Hi my son as a new garden and is having trouble with weeds and couch grass.
We have tried all sorts of weed killers and even tried sodium chlorate, the
weeds still come through.Thinking about some black plastic and then covering
it with an old carpet he has to get rid of, is this the correct way round or
should it be carpet and then black plastic??
Thanks for any help
terryp.

"Terry" wrote in message
et...
Hi my son as a new garden and is having trouble with weeds and couch
grass.
We have tried all sorts of weed killers and even tried sodium
chlorate, the
weeds still come through.Thinking about some black plastic and then
covering
it with an old carpet he has to get rid of, is this the correct way
round or
should it be carpet and then black plastic??
Thanks for any help
terryp.

You do not say if the weeds and couch grass are growing amongst shrubs
or border plants or simply in an area where they can all be dug up and
eradicated by thorough digging. However, the use of weed killers by you
does indicate that the latter is in order. If that is the case dig up
the offending weeds methodically and remove all of their roots. Weed
killers tend to kill the existing weeds but seeds which are dormant at
the time of the application will germinate and grow unless you use
PathClear which kills vertually everything and prevents any growth for
about twelve months or so.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.

On 19 Jul, 23:30, "Terry" wrote:
Hi my son as a new garden and is having trouble with weeds and couch grass.
We have tried all sorts of weed killers and even tried sodium chlorate, the
weeds still come through.Thinking about some black plastic and then covering
it with an old carpet he has to get rid of, is this the correct way round or
should it be carpet and then black plastic??
Thanks for any help

Devide the garden, cover with plastic one bit, another bit with
carpet. The rest, get down there and remove the weeds by hand. If you
cover too much, water won't get through - you'll end up with very dry
hard soil, which will kill weeds, perhaps some of them, but also lots
of natural habitats. You will never get rid of all weeds for ever.
They'll always come back. Identify the weeds, you'll then be able to
get rid of them by hand if you know when they set seeds and why they
are there. Progress slowly so that insects will have a chance to move
to another side of your garden, remove stones, plant, sow, turn, dig,
manure ... In no time you'll have done the whole garden. It's a way of
life, a hobby, a time to enjoy the outdoors. It shouldn't be a battle
field )

Terry wrote:

: Hi my son as a new garden and is having trouble with weeds and couch
: grass. We have tried all sorts of weed killers and even tried sodium
: chlorate, the weeds still come through.Thinking about some black
: plastic and then covering it with an old carpet he has to get rid of,
: is this the correct way round or should it be carpet and then black
: plastic??

I'm very new to this gardening lark.

At the start of 2007 the garden was 45 feet by 24 feet of couch grass,
bramble, bind weed and other assorted weeds. It had been like this since
about 1990 - only strimmed once or twice a year. Basically all I did was
spend 3 or 4 months - maybe a couple of hours each day at weekends and 30-60
minutes after work, and not every day - digging and digging.

At first I was chucking the sods in a pile that was skipped, but later I
simply knocked soil off and put them in the brown bin. Then I went over it
all again digging/forking up roots.

There's still some couch grass in one third of the garden but next to none
where the lawn will go, and none at all at the top where some plants have
been planted. Weeds are still growing but all from seed.

--
Steve

Emrys Davies wrote:
"Terry" wrote in message
et...
Hi my son as a new garden and is having trouble with weeds and couch
grass. We have tried all sorts of weed killers and even tried sodium
chlorate, the weeds still come through.Thinking about some black
plastic and then covering it with an old carpet he has to get rid
of, is this the correct way round or should it be carpet and then
black plastic??
Thanks for any help
terryp.

You do not say if the weeds and couch grass are growing amongst shrubs
or border plants or simply in an area where they can all be dug up and
eradicated by thorough digging. However, the use of weed killers by
you does indicate that the latter is in order. If that is the case
dig up the offending weeds methodically and remove all of their
roots. Weed killers tend to kill the existing weeds but seeds which
are dormant at the time of the application will germinate and grow
unless you use PathClear which kills vertually everything and
prevents any growth for about twelve months or so.



Recently used Pathclear on passion flower and valerian coming up on edges
and through cracks in a concrete drive. A waste of time. 5 weeks on and
hardly any damage to be seen. May try Roundup (although Pathclear has
glyphosate in it).

Anyone else had poor results from Pathclear?

--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)

On 21/07/08 09:58, Jeff Layman wrote:
Emrys Davies wrote:

Recently used Pathclear on passion flower and valerian coming up on edges
and through cracks in a concrete drive. A waste of time. 5 weeks on and
hardly any damage to be seen. May try Roundup (although Pathclear has
glyphosate in it).

Anyone else had poor results from Pathclear?


Yeah, Pathclear is useless. They changed the formulation as it used to
contain paraquat (which was really effective) but that is considered too
toxic now.

So I use sodium chlorate on paths/driveways now. That kills everything.
Except moss !! But for that you don't need an oxidising agent like
sodium chlorate, you need a reducing agent like ferrous sulphate.

In message , Steve
Turner writes
Terry wrote:

: Hi my son as a new garden and is having trouble with weeds and couch
: grass. We have tried all sorts of weed killers and even tried sodium
: chlorate, the weeds still come through.Thinking about some black
: plastic and then covering it with an old carpet he has to get rid of,
: is this the correct way round or should it be carpet and then black
: plastic??

