I have a "garden" which has more nettles than anything else. Garden is
a sort of loose phrase, its a bit of a mess.

I want to start a multi year project, where year one is is get rid of
the nettles, year 2 is to do the landscaping and do the grass, and
then year 3 is to think about plants. I don't want my new grass filled
with nettles that I burried during landscaping.

Can I put a weedkiller down that kills nettles & roots ? Right now I
don't care if it kills everything, as long as I can grow stuff next
year I am fine.

Any recomendations ?

I need something thats not too expensive, as I have 1/2 an acre to
do. I can get stuff from a farmers merchant if its the best way.

Thanks
Rick

"Rick" wrote in message
...

Can I put a weedkiller down that kills nettles & roots ? Right now I
don't care if it kills everything, as long as I can grow stuff next
year I am fine.

Any recomendations ?

Any glyphosate-based weedkiller will knock 'em over and kill down to the
roots. It will, however, do the same to pretty much everything else too,
except ivy.

Are you SURE you want to kill everything? There will still be some new
growth next year but much easier to deal with - it's an attrition thing.

--
Brian
"Anyway, if you have been, thanks for listening."

I find nettles far less resilient that you might imagine. I would expect a
good rotavate and rake to get rid of most of them without the need for
chemicals.

Of course chemicals will also help against the other weeds that might be
around. Depends on whether you want an organic garden, or not.

BTW, nettles are good activators in a compost heap as well as attracting
various insects so you might want to keep a patch around.

Paul DS.

Rick wrote in message
...

I have a "garden" which has more nettles than anything else. Garden is
a sort of loose phrase, its a bit of a mess.

I want to start a multi year project, where year one is is get rid of
the nettles, year 2 is to do the landscaping and do the grass, and
then year 3 is to think about plants. I don't want my new grass filled
with nettles that I burried during landscaping.

Can I put a weedkiller down that kills nettles & roots ? Right now I
don't care if it kills everything, as long as I can grow stuff next
year I am fine.

Any recomendations ?

I need something thats not too expensive, as I have 1/2 an acre to
do. I can get stuff from a farmers merchant if its the best way.

Thanks
Rick


Hi Rick,

It may cheer you up to learn that nettles are a sign of good, fertile soil.
To get rid of the nettles, spray with Glyphosate. Because Glyphosate is a
systemic herbicide, it is important that you spray green, leafy growth, so
if you have sheared the plants to ground level, you will have to wait while
they put on some new growth. Because you have such an established patch of
nettles, you may need more than one application, but Glyphosate should do
the job. This chemical breaks down on contact with the soil, so you'll have
no problems planting later. Do bear in mind, though, that Glyphosate will
kill everything, so take care with any wanted plants, or drift onto your
neighbour's land.

Spider

On Mon, 16 May 2005 11:39:39 +0100, "Paul D.Smith"
wrote:

I find nettles far less resilient that you might imagine. I would expect a
good rotavate and rake to get rid of most of them without the need for
chemicals.

They have done very well where the Excavator has been running over the
garden


Of course chemicals will also help against the other weeds that might be
around. Depends on whether you want an organic garden, or not.

BTW, nettles are good activators in a compost heap as well as attracting
various insects so you might want to keep a patch around.

The neighbor has plenty :-)

On Mon, 16 May 2005 11:39:39 +0100, "Paul D.Smith"
wrote:

BTW, nettles are good activators in a compost heap as well as attracting
various insects so you might want to keep a patch around.


Yes. You can also make a good brew if you dunk nettes in a barrel of
water. Can you leave a patch of nettles for the butterflies
(tortoiseshell I think) which lay eggs on nettles.
I would cut most down (strim?) andthen try to dig up the roots. They
have thick yellow roots which I find not easy to get rid of with
weed-killers. You may not get rid of them all in one season. I think
they may sprout from bits of roots left in the ground. Don't be in too
much of a hurry.

Pam in Bristol

Rick wrote:

I have a "garden" which has more nettles than anything else. Garden is
a sort of loose phrase, its a bit of a mess.

I want to start a multi year project, where year one is is get rid of
the nettles, year 2 is to do the landscaping and do the grass, and
then year 3 is to think about plants. I don't want my new grass filled
with nettles that I burried during landscaping.

