Yay!! Winning the war on Docks!

[LostthePlot]

I know this very wet weather isn't much use to anything other than ducks but I found it is a perfect ally for helping to get rid of docks with no effort (or chemicals) at all. Whilst down on the lottie yesterday morning, making the most of the brief sunshine, I was looking for a job to tackle and thought I'd have a go at digging up some docks and dandelions, well........ To my surprise the docks came out of the soaking wet ground tap root and all. The ground is so loose at the mo' with all the rain that the docks seem to offer no resistance whatsoever. The dandelions came out, some with complete success, others with a big chunk of root attached. So excited was I that I completely cleared a 12' x 12' plot. Now all I have got to do is get rid of the couch roots I've decided that this week I am going to tackle this plot rain or no rain.

[johnty greentoes]

I know this very wet weather isn't much use to anything other than ducks but I found it is a perfect ally for helping to get rid of docks with no effort (or chemicals) at all. Whilst down on the lottie yesterday morning, making the most of the brief sunshine, I was looking for a job to tackle and thought I'd have a go at digging up some docks and dandelions, well........ To my surprise the docks came out of the soaking wet ground tap root and all. The ground is so loose at the mo' with all the rain that the docks seem to offer no resistance whatsoever. The dandelions came out, some with complete success, others with a big chunk of root attached. So excited was I that I completely cleared a 12' x 12' plot. Now all I have got to do is get rid of the couch roots I've decided that this week I am going to tackle this plot rain or no rain.

I am insanely jealous.

My plot is totally dockified, as yours seems to be, but the soil is very heavy clay so the little b******s hold on. They also all seem to fork so they have two hands to hold on with.

My method at the moment is to dig down 1 spade deep. Turn over the sod. Find the dock roots and pull them out from their borroms! It seems to work.

[roitelet]

What I call reverse weeding, very effective, done lots of it. Did you know that it is supposed to be easier to get docks out in March than any other month

[snohare]

Johnty, my heart goes out to you. Once upon a time when I was annoying him at work the foreman used to tell me to go weed dockens. Some were as tall as me...
There is however a slightly easier way to do it that can make all the difference. ( Sorry, can't guarantee it will work on bifurcate roots in clay !) That is, take two garden forks, preferably one being an old-fashioned graip; stick the normal one into the soil so that the tines of the fork create a fissure at the root of the plant; then stick the graip or other fork deep into the crack and use it to loosen off the soil lower down as you pull upwards on the plant with your free hand. On a dry day in loam it is possible to take out roots at least two feet long using this method. Very satisfying !
In the end, the foreman got annoyed that I liked the job so much...

[Nicos]

Well done!
One thing to take notice of is that there will soon be dock seeds starting to germinate- get them out asap whilst they are tiny and next year you'll hardly have any!
My last plot was clay and docks .....

[LostthePlot]

My soil is very sticky, clay type soil and the plot I was clearing has not been dug for a while by the looks of it. I just used a fork about 4-5 inches away from the dock itself, took the fork right down to its length and hey presto, one dock less to worry about. I have also read (somewhere) that if you cut through the dock root 4 inches below the soil this will kill it. I thought that was what I would have been doing with mine. I can't wait for the weather to clear now to get cracking on them couch devils.

[Earthbabe]

Well done!
One thing to take notice of is that there will soon be dock seeds starting to germinate- get them out asap whilst they are tiny and next year you'll hardly have any!
My last plot was clay and docks .....

In fact dig any perennial weeds up while they are still diddy is probably the best way to go.

We have to go down 18" to hit clay the stuff on top is great though.

[johnty greentoes]

Johnty, my heart goes out to you. Once upon a time when I was annoying him at work the foreman used to tell me to go weed dockens. Some were as tall as me...
There is however a slightly easier way to do it that can make all the difference. ( Sorry, can't guarantee it will work on bifurcate roots in clay !) That is, take two garden forks, preferably one being an old-fashioned graip; stick the normal one into the soil so that the tines of the fork create a fissure at the root of the plant; then stick the graip or other fork deep into the crack and use it to loosen off the soil lower down as you pull upwards on the plant with your free hand. On a dry day in loam it is possible to take out roots at least two feet long using this method. Very satisfying !
In the end, the foreman got annoyed that I liked the job so much...

Snohare

Thanks for the sympathy and advice - I will try this and let you know, although the clay I am on is like glue.

[johnty greentoes]

In fact dig any perennial weeds up while they are still diddy is probably the best way to go.

We have to go down 18" to hit clay the stuff on top is great though.

How will your JA tubers do on my soil!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hazel at the Hill]

How will your JA tubers do on my soil!!!!!!!!!!!!

As someone far greater than I has said in these very forums:

"Well, they've got two choices"

[johnty greentoes]

As someone far greater than I has said in these very forums:

"Well, they've got two choices"

Very wise.