Ivy Roots - can I have some advice please

[Storming Norman]

Hi All,

It's week 3 on my allotment and I have got around to digging up the hedge end of this little plot [since I cut back the hedge the soil is not yet hard & dry so it needs to be done quickly whilst it is easier to work].

Most of the plot has simple weeds to deal with [couch grass and creeping cinquefoil], but now I am into the bindweed and ivy roots.

I can dig these up to a degree but the soil has not been worked for 10 years and is really heavy clay, so I don't think I can expect to get them out fully. I have sprayed with glyphosate which has done a lot to diminish the other weeds but I cannot see it doing much with the ivy.

This end of the plot gets very wet in winter so I need to set up raised beds to get the best of the area.

Can you offer advice on what is likely to happen with the ivy and how I should handle this? It has grown across the ground from the hedge so infests the area I want to use for compost bins and the neighbour's unused plot.

Thanks, Ann

[rana]

Ivy has very 'shiny' leaves so water based herbicide is not readily absorbed. There used to be a weed-killer called SBK which you could disolve in an organic solvent like paraffin. It takes a few applications and some time but eventually weakens the Ivy enough to kill it.

I don't know if glyphosate is soluble or active in an organic solvent.

[Two_Sheds]

With Ivy, you might need to sandpaper the leaves a bit before you use Glypho. Still, I don't rate it.

It needs to be dug out, or the roots will regrow.

[coreopsis]

Try to find out what ivy are you dealing with.I had Irish ivy which(according to google) is not as invasive as English ivy and easier to get rid of.Ivy does well in damp shady areas.Mine was growing on the timber fence and up the tree with some stalks creeping on the ground.I cut off the tree clmbers,ripped everything from the fence and dealt with a few roots.Can't see much re-growth although fence badly needs to be replaced

[WrexTheDragon]

With Ivy, you might need to sandpaper the leaves a bit before you use Glypho. Still, I don't rate it.

It needs to be dug out, or the roots will regrow.

TIP: Mix the glypho with water and a bit of wallpaper paste.

Paint this onto the sandpapered leaves or just hit them with a stone to crush the leaves a bit.

The wallpaper mixture will stay on in all weather and be absorbed by the crushed leaves and kill the roots.

[Storming Norman]

Thanks Guys,

I like the sandpaper and whack it ideas.........

I'm digging out the roots but I think I will miss some as it is an infestation from a hedge that has been allowed to establish on a neglected plot, so these will help catch any stray bits that appear.

I've had 3 trees out of this end of this tiny plot - who knows when this half patch was used last to grow food. However it has been used to grow compost heaps - so there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

My neighbour on the other half of the patch [source of the compost perhaps?]has yet to put in an appearance. This has also happened with the four surrounding plots. You'd think they be a bit keener than that.

Ann

[BFG]

Ivy is good for wildlife. Can you live with a bit where it is?

If you want rid of it, just grab it and rip it out wherever you see a bit. It usually comes up in long strips for me. it'll regrow, but if you keep doing it, it'll die off.

"since I cut back the hedge the soil is not yet hard & dry so it needs to be done quickly whilst it is easier to work" There's a lesson from nature there. That nice damp crumbly soil is what you want, not the barren dry stuff.

Don't dig and just mulch, mulch, mulch.

[Two_Sheds]

Ivy is good for wildlife.

It's fantastic. We have blackbirds and sparrows nesting in it. Trouble is, it tends to take over!
It was 8 foot deep when I took on my plot last year. I Glypho'd it 4 times last summer, then covered the ground in tarpauline for a year.

This weekend I took the tarp off and started digging out the roots. Very tough, but they all came out eventually.

I am leaving the ivy on the fence, but on order that it behaves itself this time.