The top 2 inches of my new allotment is choked with Twitch (couch
grass?)...I had the idea of skimming it off and putting it into a
compost bit then, if it grew I would treat it with weed killer (Round
Up) to kill it off...Is this a workable idea and will it turn into
decent compost ?

--
Regards
Ted

The message
from Ted contains these words:

The top 2 inches of my new allotment is choked with Twitch (couch
grass?)...I had the idea of skimming it off and putting it into a
compost bit then, if it grew I would treat it with weed killer (Round
Up) to kill it off...Is this a workable idea and will it turn into
decent compost ?

It will be more than the top two inches.

It will have to be dug out and then any stray bits (any? Ed.) pulled/dug
up over the next couple of years.

Alternatively, spray the lot with glyphosate, and again, and again, and
prepare the land for next year.

The subterranean growth of unsprayed twitch is much appreciated by
livestock, and used to be sold in French markets.

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

It will be deeper that two inches. Dig as much of it out as you can then
fork over the earth to loosen the remaining roots, you will be able to pull
them out by hand. Inevitably you will miss some and you will get it
sprouting, easy to pull out if you have dug deep enough and broken up the
clods. I used a right angle fork or a hand cultivator for this.

Last year as an experiment. I dug out what I could and piled it up in a row
(there was tons of it - about half a meter high, five long and half a meter
wide). I covered it with black plastic, cut holes in the plastic and planted
kale plants into the couch grass and earth. The kale was fantastic, I took
the black plastic off last week and guess what - hardly any couch grass
left! I have just dug that bed over and the soil is in lovely condition. I
have moved to the grotty end of the plot now where there is still tons of
the stuff and I am going to do it again. Backbreaking.

--
Mark Hamer
www.another-way.co.uk

I don't want to arrive at my grave in an attractive and well preserved body,
hopefully I will be skidding in
sideways, Gin and Tonic in one hand -- Cigar in the other screaming YAHAAAY!


"Ted" wrote in message
et...

The top 2 inches of my new allotment is choked with Twitch (couch
grass?)...I had the idea of skimming it off and putting it into a compost
bit then, if it grew I would treat it with weed killer (Round Up) to kill
it off...Is this a workable idea and will it turn into
decent compost ?

--
Regards
Ted

"Ted" wrote ...

The top 2 inches of my new allotment is choked with Twitch (couch
grass?)...I had the idea of skimming it off and putting it into a compost
bit then, if it grew I would treat it with weed killer (Round Up) to kill
it off...Is this a workable idea and will it turn into
decent compost ?

Digging it out will take years because you will always miss some bits and it
will grow back. I wouldn't put it in a compost bin either. A friend tried
digging it out of his allotment but never succeeded.
The only permanent way is to use a weedkiller with Glyphosate (Round-up) and
wait a couple of weeks for it to die then hit any green bits again.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

If you don't want to use the entire plot this year then why not cover some of it with a thick black plastic and weigh it down and leave to die off until next year.

In my experience digging it out will be hard work and not always successful. Be prepared to go back to the weeding on a weekly basis!

The best way is probably Round Up, although this can be expensive on a large area.

If you do skim some off (or have other nasty perennial weeds) a really good way of returning the nutrients is to stick them all in a barrel of water until they are no longer viable then compost them. The juice also makes good nutrient water for feeding.

"willie266" wrote

Hi

First post so be kind!

I am contemplating a new herb garden. I have a space about 30ft x 14ft
to use but the site is sloping so I need to build a retaining wall and
level off as its currently at around 45 degrees!

Does anyone know or have any advice on some good designs for a herb
garden?

I am after that classic mix of permanent planting of lavender, rosemary
etc as well as space for the annuals. This will be a culinary and visual
garden and I hope to have a wide range of herbs.

In terms of design I am prepared to go the whole hog and get the box
hedging thing going.

Limitations are really the soil type is solid clay, hence the need to
build a wall and raise the site with some decent drainage and good
soil.

Any ideas?


Our experience is that herb gardens very easily get infested with weeds
which are difficult to remove. We now grow all herbs in large pots which
seems to eliminate that problem and it also goes some way to provide these
plants with the drier soils they like, being mostly from the Med region.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

"Ted" wrote in message
et...

The top 2 inches of my new allotment is choked with Twitch (couch
grass?)...I had the idea of skimming it off and putting it into a compost
bit then, if it grew I would treat it with weed killer (Round Up) to kill
it off...Is this a workable idea and will it turn into
decent compost ?

I have finally rid my front garden of twitch by digging every last piece of
it out, every tiny root left will explode into growth. It's only taken me
20 years ;-) I don't like to use chemicals as I have an organic garden.
I would not risk it on my compost heap. I burn the b*gg*r in my
incinerator.