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#1
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New allotment
Well actually it looks more like a bit of field that hasn't been cultivated
for years. 4 poles (100 m2), all covered in couch grass. So far we have dismantled a couple of pallets and made a compost bin, but probably can't compost couch grass enough to kill it. Mares tail is also present in the area, so seeds are probably around waiting for anyone to expose some bare soil. Cover the lot in plastic and leave it for a year??? (Are we allowed to do that??). Potentially a lot of work here, important that any effort is most efficiently targeted. So please advise and suggest plans of action! Many thanks Lol |
#2
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New allotment
On Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:41:47 +0000, Lol wrote:
So please advise and suggest plans of action! Many thanks Lol In a word, glyphosate. And now in in industrial strength. BTW mares-tail is a semi-aquatic, you are more likely to have horse-tail q.v.. Bob Flowerdew recommends moving house if you have it. |
#3
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New allotment
"Lol" wrote ... Well actually it looks more like a bit of field that hasn't been cultivated for years. 4 poles (100 m2), all covered in couch grass. So far we have dismantled a couple of pallets and made a compost bin, but probably can't compost couch grass enough to kill it. Mares tail is also present in the area, so seeds are probably around waiting for anyone to expose some bare soil. Cover the lot in plastic and leave it for a year??? (Are we allowed to do that??). Potentially a lot of work here, important that any effort is most efficiently targeted. So please advise and suggest plans of action! Many thanks You will find you cannot dig out couch grass no matter how careful you are and it will be a problem for ever. Spray with glyphosate (Roundup) while the plants are still green and wait a few weeks and they will all turn brown and the roots will be killed too. It's the only sure way to kill almost all perennial weeds and start with a clean plot. Black plastic will work eventually but by then you will have had notice to quit for not cultivating your plot. Glysophate weedkiller becomes inert on contact with the soil so it's not too bad. Mares tail is another problem, you certainly cannot dig that out it goes down too far and the foliage is naturally water resistant so it's difficult to kill with weedkiller, we found constant hoeing off reduced it over time. Spend the first 10 mins of every visit to the plot hoeing. It will be all around and will come back from the surrounding areas but from our experience it seems to move across an area in a wave of thick growth and just leaves a few plants behind in it's wake. One problem is, if the surrounding area is also infested with couch it will grow back surprising quickly so it may be an idea to weedkiller the whole area and reseed any grass paths with proper grass. Or use old paving slabs like us to cut down on the work. Don't put your compost bin onto soil infested with couch or it will infest your compost making it useless. -- Regards Bob Hobden just W. of London |
#4
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New allotment
Bob Hobden wrote: "Lol" wrote ... Well actually it looks more like a bit of field that hasn't been cultivated for years. 4 poles (100 m2), all covered in couch grass. So far we have dismantled a couple of pallets and made a compost bin, but probably can't compost couch grass enough to kill it. Mares tail is also present in the area, so seeds are probably around waiting for anyone to expose some bare soil. Cover the lot in plastic and leave it for a year??? (Are we allowed to do that??). Potentially a lot of work here, important that any effort is most efficiently targeted. So please advise and suggest plans of action! Many thanks You will find you cannot dig out couch grass no matter how careful you are and it will be a problem for ever. Spray with glyphosate (Roundup) while the plants are still green and wait a few weeks and they will all turn brown and the roots will be killed too. It's the only sure way to kill almost all perennial weeds and start with a clean plot. Black plastic will work eventually but by then you will have had notice to quit for not cultivating your plot. Glysophate weedkiller becomes inert on contact with the soil so it's not too bad. Mares tail is another problem, you certainly cannot dig that out it goes down too far and the foliage is naturally water resistant so it's difficult to kill with weedkiller, we found constant hoeing off reduced it over time. Spend the first 10 mins of every visit to the plot hoeing. It will be all around and will come back from the surrounding areas but from our experience it seems to move across an area in a wave of thick growth and just leaves a few plants behind in it's wake. One problem is, if the surrounding area is also infested with couch it will grow back surprising quickly so it may be an idea to weedkiller the whole area and reseed any grass paths with proper grass. Or use old paving slabs like us to cut down on the work. Don't put your compost bin onto soil infested with couch or it will infest your compost making it useless. Bob's comments are spot on. I also find a flame gun useful on Mares tail. It destroys what you can see and weakens the roots. Come spring when it starts to grow, visit the plot as often as possible and deal with the tail. Go away for 2 weeks, and you won't beleive the 2ft high 'field' waving at you in the breeze!! Good luck -- Buy a poppy....help a serviceman Also.... http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/donations.html Pete C London UK |
