Tackling bindweed (again!)

[caroline7758]

I've had a particularly badly infested bit of my plot covered in black plastic for almost a year, I think. When I lifted the plastic today, the bindweed on the surface was weak and pale, but once I started digging it was clear that what was underneath was as strong as ever. :(

I want to use this area next year, so what would be best?

a) Cover it up again and plant through the plastic
b) Dig out as much as I can then cover again
c) Dig out as much as I can then leave it uncovered and hoe off the new shoots as they emerge (assuming i'm quick enough!)

[caroline7758]

[gp.girl]

I've stopped worrying about it and just plant stong crops over the top. Squash seems to be pretty good. Dig out as much as you can, treat the roots lke comfrey to make fertiliser, plant and enjoy........oh and weed twice weekly, it won't give up without a serious fight. You will have weed free beds though!

[Sparkly]

Dig it out and pull all the roots out you can then plant as normal. The bits you have missed will come up, but there will be less of it. Next year do the same thing and repeat.... Only way unless you will use weedkiller.

[CDave]

Dig as much out as you can. Then dig out growing bits that you have missed - and there will be lots. It takes a lot of time but you can make a big difference.

A neighbour plot holder has cleared his plot and his was in a right state. He has a boundary plot so any new growth that appears on the boundary fence gets painted with a mix of wallpaper paste and weedkiller. He keeps a small amount made up in a jar and paints it on the leaves with a brush. Just a bit does the trick. The bindweed leaves seem to have a waxy coating that means liquid weedkiller just runs off. The paste makes it stick. Seems to be very effective.

[Robert_Brenchley]

The roots may look as strong as ever, but they won't be. Dig out what you can, and plan to plant tender veg there next year. Meanwhile, whatever's survived will reveal itself, and you can dig each root out individually. It's a struggle, but you can get on top of it.

[bearded bloke]

Dig out as much as you can & carry on growing veg but keep watchful eye,mark new shoots as they appear leave for 7/8 days then pull up as much as you can & keep repeating this regime.The reasoning behind 7/8 days is that for that growing period the root is expending large amounts of energy into the new growth,after that period the leaves start to put more back into the root than it takes to grow.

[Digeroo]

I like the idea of putting the weedkiller in wallpaper paste.  I think that the bindweed absorbs it quite readily but it is easy for an excess to dip off onto something you don't want to kill.  The other way is to put the stems into a plastic bag and then spray in to the bag so it does not get all over the place.

I think that it is easiest to remove bindweed from large plants such as broadbeans or brassicas so it is easy to pull out.   With broadbeans you get another dig at the soil quite quickly and it does not have much chance to get re establish.

[caroline7758]

Thanks for all your ideas. I've been fighting the bindweed on my plot for 5 years and have definitely made some progress- guess I was hoping the black plastic would be more effective. ::)

[bionear2]

Someone on our site uses the wallpaper paste/glyphosate mix  on Horsetail too, with reported good results

[CotswoldLass]

Oh how I can sympathise! At our present place I have had great success over the past four years simply with the digging out and keep pulling it as soon as it shows method. The bindweed that does come through now is much reduced and is much, much weaker.
In our Cotswold place the soil was a bit heavier so it made that more difficult. I used to apply glyphosate then wrap in cling film. That worked well.

[caroline7758]

I used to apply glyphosate then wrap in cling film. That worked well.

Life's too short, I'm afraid! ;)

[CotswoldLass]

I used to apply glyphosate then wrap in cling film. That worked well.

Life's too short, I'm afraid! ;)

LOL, not really, much less effort than digging, just rather unsightly for a while

[bluecar]

Weedkiller in wallpaper paste seems like a good idea. Would you use the same dilution of weedkiller and water and then add the recommended amount of paste powder to the mix that matches that volume?

[CDave]

Weedkiller in wallpaper paste seems like a good idea. Would you use the same dilution of weedkiller and water and then add the recommended amount of paste powder to the mix that matches that volume?

Yes - but you dont need much. Almost a dab / smear with a small brush on the leaves does the trick. The paste degrades after a week or so and turns "watery" so doesnt stick to the leaves. So small quantities is a must - and I suppose that if you use at least the water/weedkiller ratio then you wont go wrong. Good luck.

[bluecar]

Thanks Cdave. I'll give this a go next season.

[CDave]

Thanks Cdave. I'll give this a go next season.

Still growing around our site - so sooner started the better!!

[Emagggie]

I have this problem in my garden and I have been using the plastic bag method for a bunch of stems at a time. I fasten it wth a rubber band to make it child/animal proof.The results have been good.  The horse tail has now crept through from next door so I'll give that a go too.