Nettles & Docs

[jackarmy]

Im growing my spuds in buckets , at the moment their happy in the greenhouse but i intend moving them out onto the plot shortly.
The area their going to has quite a few docs, nettles etc (not masses or tall, just a seasons growth) and to save my dodgy back from the stodgy clay based soil their in , i was wondering how they would do if a few layers of cardboard was laid on top until later in the season.
Once the spuds are done the whole area will be turned into no dig raised ( slightly ) beds.

The whole plot was dug over last season but an op in july has seen it revert back to semi jungle .

thanks in advance.

[Snoop Puss]

Hi, Jackarmy. I'm not sure I've fully understood.

Are you intending to remove your potatoes from their buckets and plant them out in the ground? Or will you simply be placing the buckets (with the potatoes still in them) on top of the weeds?

If the latter, I don't think you'll have any problem if you make sure they're still getting plenty of light.

If the former, then that's a different matter and I'm not sure the potatoes will like the disturbance or the competition.

[Greenleaves]

In my experience nettles are easier to eliminate than docs. The nettles are quite shallow rooting and have creeping roots. Covering will work to a degree as the roots turn woody and die.

I have never suffered from docs but like all taprooted weeds have an abundant underground food store.

The most important thing is to stop them seeding

[1Bee]

Docks do not quit. I laid paths over hoed-off docs and the taproots grew horizontally just under the surface until they were out from under the path and could send up leaves.

In theory, they give up if you consistently starve their roots by removing their leaves, but I'm not sure how many years this would take... ! Even Charles thingumy the no-dig expert includes docks in his list of plants to remove before trying no-dig.

On the other hand, if you're just putting buckets on their heads and can knock them back if they creep out, then they're not going to do you any harm. Just put digging out the mother roots on your To-Do-When-I-Have-Time list.

When I re-lay a path or have a moment spare I dig up the big ones on my plot. It's very satisfying! Other than that it's just hoeing off any offspring and preventing any big ones seeding. We coexist relatively happily for now.

[nickdub]

Mostly agree with what the others have advised you about this.

Just to mention that if you have some old containers like broken buckets, large ex-paint tubs or whatever, then sawing the bottoms off and then resting them on the soil allows you to fill them with compost etc and grow things like potatoes through in to the soil below. This is not a 100% cure for weeds but will allow you to get a crop off a piece of ground, which if you have health problems is a sort of work around. If you try this start the containers part full, then as the potatoes grow gradually top up the bins with compost or manure.

[ESBkevin]

Docks are hard to remove. I would attempt to dig out any that seem likely to come, but ttry to avoid snapping off the taproot as they will be back. If they are deep and established, I'd be tempted to dab that Gel weed killer (as seen on TV) on their leaves and leave them in situ. Then cover them and the nettles with thick cardboard and leave for nature to work it's magic. The nettles will die without light in a long season, the Docks would probably need two or three without chemical/mechanical help.

[jackarmy]

Sorry Snoop if i didnt make myself clear and thanks everyone else for input.
I intend to cover the whole area with cardboard and place the buckets of spuds ( insitu) on top of the cardboard.
Once the spuds are done i could then dig the docs out once the ground is drier and continue with the raised bed plan.
The whole area was dug last season so hopefully just knocking back the docs for 3 months or so will make it a bit easier to get them out.
Hopefully being young docs their roots wont be so bad, or is that wishfull thinking .

Hi Nik ( congrtas again ) , ive already got forty plus buckets that i bought when i was growing at home so theyll do me fine for this season.

Hopefully i wont need that gel Kevin but its worth keeping in mind, thanks.

[Muddy_Boots]

As has been said before in this thread, nettles are not so much a problem unless you let them take hold, the creeping roots are yellow and easily spotting when you dig the soil. Like any weed deprive them of light and the green stuff dies, I prefer to dig the plant plus the roots up to make sure they are gone (still have a lot coming up on plot 2 this year).

Docs are a different beast and are persistent little blighters, the only solution is to remove them root and all. If you want to compost them you will need to drown them first as you cannot add them to the heap, we have brown bins from the council and I put them in those so the council can compost them so I don't have the headache of disposing of them. The other solution is to dab them with that gel which is better than spraying so its localized and you only target that particular plant, even better if you use the no dig method and can be employed between plants of edibles you are growing with less fear of it affecting other plants.

[nickdub]

Sorry Snoop if i didnt make myself clear and thanks everyone else for input.

Hi Nik ( congrtas again ) , ive already got forty plus buckets that i bought when i was growing at home so theyll do me fine for this season.
.

Thanks very much.

I bought a about 20 pot type buckets from, Morrison a while back for £2, and the sawed the bottoms off most of them so I can rest them on the beds in the greenhouse and grow tomatoes through them. Being lazy I prefer to get the plant roots down in the ground if possible, as it cuts the amount of watering needed.

[Snoop Puss]

Sounds like you've got a decent plan. You might not manage to kill off the docks in three months, like everyone comments, so maybe keep them in the dark for as long as you can manage.

I have a few dock plants but not many, lucky for me. If I can't dig them up, I just keep chopping them off at ground level so that at least they don't go to seed and try and live them with them.

[Greenleaves]

I believe docs prefer soil that is slightly acidic so should be a good place for your spuds

[Baldy]

Mostly agree - though I've had trouble drowning docs - seem to remember a good few of them floated and seemed quite happy in the weed nutient barrel I'd chucked them in. I tend to incinerate them these days...

[rary]

Why don't you try removing the doc weeds by using a pipe, place the pipe over the doc weed try to keep the doc in the centre of the pipe then hammer the pipe into the ground, hitch a rope around the pipe and pull it out, you may not get all the root out but you will remove a good depth of it, and if you rig up a lever to pull out the pipe you don't use a lot of energy, drop a few stones down the plug hole and tamp them down before filling with soil, once you remove the root from the plug let it dry in the sun for a couple of weeks or mush it up with a hammer before dumping it into water

[muck lover]

Docs are immortal. Even roundup doesn’t work that well. Use cardboard/physical removal/weed killer gel/drowning/pulverisation with a hammer/flame gun. You’ll still have docs but all your aggression will have been worked off.
Seriously I think it’s a long war of attrition. No fast or easy way.

[veggiechicken]

I have lots of docks, hogweed and nettles and the first 2 have loooooooooooooooooong roots that snap off as you try to dig them out. The way I deal with them is to
1. dig out with a fork as much as possible
2. hoe off the tops whenever you see them
3. never let them flower.

Gradually, they weaken and I win. I don't think covering them makes much difference - they're tough blighters.