On Thu, 5 May 2005 07:40:01 +0100, "shell" wrote:


"Tumbleweed" wrote in message
...

"shell" wrote in message
...
We have so much of the damn stuff in our garden, we've tried digging it
up, but the roots are so fine they snap off.

How can I get rid of it without damaging the other plants in the garden?

Thanks

put glyphosphate on it. Or cut off what you can and then cover it with
black plastic or similar for a long time (several months) over the growing
season.

--
Tumbleweed

Thanks, I'll try that.

I'm none too convinced that black plastic will stop it.
One side of my veg patch butts up against a boundary hedge which
contains a lot of ivy. I realised from the off that I'd need to
prevent the ivy from encroaching on the veg patch so I dug a trench
about a foot deep alongside the hedge and place a sheet of thick black
plastic in it, leaving the remaining foot or so to extend back towards
the hedge. I then refilled the trench and laid flints over the plastic
on the surface ( well, I had to do something with all the bloody flint
I dug up! ).

The ivy that scrambled through the flints was easy enough to deal with
- I just pulled it off - but in time I found that it had worked its
way through the plastic underground. It will find the slightest hole -
and whilst I was sure the plastic was in good order when I laid it I
guess some plants ( or perhaps burrowing animals and insects ) can
make their way through it.

The problem, as I see it, is that the roots can travel a fair distance
if the host plant has any access to light - in which case the only
real effective means of control is to get rid of it altogether. Given
its propensity for climbing it's not always possible to cover every
last leaf with plastic.

Unfortunately for me I rather like its presence in my hedges ( as long
as it's kept under a degree of control ), so I'll either have to live
with it or think about some form of "no-man's-land" trench alongside
the hedge.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk