Scorched Earth Gardening
 

First time post so would appreciate some advice.

Just bought a house with a neglected garden.

To the back I had 10 foot tall ivy which I have cut down and a mat of ivy just below what was once the lawn. After 3 rounds of glyphosphate much of the greenery is dying. I plan to leave over winter and then apply a further 2 rounds of glyphosphate to any growth before rotavating.

Mymain concerns a

Will glyphosphate kill roots of ivy\couchgrass which do not multiply after rotavating the soil?

I have also heard of triclopyr and brushwood killer, can this be used in conjunction with glyphosphate?

Just don't want to make matters worse by rotavating roots which reproduce.

Thanks in advance.

Scorched Earth Gardening
 

On 27/09/2014 6:50 PM, Biggles wrote:
First time post so would appreciate some advice.

Just bought a house with a neglected garden.

To the back I had 10 foot tall ivy which I have cut down and a mat of
ivy just below what was once the lawn. After 3 rounds of glyphosphate
much of the greenery is dying. I plan to leave over winter and then
apply a further 2 rounds of glyphosphate to any growth before
rotavating.

Be very careful of doing anything that could possibly chop up and spread
active roots of ivy around the place.

Mymain concerns a

Will glyphosphate kill roots of ivy\couchgrass which do not multiply
after rotavating the soil?

I'd have severe doubts of that. I've never found glyphosate to be
effective at killing ivy. When I've used it on ivy on a wall, the ivy
looks like its dead but within the next 2 years it sprouts again and
starts growing.

I have also heard of triclopyr and brushwood killer, can this be used in
conjunction with glyphosphate?

Yes. In an effort to kill an infestation of Sacred Bamboo, I've used
undiluted glyphosate and triclopyr mixed together in an old jam jar and
painted it straight onto each stem immediately after cutting through the
stem. I still haven't managed to kill the sodding thing but it looks
very sick. I must do the regrowth again this year now that Spring has
finally arrived.

Just don't want to make matters worse by rotavating roots which
reproduce.

I wouldn't rotovate. With ivy I think that the old fashioned and more
arduous way is the best way to deal with ivy.

Thanks for the reply.

The soil quality is poor, its clay not soil so naturally rotavation is the lazy mans choice.

Will glyphosphate kill the couch rhyzomes after repeat applications?

Scorched Earth Gardening
 

On 10/4/2014 12:40 PM, Biggles wrote:
Thanks for the reply.

The soil quality is poor, its clay not soil so naturally rotavation is
the lazy mans choice.

Will glyphosphate kill the couch rhyzomes after repeat applications?

I'm not sure, but I think glyphosphate has to enter the plant through
its foliage, after which it moves through the plant's sap to its roots.
It kills plant tissues all along the way from foliage to roots but does
the most damage to the roots. However, I think the plant must be
actively growing (e.g., with foliage) for glyphosphate to be effective.
I know it is not effective if merely applied to the soil. Thus, if the
rhizomes are not supporting any foliage, glyphosphate will not work.

For clay, apply a generous amount of gypsum, at least enough to hide the
soil. Lightly wet down the gypsum. Then, starting about 2-3 days
later, slowly rinse the gypsum into the soil. This takes some patience
since you do not want to have the water with gypsum running off. After
all the gypsum has disappeared into the soil, wait about a week. Then
rotavation (which I think is what we in the U.S. would call rototilling)
will be more effective. That is because gypsum (calcium sulfate) reacts
chemically with clay to make the clay porous and granular instead of
pasty.

Even if you till much organic matter into the soil, you should apply
more gypsum every year or two. Otherwise, the clay will revert back to
its natural pasty state.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary