hi everyone,

[hunter road]

Hi everyone, I have just found this site, Can anyone help Ive just taken possesion of my first allotment, Hoorah!!! but its covered in couch grass,Boo!!! Ive dug loads out but I know theres more hiding in there, can anybody recomend an organic way to get rid of the stuff.{ I hope this is the right place to post this as am useless with computers and websites} Look forward to hearing any advice that anyone can give, many thanks Hunter road.

[Ozzieboy]

Hi and welcome

I`m new here myself but with my very limited knowledge i believe the only organic way for couch and bindweed is dig and remove as much as possible.
You will miss bits that will regrow, dig and remove them and so on.

I have the same problem on my plot but getting more manageable all the time.

[Alice]

Hello Hunter Road and welcome to the vine. Ozzie boy is right. If it's an organic method you're looking for it's got to be a spade and you have to take every bit of root out or it's right back. You could try some weed suppressing membrane or cardboard on areas you're not using, but as a method on it's own it takes a long time to get rid of weeds. Do let us know what you're growong there.

And Ozzieboy, welcome to the vine.

[buttercup]

hello!

hi there, hunter road!
im new to this to! got my allotment not so long ago and its covered with couch grass too!
the advise ive had is to take one bit at a time and cover what your not using with cardboard! it wont kill it but may make it easier to dig when you get round to it!
its a nightmare, and i havent had much time to tackle it! slowly, slowly, catchy monkey!
sorry im not much help
cheers buttercup x x

[rustylady]

Welcome all new members. Yes all previous posts are correct - the only way to get rid of the ***** stuff is to keep digging. If you don't need to plant just yet and can leave some of the plot covered with weed suppressants such as thick cardboard or old carpets it does stop the tops growing and when you do uncover it seems easier to dig the roots out. Please don't compost them though, you'll just end with a heap of couch grass. Bindweed (which I also have) needs the same treatment.

Take heart, though - it does get a lot easier season by season.

[mandyballantyne]

hi hunter road, welcome to the vine.

Yip I have to agree, dig, dig, dig, it does get easier honest

Good luck, Mandy

[Snadger]

I too have just taken over a couch grass infested allotment!

What I am doing is starting at the end I intend to plant my tatties, digging and removing all weed roots I can find (very time consuming!)

When it gets nearer to planting time I will dig potatoe trenches a spades depth, banking soil beside trench, half fill trench with well rotted manure, plant tatties and cap with soil I have removed. Once each tattie bed is planted I will cover whole bed with a good 4" to 6" of manure mulch!

With the shade cast by the potatoe plants and the mulch working in tandem hopefully this will deter any couch grass that I missed, and if not it should be easy to pull out the odd escapee!

[shirlthegirl43]

Hi Hunter Road and welcome to the Vine.

Sorry, no idea what to do with couch grass - wouldn't even know if I had it I have lots of grass on my 'plot' but that is due to digging up my 'lawn' to grow veggies instead - can't look any worse than it did!

[pete10]

Hi and welcome the old favourite cooch grass digging is the only real way of
getting rid is to dig ,But as the other guys have said covering will weaken it.
When you have cleared a bed dig a six inch trench around it ,That will stop
it reinfesting the bed.

[Poledragon]

I can second rustylady when she says don't compost couch grass or you'll end up with a pile of the stuff...

My lottie is infested with the blasted stuff too. I'm slowly getting it under control - it just takes patience and a decent fork. I learnt not to use the azada quite rapidly as it just chops the roots into small lengths that proliferate all the more.

[Earthbabe]

Hi ozzieboy and hunter road welcome to the vine. I'm fortunate that we are not too badly infested where we are, although if we get the other plot we are after we might be.

Best of luck with the digging. If it really gets too much it is acceptable although not strictly organic to resort to ntg's chemical of choice - glyphosate. We tend to use the Growing Success one (other brands are available) which breaks down into a nitrogen based fertiliser.

[Lesley Jay]

Snadger couch grass roots grow straight through potatoes!! So try not to leave any behind where you are intending planting your seed potatoes.

[carlseawolf]

you could always seive thefirst foot deep of ground and ditch all the roots ( and no this is not a joke i did it to my plot as i had bindweed , marestail and brambles with old raspberry canes thrown in )
seiving is time consuming if you look at my web site what you see is the work since last october at 12 hours a week, but the soil afterwards is excellent.

[Two_Sheds]

Hey you lot...waste not, want not. You can always eat your couch grass instead of trying to compost it. Or make it into a liquid fertiliser by drowning it in a water butt.

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants....ytrigia+repens

[pete10]

Like your site Carlseawolf nice work on your plot . Ps the music is a class
tune.