The couch grass in my herbasceous borders is really crafty stuff. I find roots look similar to surrounding plant roots. i dug up a section, where it was the usual white needley bits but then when some of the roots tangled in with the ends of a phormium, the roots took on the orange of the phormium roots. Dastardly stuff, but when it gets too invasive I get the old roundup and a small polythene bag out. I place the growth in the polythene bag and spray. I leave the bag in situ for a day or so.
@dking45 - <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Re Mare's Tail - I had lots of this growing - here's how I got rid of it:
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; vertical-align: baseline; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; background-color: #eeeeee; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">Dig up as much as you can and any remaining that are not in close proximity to plants you want to keep - put 35ml to 5l of Weedol RootKill Plus. <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; vertical-align: baseline; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; background-color: #eeeeee; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">Then - plant snowball turnips - the turnips excrete into the soil a suppressor for the mare's tail. <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; vertical-align: baseline; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; background-color: #eeeeee; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">This year I've had a few mare's tail heads poke thorugh and that's it - more turnips at the ready!!!
My experience is of a couch grass infested allotment.
The best advice I've had is:
Clear out a small area at a time very thoroughly - rather than doing a half-hearted job in a big area. Gradually extend the clear area as you have time.
Once you've cleared a space pretty well, plant something like spuds that cover the area and go down deep. Once you've harvested the spuds, you can make sure the area is really clear for planting other crops the following year. Then next time plant your potatoes in the new area you've cleared.
I've heard that drowning the couch grass is a good idea so that it can then be composted. Does anyone have experience of this method - does it work - or any other suggestions for dealing with couch grass waste?
One option is to use landscape fabric to cover the infectted area and make sure you weight it down well at the edges. It looks unsightly and it does tke some weeks to weaken the weeds but it does work and now would be a good time to start. There is an additional advantage that you can cut cross shaped slits in the fabric and plant throught these into the soil leaving the leaves of the plant you want to grow above the surface and pin down the cut ends around it with bent wire etc. Slugs will want to use it as a refuge of course; slug pellets or regular killing forays by hand recommended.
i have couch grass and creeping buttercup on my allotment,i have dug most of the buttercup out,i am toying with the idea of covering some of it ,as i dont want to devote all of my time digging it out.i want to put some raised beds in so i was thinking cover the weeds and it would kill them, am i right ?
It may (that's may, not will) kill the buttercups if it's deep enough valerie but the couch grass won't mind. It will just extend those long roots further til it finds daylight.
iv dug most of the couch grass out, except for an area where it seems to have been a dumping ground from other plots .im slowly working on this area ,im going to get as much as i can by digging it out with a fork .then plant potatoes do u think that would work? thanks for ur input
I have couch grass around the fruit bushes on my allotment. I've tried removing it by hand but there's always some remains to raise it's ugly head again. If I put a membrane down and covered that in stones would that get rid of it?
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The couch grass in my herbasceous borders is really crafty stuff. I find roots look similar to surrounding plant roots. i dug up a section, where it was the usual white needley bits but then when some of the roots tangled in with the ends of a phormium, the roots took on the orange of the phormium roots. Dastardly stuff, but when it gets too invasive I get the old roundup and a small polythene bag out. I place the growth in the polythene bag and spray. I leave the bag in situ for a day or so.
@dking45 - <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Re Mare's Tail - I had lots of this growing - here's how I got rid of it:
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; vertical-align: baseline; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; background-color: #eeeeee; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">Dig up as much as you can and any remaining that are not in close proximity to plants you want to keep - put 35ml to 5l of Weedol RootKill Plus. <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; vertical-align: baseline; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; background-color: #eeeeee; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">Then - plant snowball turnips - the turnips excrete into the soil a suppressor for the mare's tail. <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; vertical-align: baseline; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; background-color: #eeeeee; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">This year I've had a few mare's tail heads poke thorugh and that's it - more turnips at the ready!!!The best advice I've had is:
Clear out a small area at a time very thoroughly - rather than doing a half-hearted job in a big area. Gradually extend the clear area as you have time.
Once you've cleared a space pretty well, plant something like spuds that cover the area and go down deep. Once you've harvested the spuds, you can make sure the area is really clear for planting other crops the following year. Then next time plant your potatoes in the new area you've cleared.
I've heard that drowning the couch grass is a good idea so that it can then be composted. Does anyone have experience of this method - does it work - or any other suggestions for dealing with couch grass waste?
It may (that's may, not will) kill the buttercups if it's deep enough valerie but the couch grass won't mind. It will just extend those long roots further til it finds daylight.
In the sticks near Peterborough
iv dug most of the couch grass out, except for an area where it seems to have been a dumping ground from other plots .im slowly working on this area ,im going to get as much as i can by digging it out with a fork .then plant potatoes do u think that would work? thanks for ur input
Spuds are good because you can get the couch out from round them. they don't get sislodged like seedlings would.
In the sticks near Peterborough