creeping buttercup

[leoblackcat]

Don't suppose anyone knows of an easy way to get rid of it? Does it respond to being soaked in vinegar? The new plot is covered in it....

[PAULW]

Get a fork under it, make sure you go deep and get all the roots if you just tickle the surface and break the roots off the bugger will grow again, it looks daunting facing a load of the stuff but you have to dig the plot anyway.

[singleseeder]

I have this in the borders of my new garden. Very heavy clay so the deeper I dig the bigger the clod of earth I get!!

It's a real bar steward isn't it?

[Two_Sheds]

Slice the crown off with a blade/hoe. Do not ever bury the crown because the plant will regrow. The trouble with digging is that you can inadvertently dig stuff back into the soil.

Buttercup likes acid, damp conditions, so once you set about getting the soil into good condition, it should disappear

[Madasafish]

I use a spot weeder: Weedol with a brush. Even if you miss some of it, it will die away. Ideal way of removing it from lawns.

[leoblackcat]

thanks.

I heard buttercup likes acidic soil - so it should be a bit unhappy when i dig in some lime so I can plant my brassicas out next week....If I slice the top off with a hoe will that stop it spreading then? - I have some nasty white runners just under the soil and wasn't sure if it is related to the buttercup or if it's something else.

[annacruachan]

Creeping buttercup puts down a bunch of roots wherever it touches the soil. Your nasty white runners sound suspiciously like ground elder. This doesn't mind what soil it's in, and neither are easy - or might I say possible - to eradicate completely. Even glyphosate will not kill them. Resign yourself to the perennial battle with those fragile roots; every bit left behind will grow. Sorry!

[leoblackcat]

Thanks - I have been struggling to work out what the white roots are as the only visible growing plant on the allotment is now the buttercup. There are no other leaves - will look up ground elder on the internet now....

[annacruachan]

Unfortunately they might also be convolvulus - another nasty bit of work. I would expect there to be some foliage around from either the ground elder or convolvulus. Perhaps you have diligently hoed all the top growth away. If you are not an organic gardener a good dose of weedkiller would help to clear your ground ready for the winter. If you are, it's a question of constant weeding. But hey, the veggies seem to grow despite the weeds!
Good luck with it all!

[Two_Sheds]

I have some nasty white runners just under the soil and wasn't sure if it is related to the buttercup or if it's something else.

buttercup runs over the soil, not under it.
White runners? Might be couch grass (straight, brittle) or bindweed (curlier, still brittle)?

[leoblackcat]

mmm - looking on the internet I think it may be couch grass....