Can I put a weedkiller down that kills nettles & roots ? Right now I
don't care if it kills everything, as long as I can grow stuff next
year I am fine.

Any recomendations ?

Glyphosate will do it easily. Kills anything green it touches so use
with care on a still day. And you can even replant reseed the lawn this
year if you get the plot under control quickly enough. It is the method
of choice for reclaiming derelict wilderness from nettles & brambles.

I need something thats not too expensive, as I have 1/2 an acre to
do. I can get stuff from a farmers merchant if its the best way.

Nettles don't put up all that stiff resistance. You can get them out
with a half decent fork and a lot of elbow grease. I'd leave some at the
wilder end of a 1/2 acre garden - the butterflies are worth it.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Rick wrote:
I want to start a multi year project, where year one is is get rid of
the nettles, year 2 is to do the landscaping and do the grass, and
then year 3 is to think about plants. I don't want my new grass filled
with nettles that I burried during landscaping.

Can I put a weedkiller down that kills nettles & roots ? Right now I
don't care if it kills everything, as long as I can grow stuff next
year I am fine.

Chuck Roundup at it if you really want, BUT if you just grass it
and keep mowing the nettles will die off quite quickly.

Rick wrote:
On Mon, 16 May 2005 11:39:39 +0100, "Paul D.Smith"
wrote:

I find nettles far less resilient that you might imagine. I would
expect a good rotavate and rake to get rid of most of them without
the need for chemicals.

They have done very well where the Excavator has been running over
the
garden

And they'll do even better after a rotavator has done its stuff:
wonderful tools, from a perennial plant's point of view. Expect also
a beautiful crop of dandelions, and sheer delight if you have any
bindweed in there. My understanding is that the rotavator industry is
heavily sponsored by the National Union of Perennial Weeds and Allied
Trades. But if there are a lot of wheeltracks, there may be no
alternative on such a big area.

The trouble with raking after rotavating is that unless the soil
condition is just right, you get big lumps which are exhausting to
work.


Of course chemicals will also help against the other weeds that
might be around. Depends on whether you want an organic garden,
or
not.

BTW, nettles are good activators in a compost heap as well as
attracting various insects so you might want to keep a patch
around.

The neighbor has plenty :-)

If the area was even, I'd try mowing the nettles off a few times to
let the grass take over: one weed you don't typically find in an
established lawn is the nettle, because they don't like the regular
cutting. For the first cut, an ordinary mower wouldn't do: you'd need
to hire a clearing mower or a motor scythe. But it sounds as though
it isn't a level surface, so you may indeed need to use a herbicide
if it's too big a job to level first. In that case, the thing is to
mow as short as possible, wait for new leaves to sprout well, then
hit them with the glyphosate: you can't realistically spray half an
acre of fully-grown nettles.

Confronted with a similar problem, though on a smaller area, I just
took my courage in both hands, put on a thick shirt and gloves, and
pulled out all the top growth by hand. I got stung on the face more
often than I could reasonably enjoy, but quite a lot of root came up
with the stems. I then raked over, picking up any loose bits of root
and pulling out any projecting ends. Not a few young nettles came up
with the grass I then sowed, but a combination of pulling out and
regular mowing removed the problem soon enough. That's the way I'd
want to do it; but half an acre's an awful lot.

--
Mike.

In message , Pam Moore
writes
On Mon, 16 May 2005 11:39:39 +0100, "Paul D.Smith"
wrote:

BTW, nettles are good activators in a compost heap as well as attracting
various insects so you might want to keep a patch around.


Yes. You can also make a good brew if you dunk nettes in a barrel of
water. Can you leave a patch of nettles for the butterflies
(tortoiseshell I think) which lay eggs on nettles.
I would cut most down (strim?) andthen try to dig up the roots. They
have thick yellow roots which I find not easy to get rid of with
weed-killers. You may not get rid of them all in one season. I think
they may sprout from bits of roots left in the ground. Don't be in too
much of a hurry.

