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In two minds
Sammy7
Posts: 12
Hi there We bought a house a few years ago with a tremendously overgrown back garden 60ft by 50ft. We tackled bramble, nettles and took out three overgrown lilandii. We now have what I think is a far bigger problem, Cooch grass. It is in every inch of the garden including our containers which have been sat on a concrete patio. So do I grab the spade and dig, dig and dig some more or do I remove any plants I wish to keep and glyphosate the lot and start over? I would like to plant fruit trees and have veg beds eventually and the use of glyphosate scares me a little but I just don't think I can tackle this problem any other way. Your help and advice will be much appreciated, thank you
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Posts
I have this stuff creeping in every year from the surrounding fields. It can be a nightmare when entangled in teh roots of treasures. In your case, I would be tempted to do as you suggest and remove all the plants you want to keep - toddler paddling pools come in handy for storing them while you clean the beds as well as plastic salad and veg crates if your supermarket/grocer will give or sell them to you.
Then spray what's left with a glyphosate based product and be prepared to do this twice or thrice to be sure you've got it. Do it on a sunny day when winds are light or non existent and rain is not expected for at least 6 hours. It takes 2 weeks for each application to work.
Meanwhile, wash the roots of your treasures, one bucketful at a time and pick out the last scrap of couch grass before potting up in pots or troughs. Use a fork rather than a spade to dig them out if you can as this creates fewer new root cuttings of the nasties. Take the opportunity to divide and multiply any decent sized specimens.
Thank you obelixx,
There are only a few plants worth keeping but I do have a lovely Philadelphus, is it worth cutting back the stems and covering the stump whilst I spray or will this need to be removed also?
Cut back just enough stems to protect it with a bin liner or two or you'll lose this season's flowers. Be prepared to spray again around its base if needs be.
Sammy ... if you find there is a lot of couch grass around the base of the Philadelphus that would be tricky to try and spray, you can get glyphosate as a paint on gel to use on the leaves.
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