bindweed and raspberries

[joolzabb]

hi there,
have started trying to clear my new lottie bit by bit by pulling up and burning the dry dead stuff. i notice there is a lot on here about bindweed sad to say dont know what it looks like and if look at pics on web doesnt really help. does it dry off in witner or is it alwasy green. i have something which looks tangled up strings aboutten foot plus long but pulls up easily and is very dry. cold this be it? and if so does pulling it up get rid.

on the raspberry front i got 18 autumn fruiting bushes from a freecycler and dug a lovey patch next to my compost heap (boxed in) to put them in asap as directed. Am i ok to leave them there or should i move them frm by it. the ground if really soft and dark and has shedloads of worms in there so looks and feels great just wondered if there may be any reason not to leave them there.

thanx
joolz x

a new shoot grown from an old gardener

[cottage garden]

Hello Joolz, Bindweed dies back in winter and what you described could be it. It can be several feet long and usually wraps itself around other plant stems. The topgrowth is dead now but it will resprout in spring and if you are vigilant you can probably dig it out then. Make sure you get all the roots out!! The more you dig out, the weaker it gets.

Sounds like lovely rich soil for your raspberries, the only thing to mind is that they will send up new plants in every direction next year and whether that matters where they are.

[Hans Mum]

bindweed is the bane of my life, if you allow it to flower it has white trumpet shaped flowers, but you will spend the next few years digging it out, you only have to leave the tiniest piece for it to grow again, its not all bad news though it does weaken the more you dig it out and if youve got something growin and it appears i 'train' it up a bamboo or other stick and paint the leaves with a roundup type product (from Wilko!!) this way i dont have to spray the area and the stuff just kills the bindweed cause it travels down the plant, its better than losing a crop to the bloody stuff in my opinion.

Rasps will be fine, but remember they are very shallow rooting and llike a good feed of pony poo

[jeannine]

If you prefer the organic approach, then don't get disheartened about bindweed, you'll crack it after a while just from pulling it up regularly, and it's quite satisfying pulling up lengths of the long white roots.

Also, if the dead growth on yours is only a foot tall then it might be the lesser bindweed which is a bit easier to deal with!

best of luck with it and all your raspberries!

[pigletwillie]

I have the odd bit in my raspers too and just gnip it of at ground level every time I see it. It eventually gives up.

[joolzabb]

thanks to all replies. feel better now and will keep on top of it. just sent hubby off to get weed wand from argos half price @ tenner with free cannister so he can zap some of the other stuff.
joolz x

[pete10]

It is wise to break the leaves and stalks before painting the weed killer on.
As it gets in to the plant a lot quicker .