Other findings from the survey show that 20% people don’t have time to weed their lawn by hand, and 31% of people say they find weeding their driveways by hand too difficult. 

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) state: “Paths or patios are sometimes deliberately planted with thymes or other low-growing plants to add interest. However, many unwelcome weeds find their way into drives and the cracks between paving. There are several options to tackling them. 

”Products such as Round Up Fast Action Weed Killer offer a fast solution, with visible results in around one to two days. A single application will kill most normal garden weeds found in Britain.”

There are many more products available including Weedol, Resolva, SBM Job Done and Doff 24/7, that treat specific problems. These are ideal for the modern and the traditional gardener.
Gary Philpotts, the Chair of Common Sense Gardening Group, says: “Our findings reinforce an industry-held ideal: that gardeners need to have a wide spread of options to help them tackle their daily weed regrowth issues.”

For 14% of gardeners, the cost garden care products is not important if it solves the problem.
The Common Sense Gardening Group is an alliance of five companies involved in garden care products – whether that’s manufacture or just sale. The Group works with the Royal Horticultural Society to endorse its ethos and champion the growing concerns associated with consumer gardening. 

As a group, it is part of the Crop Protection Association: an integral player in the UK plant science industry. 

The Common Sense Gardening Group works together to ensure the safety of garden care products and assist consumers with any of their gardening issues. It provides people with tips on the safe usage, storage and disposal of the garden products they use on a day-to-day basis. 

Industry experts weren’t surprised by the results of this survey. It complements the anecdotal research carried out by the European Crop Protection Association, which revealed: 

• Gardeners need suitable and strong solutions to weed, pest and disease problems; ones that aren’t time-consuming to implement. 
• Home and garden products can provide cost-effective control for challenging weed species, including invasive ones. They tend to be relatively affordable compared to some of the alternatives. 
• Hand weeding, although practical in some situations, is too time-consuming and is not always effective as roots and parts of weed species are left to regrow. 

https://garden-care.org.uk