Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Advice with weeds again please

jackpjackp Posts: 43
in Problem solving
a few months ago I had dug over and cleared a very big border for someone,
after carefully removing all the unwanted weeds etc then went on a thick layer of composted stable mulch /bark clippings .the weeds especially bind weeds are now starting to take over and it seems as though the weeds could quickly take over again but plan on spraying them off soon but that’s only a short term solution 

I know the obvious answer is to just use a plastic membrane fabric but i wasn’t keen on using it there for a few reasons but I’m wondering if it’s the first mulch layer could be making the weeds grow much faster and if I’d be better off not using it ? 

(I was hoping the thick layer of wood chips would block out the light but doesn’t seem to be the case )

Posts

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    The only way to keep a border weed free, is to fill it with plants.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • gjautosgjautos Posts: 429
    Agree with punkdoc. Also weeding isn't a one time job. I'm out weeding my garden at least once a week.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    Bindweed needs to be sprayed off. Digging it in and covering it with mulch just means all the little pieces of root will form new plants. I would spray off all regrowth with glyphosate, you're best off being really thorough and patient with making sure it is all properly dead.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • jackpjackp Posts: 43
    Loxley said:
    Bindweed needs to be sprayed off. Digging it in and covering it with mulch just means all the little pieces of root will form new plants. I would spray off all regrowth with glyphosate, you're best off being really thorough and patient with making sure it is all properly dead.
    Yes it’s a pain but I’m not convinced even more didn’t come from the mulch  . I sprayed it all off thoroughly with strong glyphosate before any new ground covering went down but now some of the new strands are over 6ft long from only a few weeks of growth 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Hedge bindweed (white flowers) needs several applications at intervals … leaving it to die back between applications. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • rosaprimularosaprimula Posts: 17
    Every time the soil is disturbed, more seeds will come to the surface and germinate. Weeding is never a one time job, but a remorseless battle with fiends such as bindweed and couch. Eventually, once the bindweed is eradicated, your greatest garden friend will be a sharp hoe. Basically a knife on a stick, keep it clean and sharp and nothing will survive continual chopping by a fierce hoe.

    Ultimately, punkdoc is right - nature abhors a vacuum and will rush to fill any space. Best to get there first with the plants you want...and either mulch between growing perennials or fill the spaces with quick growing annuals.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    From google:

    Where bindweed is growing among garden plants, put canes in the ground for the bindweed to twine up. Then, simply slip the growth off the cane, put into a clear plastic bag (still attached to the roots), apply glyphosate, and secure the bag with a clothes peg. Leave in place until the bindweed is completely dead.31 Aug 2022
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I've used a variation of @bédé's method for bindweed, using glyphosate gel and wearing rubber gloves, rubbing it into the bindweed that's growing up the cane, but the plastic bag method would work better with spray if that's what you have.  The first time the bindweed died off but came back the following year, The second year it didn't come back.

    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • jackpjackp Posts: 43
    Also I think that part of the problem is foxes or dogs for some reason like to dig in certain areas which spread a thin layer of soil on top of the woodchips spreading weed seeds .probably a loosing battle as after filling the holes something has been digging there again exposing more soil .
Sign In or Register to comment.