Topic: Couch grass and the heavy brigade

[Tora]

Thanks for the pic, amphibian. That looks exactly the same as the ones I have! :'(  :(

My plot is absolutely covered by them. Do they establish from a small section like a bind weed? I was thinking of rotovating the plot and cover it with a black sheet while I tackle a small bed. Is it a bad idea?

[amphibian]

There's always an upside:

http://www.purplesage.org.uk/profiles/couchgrass.htm

 ;)

They can also be added to a butt of water and when rotted away used as a great liquid fertilizer.

[supersprout]

Great link and site, thank you onions! :D

[mike_w]

I was thinking of rotovating the plot and cover it with a black sheet while I tackle a small bed

Don't rotovate couch! Even a tiny piece of root will sprout so unless you intend to keep that black plastic on until the end of the decade you will just make the problem worse. Sorry. About the only guaranteed solution (well it worked for me)  is digging the lot out in declining quantities year after year (although a search of this excellent forum will bring up any number of alternative suggestions which I understand others have found effective. Turnips, for example)

Good Luck anyway.

Mike

[Robert_Brenchley]

That was my solution, though I now regard it as a mistake, certainly for a big plot. I had two years of the Era of Mad Digging, when I did little else but dig out ever-regenerating turf, and grew next to nothing. Then came several years of the Era of Eternal Struggle, when the quantity was finally diminishing visibly, but it was always trying to take over again. Couch is now a minor nuisance, but ground elder is still pretty bad in places.

[Emagggie]

Wow, great site, Onionhead. On the favourites list. :)

[Tora]

Thanks for your advice! I'll dig manually then. :( I'm finding it really difficult to keep my spirit high. I can go to the allotment only at the weekend so I've no idea how long it will take me to dig the whole plot!

Yesterday I was digging there and noticed even a tiny segment was sprouting vigorously. Scary! The sprouting bits actually did look like little horns although I couldn't find the number 666... :P

[Jockthebear.]

The grass roots in the pic aren't couch; what they ARE I don't know. Know what breed the chickens are though!

[Common_Clay]

Looks like long strands of spagetti - well mine does anyway ;D

COUCH ROOTS!!!

That up there is a two pence piece... don't you just love it?! lol.

Think I've got the wrong board for this though... should be in swap shop...  ;)  ;D

[amphibian]

I must take a picture of the 5' mound I have of couch rhizomes.

[artichoke]

I had masses of couch and bindweed (and creeping buttercup and nettles and dandelions) when I took over my allotment, and felt I was getting my own back as I steadily dug it out and bagged it up. After two years it was dead as a doornail and made good compost (reputedly nutricious). I also remember the days when the potatoes were speared through with couch, in another neglected garden I was trying to bring back to life.

[Merry Tiller]

Don't rotovate couch! Even a tiny piece of root will sprout so unless you intend to keep that black plastic on until the end of the decade you will just make the problem worse.

Sorry, that's not right, I very successfully rotavated mine into submission, you just need to use the correct technique

[Common_Clay]

Which is...?! Would be pleased to hear your technique.

[Merry Tiller]

Do a search, it's been discussed on here before

[Common_Clay]

Helpful.

[amphibian]

Basically you control it with rotovation by rotavating, then waiting for regrowth, when the couch reaches the four leaf stage you repeat rotavation, and you continue this process until regrowth no longer occurs.

The way this works is that rotavations shreds the rhizomes into tiny segments, each of which will regrow, however if it is allowed to regrow only to the four leaf stage all the energy for regrowth has come from the rhizome and photosynthesis has not yet occurred, each subsequent regrowth further exhausts the rhizomes until eventually they die. The soil can not be used for anything else while this process is completed and couch may regrow from seeds in the soil.

[Common_Clay]

Thanks very much amphibian, that really was helpful!

All the best.  ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

Seedling couch takes a while to start producing rhizomes, so if you keep reasonably on top of things it can't become a problem. ou keep reasonably on top of things it can't become a problem. It's established couch which is the nightmare.

[Merry Tiller]

Helpful

Sorry, your search button not working then? 

Do you not think that it might be HELPFUL to others if you were to do a search for yourself instead of asking them to repeat things that have been posted on here before? And then being rude when they make a suggestion, classy

[Common_Clay]

I could say the same to you Merry Tiller, saying that other people are wrong and then hinting at the solution... do you not think it would have been HELPFUL for you to have pointed us newbies to allotmenting in the right direction with a link?