Pam in Bristol

Whilst on the subject of nettles. I would like to leave a patch for the
flutterbies but dread the seedlings that would emerge everywhere else (I
still haven't managed to clear the old ones yet) Is it feasible to
strim them before they set seed ? Or will that defeat the object ?
--
Sue Begg

Do not mess in the affairs of dragons - for
you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

In article ,
Sue Begg writes:
|
| Whilst on the subject of nettles. I would like to leave a patch for the
| flutterbies but dread the seedlings that would emerge everywhere else (I
| still haven't managed to clear the old ones yet) Is it feasible to
| strim them before they set seed ? Or will that defeat the object ?

Not in my experience. If, however, the nettles are separated from
cultivated areas, compost heaps etc. by at least 5, preferably 10,
yards of grass, it isn't a problem. The seeds are heavy and drop.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In message , Nick Maclaren
writes

In article ,
Sue Begg writes:
|
| Whilst on the subject of nettles. I would like to leave a patch for the
| flutterbies but dread the seedlings that would emerge everywhere else (I
| still haven't managed to clear the old ones yet) Is it feasible to
| strim them before they set seed ? Or will that defeat the object ?

Not in my experience. If, however, the nettles are separated from
cultivated areas, compost heaps etc. by at least 5, preferably 10,
yards of grass, it isn't a problem. The seeds are heavy and drop.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Great, thanks Nick I will leave a couple of suitably isolated patches
:-)

In fact the other side of the garden boundary is a field's 'conservation
strip' might just let a lot of seeds fall in there
--
Sue Begg
Remove my clothes to reply

Do not mess in the affairs of dragons - for
you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

In article , Sue Begg
writes
Whilst on the subject of nettles. I would like to leave a patch for the
flutterbies but dread the seedlings that would emerge everywhere else (I still
haven't managed to clear the old ones yet) Is it feasible to strim them before
they set seed ? Or will that defeat the object ?
--
I don't know what you're experience is, but mine is that most of the
seedlings seem to be the annual nettle rather than U dioica. So you may
be OK.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In message , Kay
writes
In article , Sue Begg
writes
Whilst on the subject of nettles. I would like to leave a patch for the
flutterbies but dread the seedlings that would emerge everywhere else
(I still
haven't managed to clear the old ones yet) Is it feasible to strim
them before
they set seed ? Or will that defeat the object ?
--
I don't know what you're experience is, but mine is that most of the
seedlings seem to be the annual nettle rather than U dioica. So you may
be OK.

At the moment I have everything !!
I am turning an acre and a half of field into garden. So where I have
exposed the soil (very nice black loam) I have exposed to light the
twenty year accumulation of seeds in the ground. It will get easier as
time goes on, but at the moment it is difficult keeping on top of it.
--
Sue Begg
Remove my clothes to reply

Do not mess in the affairs of dragons - for
you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Rick writes

I have a "garden" which has more nettles than anything else. Garden is
a sort of loose phrase, its a bit of a mess.

I want to start a multi year project, where year one is is get rid of
the nettles, year 2 is to do the landscaping and do the grass, and
then year 3 is to think about plants. I don't want my new grass filled
with nettles that I burried during landscaping.

Can I put a weedkiller down that kills nettles & roots ? Right now I
don't care if it kills everything, as long as I can grow stuff next
year I am fine.

Any recomendations ?

Yes, I'm afraid you can't treat it as a building project where each
stage is definite and fixed and follows logically from the others. I
think you should be aware that the weeds will not simply stop growing in
years 2 onwards simply because you weeded in year 1, and also 3 years is
a long time to wait before you start using the garden.

I'd do 1/3 of the area every year, or as much as I felt I could take on
and do all the stages. So, pick a spot, get rid of the nettles in that
spot, sort out some landscaping, and plant it.

Year 2, you will have to maintain what you have done in year 1, and you
will get some weeds back around your new plants, but at least they will
have started to grow and you will get some benefit.

In this way your garden will evolve and you will get new ideas or modify
existing ones. If you have grass, then keeping it and planting small
shrubs in it will make it easier to maintain. Each year I extend the dug
area round mine as they grow, until finally the earth circles meet up
and all the grass can be removed and the maintenance is very simple
because I'm dealing with mature plants.

--
David