I just lay black plastic on soil I am not cultivating.

I'm very new to this gardening lark.

At the start of 2007 the garden was 45 feet by 24 feet of couch grass,
bramble, bind weed and other assorted weeds. It had been like this since
about 1990 - only strimmed once or twice a year. Basically all I did was
spend 3 or 4 months - maybe a couple of hours each day at weekends and 30-60
minutes after work, and not every day - digging and digging.

At first I was chucking the sods in a pile that was skipped, but later I
simply knocked soil off and put them in the brown bin. Then I went over it
all again digging/forking up roots.

There's still some couch grass in one third of the garden but next to none
where the lawn will go, and none at all at the top where some plants have
been planted. Weeds are still growing but all from seed.

I feel for you! We moved into this house (1961) when it was new, with
a garden like a builder's yard, because ours was the last house on the
row.

I dug out a whole bag and half a bag of set cement, and three and a half
railway sleepers...
--
Gordon H

On Jul 21, 5:25 pm, Gordon H wrote:
In message , Steve
Turner writesTerry wrote:

: Hi my son as a new garden and is having trouble with weeds and couch
: grass. We have tried all sorts of weed killers and even tried sodium
: chlorate, the weeds still come through.Thinking about some black
: plastic and then covering it with an old carpet he has to get rid of,
: is this the correct way round or should it be carpet and then black
: plastic??

I just lay black plastic on soil I am not cultivating.



I'm very new to this gardening lark.

At the start of 2007 the garden was 45 feet by 24 feet of couch grass,
bramble, bind weed and other assorted weeds. It had been like this since
about 1990 - only strimmed once or twice a year. Basically all I did was
spend 3 or 4 months - maybe a couple of hours each day at weekends and 30-60
minutes after work, and not every day - digging and digging.

At first I was chucking the sods in a pile that was skipped, but later I
simply knocked soil off and put them in the brown bin. Then I went over it
all again digging/forking up roots.

There's still some couch grass in one third of the garden but next to none
where the lawn will go, and none at all at the top where some plants have
been planted. Weeds are still growing but all from seed.

I feel for you! We moved into this house (1961) when it was new, with
a garden like a builder's yard, because ours was the last house on the
row.

I dug out a whole bag and half a bag of set cement, and three and a half
railway sleepers...
--
Gordon H

I'll bid you £45 for the railways sleepers :-)

Judith

Thanks for the suggestions. I didn't mention that my Son is no gardener and
he intends to try and kill off the raised bed, there is nothing growing at
the moment apart from the weeds. He intends to cover with the plastic/
carpet then a covering of pea gravel or similar. The suggestion about
digging is sound but not practical as it's me that would be doing it and
with my 70 th birthday coming up this week I haven't the inclination or the
physical stamina these days.
Thanks for the ideas
terryp
"Terry" wrote in message
et...
Hi my son as a new garden and is having trouble with weeds and couch
grass. We have tried all sorts of weed killers and even tried sodium
chlorate, the weeds still come through.Thinking about some black plastic
and then covering it with an old carpet he has to get rid of, is this the
correct way round or should it be carpet and then black plastic??
Thanks for any help
terryp.

On 21/7/08 22:48, in article
net, "Terry"
wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions. I didn't mention that my Son is no gardener and
he intends to try and kill off the raised bed, there is nothing growing at
the moment apart from the weeds. He intends to cover with the plastic/
carpet then a covering of pea gravel or similar. The suggestion about
digging is sound but not practical as it's me that would be doing it and
with my 70 th birthday coming up this week I haven't the inclination or the
physical stamina these days.
Thanks for the ideas


My husband is 75 - still does the digging, planting, weeding etc. It keeps
him very fit but then he's done it all his life, which probably makes a
difference. You don't have to do it *all* in a day - think of 'eating the
elephant' - a little at a time.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

Hi Sacha, thanks for your reply. I take on board about a little at a time
but it's not a case of thinking I ll go and do a bit, I have a 10 mile
journey to get to my son, and up here in the North it could be raining by
the time I get there so it could be a wasted journey. In response to your
husband being very fit, I know he's older than me but I go to the gym 4
times a week and work pretty hard, by the time I have had my lunch I must
admit the thought of doing another stint leaves me thinking I am to old for
all the effort. I need a cast iron garantee that the weather will allow me
to do any work when I get to my son's and that is something you just don't
get up here.
Nobody has come up with any information about which order in my post about
which should go the ground first, plastic or carpet or visa versa, which do
you all think??
"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 21/7/08 22:48, in article
net, "Terry"
wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions. I didn't mention that my Son is no gardener
and
he intends to try and kill off the raised bed, there is nothing growing
at
the moment apart from the weeds. He intends to cover with the plastic/
carpet then a covering of pea gravel or similar. The suggestion about
digging is sound but not practical as it's me that would be doing it and
with my 70 th birthday coming up this week I haven't the inclination or
the
physical stamina these days.
Thanks for the ideas


My husband is 75 - still does the digging, planting, weeding etc. It
keeps
him very fit but then he's done it all his life, which probably makes a
difference. You don't have to do it *all* in a day - think of 'eating the
elephant' - a little at a time.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon