Farm1 wrote:
"Colin Jacobs" wrote in message
...
Oh, I know that ! I have been an allotment holder for 23 years and
have just
taken this one on due to moving house.
I relish a challenge but getting it out an easy way is a much better
challenge too.
Thanks for all the advice
Brush cutter, spray, then digging them out seems the best method.

Be very wary of digging them out until you are very, very sure that
the whole plant and the root system is dead.

I've tried it at various times assuming that taking the 'crown' out
would do for the beasts. They're a bit like triffids in their
persistence - unless the plant is as dead as a dodo from poison,
they'll reshoot from left over roots. I've only found tree and
blackberry killer to be successful.

Isn't it strange, and fascinating, how gardeners' experience differs in
so many ways? I've always found them an easy (in terms of regrowth, not
of work) perennial weed to get rid of. Even the seedlings which follow
clearance, by whatever method, surrender readily. The worst bit for me
was getting my ears slashed by thorns when cutting down the top growth
with secateurs so I could get at the base. The barber once extracted a
couple of embedded points from my scalp when cutting my hair: I hadn't
realised they were there!

--
Mike.