The mission : Get Rid of 50 sq metres of foot high couch, buttercups and bindweed on a new plot.
I've done my searching and think I have a foolproof ( or prove a fool) plan. If you spot any obvious errors please shout !!
1. Scythe/Strim/Mow all the top bit off and compost it.
2. Foliar Feed to get lots of leaf growth and leave until about 6" high.
3. Apply Roundup and leave for 3-4 weeks.
4. Scrape off thatch and set aside for long term compost ( or Strawbery raviola according to one post I found ! ).
5. Plant courgettes, pumkins and squashes this year to ground cover, and start properly with some autumn planting for next year !!
What do you think ?
Keithy
sounds quite ambitious and very optimistic :)
..... see discussion in pest and diseases about bindweed.... is the root of all evil.
I'd personally leave out #2. Why treat them to a last meal? I strimmed and apply weedkiller straightafter. Waited a couple of weeks and then applied black plastic sheeting for a few months. Seemed to work very well.
i wish some one would invent a magic wand wave it and the bindweed and couch disappear iv got it every where home plot it drives me mad I'm afraid I'm going to have to find the strongest weed killer ever made and drown my garden with it (keeping kids pets etc off it ) then start all over again with my garden (i have night mares that if the kids play on the grass in my garden and manage to sit still for 5 min the bindweed will wrap its self around and make them dissapear) ;D ;D (some days thats not to bad a thought lol )
if i were you
number 1, leave plantmaterail at around 6 inch
leave out 2.
repeat 3 several times ;D
leave out 5 on most of plot
-Choose a area-
dig down a good 18inch and remove the evil weed and plant this area with your plants for this year
Good luck ;)
Incidentally my plot was covered in bindweed and this winter i dug over the entire plot to subsoil level (around 18 to 24 inch)threw it forward 2 foot or so and removed all traces by hand. Extreme hard work but bindweed is a extreme weed!!!!
I'd put black plastic or fabric down over 3/4 of it, plant spuds and squashes through that, and carefully dig the rest. Dig in the edges of the plastic by about six inches, and by next spring it should have sorted out the couch. You'll still have to dig out the bindweed.
Quote from: keithy on May 12, 2006, 14:31:52
The mission : Get Rid of 50 sq metres of foot high couch, buttercups and bindweed on a new plot.
I've done my searching and think I have a foolproof ( or prove a fool) plan. If you spot any obvious errors please shout !!
1. Scythe/Strim/Mow all the top bit off and compost it.
2. Foliar Feed to get lots of leaf growth and leave until about 6" high.
3. Apply Roundup and leave for 3-4 weeks.
4. Scrape off thatch and set aside for long term compost ( or Strawbery raviola according to one post I found ! ).
5. Plant courgettes, pumkins and squashes this year to ground cover, and start properly with some autumn planting for next year !!
What do you think ?
Keithy
My strawberries were thriving in my ravioli pods, alas the deer ate the strawberry plants, and then pulled the top cover off the ravioli, the light got in and the couch grew. I have replaced the cover, and the strawberry crowns are recovering.
2. omit the feed, it does not need it.
4. Buy a roofers propane torch (Bullfinch do a good model) and burn the ground clear. This will also trigger germination of hidden weed seeds.
5. Leave for a few weeks.
Repeat from 3 a couple of times
6. Consider planting through some sort of weed suppression material or carpet on part of the plot, start digging the rest and be prepared to start again from 3. on the dug part.
Thanks for all your input ! I omitted to say on the first post that this is the 2/3rds of the plot that is untouched. The other third appears to have beed cleared quite recently, is only about 5% green and 95% earth, and is the bit I'm clearing by hand over the next few weeks, planting as I go, althouh I suspect that I will miss plenty of roots!!
If I get the 2/3rds clear this year, I can then do the same on the 'good' third next year !
I like the idea of a roof burner - can I dress like Rambo too ? !!
keithy
Hi Keithy
I would do as Travman has. Strim down then dig and dig and dig.
I don't like using weed killer as i feel the chemicals knock around in the soil for alot longer than the packets say and then you end up eating them in small doses through your veg...but thats just my opinion.
By means of an update ...
Cut down the entire plot with hand shears over the week end, so I now know where the problem started - most of the plots have a very defined "moat" between the paths and the beds - this plot does not, so the couch and bindweed have made a 5 yard dash straight through the recently tilled earth.
I've re-Dug the "moat" , and someone suggested I plant turnips in it to repel the couch - Anyone have a comment on that ?
I've decided to spray, so Roundup'd the realy bad area on Monday morning, since when it has rained all week, so might have to do that again soon. In the meantime, I'm digging by hand and getting out as much as I can.
I have also discovered the ground is full of ants nests - I haven't been attacked yet, but it is very disconcerting to see the earth moving through the wrong bit of my varifocals !! Keep itching too !!
But the good news is I have cleared enough to start planting - 15 pot bound broad beans are stretching their toes as I speak.
Tagetes Minuta is supposed to have root secretions that prevent the spread of Couch and Bindweed..... have a go Joe?
If you can cover the couch with black plastic after spraying will make a big difference. :)
Ants generally move when dug. After a while you'll find the nests have all been re-sited where you don't dig, and they won't bother you much after that.
Hi there,
In my experience,I haven't found couch grass to be as bad as some people think.Once you've cultivated the ground the couch and the buttercups shouldn't be too daunting.
Don't know about the bindweed though.I beleive that one IS a bit tricky to eradicate without the use of chemicals.
Best of luck-Marky.B. :)
Quote from: markyb23 on May 19, 2006, 23:22:53
Hi there,
In my experience,I haven't found couch grass to be as bad as some people think.Once you've cultivated the ground the couch and the buttercups shouldn't be too daunting.
Don't know about the bindweed though.I beleive that one IS a bit tricky to eradicate without the use of chemicals.
Best of luck-Marky.B. :)
I think couch supresses bindweed. My plot had NO bindweed, no sign at all. I dug out the couch and this year up springs the bindweed. I had inverted the turves in a pile and bindweed is emerging from these also. I'm not bothered though, I am not going to let a weed get to me. I have spent years battling bindweed for a friend, poor bugger, his house is a funny old cottage surrounded on all sides by houses, his garden adjoins the bottoms of all the surrounding gardens and they are all infested with bindweed.
Thanks for all your comments. I don't think one spray of Roundup is anywhere near, given all the rain we've had, so I've taken to covering the wild bit with cardboard and black weed control fabric ( ex Wilko's at £3ish a go). Looking at all the brassica seeds that have come through, and as they like firm ground, I might try and grow them through the fabric, and then tackle it properly next spring.
The third that was partly dug is halfway there, despite the almost daily deluge we are having , but at least the ground is nice and soft for getting the roots out !!
I am also going to try the couch raviola for some strawberries, if only because its too far to carry the roots off to the skip !!
Keithy
I read in a couple of places about couch grass not liking tomato seedlings. I'm going to give it a try this year by planting tomato bushes all along the path side. If it doesn't work, at least I'll have more then enough toms to see me through till next summer!! Lance