Allotments 4 All

1. Bindweed
2. Docks
3. Thistles.

In my last house I had some very pretty thing that looked like orangy dandelion type flowers about 9" tall on a stem. They sell whatever-it-is in garden centres - but they are terribly invasive and really difficult to get rid of.
Would get my vote if I knew its name!

muscari - grape hyacy(i?)nth? (only invasive blue plant I know ::))

At the moment my least favourite is bramble!  It has managed to work its way into the greenhouse on my new plot and it hurts if you don't wear really thick gloves!!

Aqui, could your "weed" be Scilla? I planted a few bulbs many years ago and am still trying to dig it out - clumps keep on reappearing ( think you can get various shades but I dig almost all of them up as soon as I see the grassy leaves) A small pic but may give you the idea
Someone may have planted them before you but they are a woodland plant I think in the wild.

Quote from: periwinkle on April 03, 2006, 21:44:44


In my last house I had some very pretty thing that looked like orangy dandelion type flowers about 9" tall on a stem. They sell whatever-it-is in garden centres - but they are terribly invasive and really difficult to get rid of.
Would get my vote if I knew its name!

HAWKWEED, also known as the devils paintbrush or fox and cubs.

That little picture above looks like wild garlic, a type of alium, very very invasive.

Worse weed I've come across lately is himalayan balsam, it spreads like mad when the seeds explode and then they lie dormant and come up again just when you think you have got rid of them.

It's a nuisance, but the seeds are short-lived, and if you keep pulling them out before they flower, they do disappear. I only have a few coming up each year now, when a few years ago the stuff was taking over. You've got to be completely ruthless, and pull it up by the roots. Don't cut it because it grows again and flowers. Fortunately it's shallow rooting and easy to pull up. Once it flowers, the seed pods burst quite violently, and throw the seeds everywhere, so don't ever let it get to that point.

Any advice on thistles? The roots go really deep but are brittle when pulled so break off and just grow again. :'(

Couch grass >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
Bindweed >:( >:( >:( >:(
Ground elder >:( >:( >:( >:(
Creeping thistle >:( >:( >:( >:(
Dock >:( >:( >:(
Dandelion >:( >:(

Couch grass is definitely my worst enemy at the mo', but I haven't started tackling my patch of bindweed properly yet, so I may change my mind!

>:( >:( >:( bindweed, bindweed and oh yes, more bindweed.
>:( >:( creeping buttercup
>:( dandelions & docks

... haven't managed to visit for 4 weeks (had family bereavement that's thrown our world upside down), so next time I visit I expect there'll be a meadow swaying gently in the wind mocking my efforts.

Oooops!  It looks like I'm the only one that actually likes weeds!  I can never get enough of them.  But then I do have 9 tortoises to feed and that is what they eat and in great quantities.  I sow dandelions and plantain and thistles as a crop on the lottie.  :)

The only one I have trouble with ('cause they don't eat it) is the red-leaved thing mentioned earlier with nodules under the soil.

I have a weed that has silvery dull leaves and white roots that are really squiggly.  That is a pest.  The wost has to be a mallow type thing with purple flowers that has roots like dock.  Flipping nuisance.

Quote from: myrtle on April 07, 2006, 08:28:17
I do have 9 tortoises to feed and that is what they eat and in great quantities.  I sow dandelions and plantain and thistles as a crop on the lottie.  :)

Ooh yum, all those rare nutrients sucked up by weed roots from way, way down in the soil and processed by tortoises ::) Prize pumpkin fertiliser eh myrtle ;) ;D ;D

You betcha!  Only the best for my prize winning pumpkin!  ;)

I do like some weeds. I let a few Great Mullein grow, for instance, because it's a spectacular plant, and it's not a nuisance.

Couch  >:( >:( >:(
Ground Elder  >:( >:( >:( (but I am going to start eating it so it may be a  ;D)
Thistles  >:( >:( >:( >:(
Dandelions  >:( (I feed those to me guniea pigs)

I also had a problem with chinese lantern invading from next door's front garden, till he concreted over his entire area. phew.

last year I round upped what must be creeping buttercup-but it's jumped and coming up in the middle of grass now. roundup job again I'm afraid...soon

The Rogue's Gallery!

Useful site for identifying weeds

http://theseedsite.co.uk/weeds.html

IMHO an even better one:
http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/weeds.htm

Thank you both! Both sites look interesting, although depressing for me since my problem is (creeping) thistle. :(
Still at least I know what I'm up against!

myrtle,
          i also grow weeds for my tortoise, esp dandelions, he can't get enough of them!! /angle shades x