Topic: Couch Grass

[Emagggie]

I have lots of couch grass on my new plot. I'm digging by hand because of this and the dreaded mares tail. The mares tail I can burn as it comes out quite cleanly, but I'm not sure of the best way to treat the dug up couch grass. At the mo it is in a heap next to the compost area. If I keep it covered will it eventually die off or should I compost it now?

[Fork]

Burn it along with your mares tail.or bag it and bin it....dont compost it>

[dtw]

It's probably best to burn it.

[sarah]

if you stash the grass itself in an old compost bag and leave it for a year or two it will  rot down ok but i would dispose of the roots as others have suggested

[gp.girl]

Bag tightly and leave for a year almost everything dies and even the bineweed is easily removed when you get some lovely compost in the spring. Only problem is having enough bags!

[Pesky Wabbit]

Wouln't bindweed fight its way out of a plastic bag?

[gp.girl]

It tries but if the bag is well sealed it stays dry which seams to stop growth. Amazingly most of the weeds are dead and nicely if not perfectly composted. I was a bit shocked too when I opened the bags I'd been meaning to take to the tip for rather longer then I'd planned but I won't take any more now!

[antipodes]

Yes I have left them in a black bag (If you can leave it in the midday sun for as long as possible!) for several months (until you forget about them basically) and then it has all rotted down and I stick it on the compost. It has never grown again if I do that.

[Emagggie]

Thanks all. Bagging and stashing is what I'll do, as there is quite a lot of earth on some clods and I think it may be difficult to burn.

[chriscross1966]

Looks like I'll have three dumpy bags once I finish stripping lawn etc at my new place,.... they'll get covered in black fabric and left for two years then I'll seive em...

[caroline7758]

The other problem with leaving stuff in plastic bags is that mice, rats etc chew holes in them- I've got this problem with leaf mould in bags. Maybe a builder's bag would work?

[cornykev]

I bag it and use it to weigh down plastic coverings.   ;D ;D ;D

[lincsyokel2]

Mares Tails doesnt pull out, its just lulling you into a false sense of security. The roots of Mare Tails poke down out through the roof of hell..........the only way to get rid of it is bruising it and then a good dose of Gylphosphate.

[gaz2000]

i dont use a rotavator because of mares tail..

i prefer to dig myself and pull out as much of the roots as possible,and its working

bind weed can be a pain,seems to be around more this year  :(

but with couch i just throw the stuff to one side and cover for a while,then remove the now stubby roots that are trying to find light,the reclaimed soil can now go on the plot

[Psi (Pronounced 'Si'!)]

i had so much couch that i just disposed of it in a heap in an abandoned corner - i.e as far from from my plot as possible!  Definitely burn/dispose of the horrible stuff.

[1066]

I've both bagged some and covered some, it does break down. You just have to pull out the old roots afterwards.
The other thing I did to save on digging was to cover an area with manure, then weed suppressant - and it was cleared of couch and pretty much everything else in 6 months  ;D

[Digeroo]

I put all couch and bindweed in buckets, and gradually pour out the resulting mixture by the end of the winter there is only slime left in the buckets. 

Got a lot of bindweed got a lot of buckets.

[artichoke]

I'm digging through a lot of meadow turf at the moment, skimming the surface 2" or 3" off into plastic bags and pulling the roots out of what's left and adding them to the bag. I stack them for a couple of years.

Others on the site build weed mountains and ramparts that grow energetically - and they've lost all that topsoil and compostable turf; or they barrow it up to the hedges and fling it away. When they give up, they leave these unsightly lumps and ramparts to be cleared up by someone else.

No-one else stacks and then uses the result - but yesterday I noticed a new arrival doing exactly that, which is rather encouraging.

For clearing existing beds (no turf) I am attracted by the slime bucket method!

[triffid]

The roots of Mare Tails poke down out through the roof of hell..........

Thank you for that -- it really made me laugh.
Love the picture it brings to mind. Sympathy for the Devil, indeed.  ;D

[Emagggie]

Mares Tails doesnt pull out, its just lulling you into a false sense of security. The roots of Mare Tails poke down out through the roof of hell..........the only way to get rid of it is bruising it and then a good dose of Gylphosphate.

Does Glyphosate really do the job? I thought nothing on this earth (or in hell ;D) would get rid of it. I've lived with it for 5 years now, just digging it out when it appears.