bindweed and tidying untouched plot

[robo99]

I have a small plot to dig over and tidy before Sunday but there is rubbish on top lots and weeds such as bindweed . Any suggestions please on the quickest way to clear and dig .

[nickdub]

Tidying is one thing, removing all bindweed another. A garden fork is the best tool for digging out bindweed, but it is next to impossible to get it all in one pass.

You don't say what is around the sides of the plot you are clearing, but if it is more ground, then expect the weeds to re-invade from any uncleared areas. Bindweed etc does not respect paths, hedges etc.

[robo99]

That's great thanks and would weed or root killer help when i have dug it.

[robo99]

[Plot70]

A couple of days ago I had a look at a plot that had been weedkillered and the stuff had not touched the bind weed.
I had to dug down to rock and scrape the roots off. That plot is now planted with a big variety of parsnips to take advantage of the deep digging.

[robo99]

Thank you very much

[nickdub]

Once the bindweed roots are out of the ground just exposing them to the sun and air for a few days to dry out will kill them.


Happy gardening Nick :-)

[robo99]

Thank you for your help

[Snoop Puss]

Bindweed is an ongoing problem. I don't have the time to do what Plot70 did. So my approach is little and often: remove the green stuff at the top with as much root as I can and keep doing it till the parent root is exhausted. It's important not to let the leafy part get too big, as it will be feeding the roots. You could use a trowel for this if you don't want to disturb the soil too much.

The plot doesn't look too bad. Not entirely sure from the pictures what the rubbish is, but I reckon with a good hoe you could clear a lot of the superficial weedy stuff. That would be quite quick, albeit maybe a bit cosmetic only. What are you planning to do with it? You could just bung a huge heap of compost on top, in the no-dig manner, but that's throwing money rather than time at the problem as I guess you're unlikely to have compost.

[robo99]

Thank you for your help

[RedRuth]

I have a small plot to dig over and tidy before Sunday but there is rubbish on top lots and weeds such as bindweed . Any suggestions please on the quickest way to clear and dig .

Bindweed is the bane of my life, neither of my allotment neighbours will use weed killer so I have it constantly coming over into my plot. Bindweed and couch grass are the only weeds I spray with glyphosate (not interested in arguing about the pros and cons) but I respect my neighbours wishes and just pull up what comes from their plots and drown it in a water butt, I eventually get a kind of bindweed tea fertiliser!

[quanglewangle]

Bindweed is the bane of my life, neither of my allotment neighbours will use weed killer so I have it constantly coming over into my plot. Bindweed and couch grass are the only weeds I spray with glyphosate (not interested in arguing about the pros and cons) but I respect my neighbours wishes and just pull up what comes from their plots and drown it in a water butt, I eventually get a kind of bindweed tea fertiliser!

If you need to apply glyphosate with precision you can thicken the working solution with a little wallpaper paste and ensure good wetting with a drop or two of e.g. Flash cleaner then apply with a paint bush. Use disposable gloves.

[Plot70]

Bind weed and creeping thistle have deep cross roots that survive all known weed killers that will leave the ground usable after application.
The longest hold back I have had is with spot treatment using white spirit.
During work on a clay block built raised bed I dissected a block of clay with a creeping thistle in it and took a photo.
The white spirit goes right down to the cross root. Weed killer does not go down that far and it comes back quicker.

[RedRuth]

If you need to apply glyphosate with precision you can thicken the working solution with a little wallpaper paste and ensure good wetting with a drop or two of e.g. Flash cleaner then apply with a paint bush. Use disposable gloves.

That's a good idea! I have couch grass in my strawberry bed, I can't spray it so a more targetted approach may work. Thanks

[robo99]

Thank you everyone