Topic: Roundup

[RenishawPhil]

One part of our new plot is currently fully of docks and also some bracken.

Will roundup deal with these both?

I must take some photos , wish i had taken some in the winter when it was all over grown

[chriscross1966]

Possibly though it's probably a better idea to dig out as much as you can see and then when they resprout (which they will <sigh>) then paint them with a bit of roundup mixed up with wallpaper paste to keep it in place....

[RenishawPhil]

Possibly though it's probably a better idea to dig out as much as you can see and then when they resprout (which they will <sigh>) then paint them with a bit of roundup mixed up with wallpaper paste to keep it in place....

I was thinking of doing it the other way round

[Unwashed]

Docks aren't that troublesome, dig the ground over and chop the tap root through with a spade.  It might regrow a bit but it won't like being hacked back a couple of times.  Certainly not something I'd use roundup on.

Bracken is more troublesome.  I'm not altogether sure that roundup will do it much damage because it's got reasonably waxy leaves and a very good root system.  There's a chemical that professionals use but it's not available for amature use and it takes several applications.  Again I'd recommend digging the bed through well and pulling out what you can and then keep spot weeding what emerges.  I'd guess it'll take a few years to kill it off altogether.  Pigs are also quite a good way of cleaning a bed of bracken, but not always that practical.

If you're in no great hurry you can do a lot of damage by keeping the bed closely mowed for a year.

[chriscross1966]

Bracken is also a way of telling your soil is in desperate shape somehow... If it isn't shaded then it's likely to be thin and rather acid (IIRC) Bracken can't compete with more "modern" flowering plants unless there's something wrong with the site... it's like liverworts and ferns in that regard...

[Russell]

I would support Unwashed's suggestion about mowing, if there is not much grass on the rough patch, you could always chuck down some cheap seed. If you fill in the worst holes from the biggest hummocks before sowing, you might even get a mower over it which is quicker than using a strimmer. The turf will out-compete the weeds if mown and improve the soil when dug over in the autumn.
Alternatively if you decide to go down the spot weeding route I have had good experiences using widely spaced sweet corn as a cleaning crop.

[RenishawPhil]

Bracken is also a way of telling your soil is in desperate shape somehow... If it isn't shaded then it's likely to be thin and rather acid (IIRC) Bracken can't compete with more "modern" flowering plants unless there's something wrong with the site... it's like liverworts and ferns in that regard...

Yes indeed

Its on part of our second allotment which used to be a rubbish heap

When i take some pics i think some people will be shocked by the size of it!!  We must be mad.....

[gp.girl]

Its on part of our second allotment which used to be a rubbish heap

When i take some pics i think some people will be shocked by the size of it!!  We must be mad.....

Ambitious, determined, hard working, busy..........it sound so much better ;D