#5
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New allotment
Derek Turner wrote:
In a word, glyphosate. And now in in industrial strength. BTW mares-tail is a semi-aquatic, you are more likely to have horse-tail q.v.. Bob Flowerdew recommends moving house if you have it. Hi there. We've lived and worked in Belgium for the last 7 years. Our own house is in Yorkshire. Our present rental property has a smallish lawn and an 'l' shaped herbaceous to the back of the lawn and down the side of the house. Everything seemed tidy for the first month. But then I spotted the dreaded horsetail!! It 'lived' in the border alongside the house. I then realised that owner's wife had regularly "cropped" and also just before we moved in. I hoed the tops off for the 1st year. Then I'd had enough so I asked if the plants from the 1st 15 yards could be removed, along with the soil. Three men duly arrived and it was done in a couple of hours. When the horsetail regrew I sprayed with a double strength SBK liquid,50 ml/1.5 l. and after 4 weeks repeated the process. I took a risk and transplanted a few small low-growing shrubs. After another 6 weeks I only found 2 sprigs of horsetail regrown from an original fifty. The bottom section, which borders the lawn has large shrubs, so I used a piece of carboard carton as a shield and sprayed the horsetail in between these plants. I'm now keeping fingers crossed for a clean border, in time for a bit of fresh spring planting! Wish me well :-) -- Don |
#6
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New allotment
"Pete C" wrote in message ... Bob Hobden wrote: "Lol" wrote ... Well actually it looks more like a bit of field that hasn't been cultivated for years. 4 poles (100 m2), all covered in couch grass. So far we have dismantled a couple of pallets and made a compost bin, but probably can't compost couch grass enough to kill it. Mares tail is also present in the area, so seeds are probably around waiting for anyone to expose some bare soil. Cover the lot in plastic and leave it for a year??? (Are we allowed to do that??). Potentially a lot of work here, important that any effort is most efficiently targeted. So please advise and suggest plans of action! Many thanks You will find you cannot dig out couch grass no matter how careful you are and it will be a problem for ever. Spray with glyphosate (Roundup) while the plants are still green and wait a few weeks and they will all turn brown and the roots will be killed too. It's the only sure way to kill almost all perennial weeds and start with a clean plot. Black plastic will work eventually but by then you will have had notice to quit for not cultivating your plot. Glysophate weedkiller becomes inert on contact with the soil so it's not too bad. Mares tail is another problem, you certainly cannot dig that out it goes down too far and the foliage is naturally water resistant so it's difficult to kill with weedkiller, we found constant hoeing off reduced it over time. Spend the first 10 mins of every visit to the plot hoeing. It will be all around and will come back from the surrounding areas but from our experience it seems to move across an area in a wave of thick growth and just leaves a few plants behind in it's wake. One problem is, if the surrounding area is also infested with couch it will grow back surprising quickly so it may be an idea to weedkiller the whole area and reseed any grass paths with proper grass. Or use old paving slabs like us to cut down on the work. Don't put your compost bin onto soil infested with couch or it will infest your compost making it useless. Bob's comments are spot on. I also find a flame gun useful on Mares tail. It destroys what you can see and weakens the roots. Come spring when it starts to grow, visit the plot as often as possible and deal with the tail. Go away for 2 weeks, and you won't beleive the 2ft high 'field' waving at you in the breeze!! Good luck What they said. I would also manually clear a strip or two now and get some overwintering onions and broad beans in.This will give you encouragement to stick at the task, there's nothing worse than a vast expanse of nothing. Steve |
#7
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New allotment
"Bob Hobden" wrote in message ... "Lol" wrote ... Well actually it looks more like a bit of field that hasn't been cultivated for years. 4 poles (100 m2), all covered in couch grass. So far we have dismantled a couple of pallets and made a compost bin, but probably can't compost couch grass enough to kill it. Mares tail is also present in the area, so seeds are probably around waiting for anyone to expose some bare soil. Cover the lot in plastic and leave it for a year??? (Are we allowed to do that??). Potentially a lot of work here, important that any effort is most efficiently targeted. So please advise and suggest plans of action! Many thanks You will find you cannot dig out couch grass no matter how careful you are and it will be a problem for ever. Spray with glyphosate (Roundup) while the plants are still green and wait a few weeks and they will all turn brown and the roots will be killed too. It's the only sure way to kill almost all perennial weeds and start with a clean plot. Black plastic will work eventually but by then you will have had notice to quit for not cultivating your plot. Glysophate weedkiller becomes inert on contact with the soil so it's not too bad. Mares tail is another problem, you certainly cannot dig that out it goes down too far and the foliage is naturally water resistant so it's difficult to kill with weedkiller, we found constant hoeing off reduced it over time. Spend the first 10 mins of every visit to the plot hoeing. It will be all around and will come back from the surrounding areas but from our