Hi
having discovered that the hideous white tuber rooted thing that is all over in gf's (quite large) garden is ground elder, the solution appears to be lots of digging and glyphosate 360 or similar applied clinically for 6 months or so.
Doing some internet searching and you 'appear' to be able to buy non branded stuff cheaply ( as it's out of patent) - maybe via agri-chem etc type suppliers. Commercialy sold as Roundup etc but that appears to be about £20-25 per litre.
Thanks
We're conquering ground elder the old-fashioned / elbow grease way without chemicals - with two young kids and chickens as well as variety of various animals from the neighbours that use our garden it was never an option.
Allegedly it doesn't like repeatedly being cut back / having the green bits killed off. Where we put raised beds in the ground was dug over and the worst of the roots removed and then ground cover / weed suppressing fabric laid. This was then graveled over. In a couple of years when everything underneath is extremely dead we'll remove it and put down a lawn. Where the ground elder is elsewhere we're blowtorching, weeding, mowing and strimming it as regularly as possible. We started last year and we're making decent headway - our neighbour reckoned he got his under control over a three summers of heavy weeding, cutting back and mowing.
You can always eat it - supposedly the Romans were big fans...
countrywide farmers
Off Topic....
An Emma.... Woof Woof
http://www.countrywidefarmers.co.uk/pws/ProductDetails.ice?ProductID=138
Gusamc, ask a local farmer if you know one. They often buy in bulk at silly prices. About two years ago I bought 5 litres off one of my local farmers for £10
Woffle, Glyphosate is totally safe for children, animals etc and is environmentally friendly. The RHS use it in their public gardens.
So I've been told but given the way our youngest eats mud / sand /worms and the like we decided to err on the side of extreme caution. We're winning the battle thus far and I wouldn't exactly say we're super-keen, out every day, type gardeners.
Seriously, you can drink Roundup. It won't harm your kids.
Once the wedkiller has dried off, it's fine for people & pets to be around. 🙂
[url= http://tangergreen.com/roundup-is-toxic-stop-spraying-today/ ]Whilst there's arguments against I'll err on the side of caution anyhow[/url]. Usual internet shrill article etc etc I know and there's huge amounts of the stuff used worldwide but it's still labelled as 'mildly toxic' officially so I'll steer clear where possible.
[i]Non-Monsanto-conducted studies have shown us that Roundup causes the following serious harms:
Liver damage
50% increase of miscarriage in pregnant women exposed to Roundup
90% decrease in production of the male sexual hormones in men exposed to Roundup
Poisoning of our vital groundwater
70% decrease in amphibian biodiversity and 90% decrease in the numbers of tadpoles[/i]
Can't talk about the veracity of otherwise of the link and claims made above (though it is true that Monsanto labs have been caught telling porkies, twice) but I don't think I'll be drinking Roundup cocktails any time soon.
Thanks for help
- any feedback on current plan
1 - dig trench round graden - insert 'sidings' of 30cm deep - to stop it coming in from next door.
2 - regular dosing with glyphosate for a couple of months to weaken/get chemical into root system
3 - after a couple of months cover entire area in the thicker weed suppressant membrane - right up to sidings - this will then be covered in garavel (so if ground elder comes back - complete erse)
4 - membrane will also be under raised beds to be used for veggies - to stop it coming up through and I think this will be ok for drainage etc
Ah the old Monsanto boys.... purveyors of all that is good in the world's herbicidal arsenal. Any one remember Agent Orange?, that was safe, and 2,4-D and the more infamous 2,4,5-T, we all know about that bad boy.
Why as a child I myself was sprayed with 2,4,5-T whilst hiding behind a gorse bush.
Still Roundup is nothing to fear. As I understand it simply inhibits the photosynthesis reaction, and when was the last time you or I photosynthesised? Trust me, if Monsanto say it's safe, it is.