experience it seems to move across an area in a wave of thick growth and just leaves a few plants behind in it's wake. One problem is, if the surrounding area is also infested with couch it will grow back surprising quickly so it may be an idea to weedkiller the whole area and reseed any grass paths with proper grass. Or use old paving slabs like us to cut down on the work. Don't put your compost bin onto soil infested with couch or it will infest your compost making it useless. -- Regards Bob Hobden just W. of London Many thanks for that detailed and informative answer. Will certainly investigate Glysophate, but without much enthusiasm. Had a chance to look closely today, and not all of that grass is couch, I think its mainly rye with clumps of couch. there's a willow tree at one end, and a plum tree in one corner, couch grass infestation seem to have come from there. We will only know for sure when we start work in earnest. Have sited compost carefully in a clear area. Many thanks, Lol |
#8
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New allotment
"Derek Turner" wrote in message ... On Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:41:47 +0000, Lol wrote: So please advise and suggest plans of action! Many thanks Lol In a word, glyphosate. And now in in industrial strength. BTW mares-tail is a semi-aquatic, you are more likely to have horse-tail q.v.. Bob Flowerdew recommends moving house if you have it. Thanks for that. As it turns out, what we have here is probably "Bottle brush" So thats Ok then - no need to abandon hope... Lol |
#9
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New allotment
"Lol" wrote (Huge snip) Will certainly investigate Glysophate, but without much enthusiasm. Had a chance to look closely today, and not all of that grass is couch, I think its mainly rye with clumps of couch. We too didn't like the idea of using weedkiller when we got an overgrown plot years ago that hadn't been used for 20 years or more. But experience told us it was the only way we could deal with the perennial weeds. Two sprays a month apart and it was done. Being surrounded by similar wild land it was a constant battle with couch and mares tail trying to get to the nice fertile soil we developed. -- Regards Bob Hobden just W. of London |
#10
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New allotment
"Lol" wrote... As it turns out, what we have here is probably "Bottle brush" So thats Ok then - no need to abandon hope... Bottlebrush?? Probably is a local name for Mares tail or more correctly Horsetail (Equisetum sp.). Mares tail is correctly used for an aquatic plant ( Hippuris vulgaris) that looks similar (but we all know what you mean). -- Regards Bob Hobden just W. of London |
#11
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New allotment
On 2009-11-08 16:14:43 +0000, "Lol" said:
"Derek Turner" wrote in message ... On Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:41:47 +0000, Lol wrote: So please advise and suggest plans of action! Many thanks Lol In a word, glyphosate. And now in in industrial strength. BTW mares-tail is a semi-aquatic, you are more likely to have horse-tail q.v.. Bob Flowerdew recommends moving house if you have it. Thanks for that. As it turns out, what we have here is probably "Bottle brush" So thats Ok then - no need to abandon hope... Lol Er, what is usually called bottle brush is a highly desirable shrub known as Callistemon. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics. South Devon |
#12
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New allotment
Le Sun, 8 Nov 2009 16:06:29 -0000, Lol a écrit :
Will certainly investigate Glysophate, but without much enthusiasm. So, don't. There was gardening before glyphosate. -- Salut la compagnie Mon Beau Jardin est derrière La Grille Verte http://www.la-grille-verte.net |
#13
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New allotment
Bob Hobden wrote:
"Lol" wrote (Huge snip) Will certainly investigate Glysophate, but without much enthusiasm. Had a chance to look closely today, and not all of that grass is couch, I think its mainly rye with clumps of couch. We too didn't like the idea of using weedkiller when we got an overgrown plot years ago that hadn't been used for 20 years or more. But experience told us it was the only way we could deal with the perennial weeds. Two sprays a month apart and it was done. Being surrounded by similar wild land it was a constant battle with couch and mares tail trying to get to the nice fertile soil we developed. I took over an allotment 2 years ago with brambles, couch grass and bindweed and dug out what I could. I think that I have got rid of brambles but still find the other two. OTOH they don't prevent decent crops so am not too worried. -- CTC Right to Ride Rep. for Richmond upon Thames |
#14
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New allotment
"Neuneu" wrote ... Will certainly investigate Glysophate, but without much enthusiasm. So, don't. There was gardening before glyphosate. There was gardening before the spade and fork, how far back do you want to go. -- Regards Bob Hobden just W. of London |
#15
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New allotment
"Bob Hobden" wrote in message ... "Lol" wrote... As it turns out, what we have here is probably "Bottle brush" So thats Ok then - no need to abandon hope... Bottlebrush?? Probably is a local name for Mares tail or more correctly Horsetail (Equisetum sp.). Mares tail is correctly used for an aquatic plant ( Hippuris vulgaris) that looks similar (but we all know what you mean). -- Regards Bob Hobden just W. of London I mean that Shakespeare's plays were actually written by someone else of the same name. lol |
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