This is the place to discuss not just allotments but all general gardening problems and queries which don't fit into the specific categories below.
(formerly allotments and tips, hints and problems)
The way we're dealing with it at the moment, is sectioning off pieces of land, and digging two spades deep, turning the soil over and removing it by hand.
It's a painfully long slow process as you can imagine.
Are there any easier on the back ways of getting rid of couch grass (bearing in mind it's a few years growth)
Tell her I haven't seen a weedkiller yet that can cope with large amounts of couch grass.
I could only suggest to cover part of the plot in black plastic for a year or two, so you don't have to struggle with it all at once. But you are right, the only way to really get rid of it is remove every little bit of it manually. And then burn it, if possible.
Ina
I'm a size 10, really; I wear a 20 for comfort. (Gina Yashere)
That might be an idea actually Ina. I doubt we're going to use all of the plot this year - there's just too much that needs doing on it and it's slow progress.
Hi, I'm not an expert but have lots of couch grass. I'm not lucky enough to have an allotment; I'm on the waiting list but at the current rate it will be about 7 years before I have one.
If you are sectioning one area at a time, maybe you could use both methods (digging and weedkiller?) and then you would still be able to plant in some of your allotment. As I said I'm no expert and not sure that the weedkiller would work. I'm stuck with the digging method unfortunately, which is a losing battle. My neighbours hate gardening and I have couch grass coming under the fence. If I try to dig it out, I end up pulling more roots through. I sympathise with any couch grass sufferers
It may be quite effective according to the RHS (do they get funding from Monsanto?), but I've worked on enough farms where they had ongoing problems with couch grass despite glyphosate...
And anyway, I had the feeling that Hawthorn wasn't keen on the chemical route.
Ina
I'm a size 10, really; I wear a 20 for comfort. (Gina Yashere)
Weed killing is no more effective on twitch (couch grass) that any other method. The most effective as Ina says is to dig it all up, rake and remove every last bit and burn it, then dig and rake all over again. it hards and back breaking work and you look as though you a fighting a lossing battle but eventually the stuff gives up.
Absolutely right Ina. Wanting to grow without chemicals is one of my main reasons for doing this. I can't afford to feed my family of six on organic fruit and veg, so I'm hoping to grow my own, or as near to it as I can get. Feeding the kids residue chemicals in their foods is scary, and over the next few months or so I hope I can get organised enough to at least supplement their diet with healthy, home grown stuff.
I also suffer from couch infestation - it creeps through from the next door allotment so I have to keep on top of it all the time.
Interestingly, the bed nearest to the fence is my permanent asparagus bed and I put a really thick layer of compost on it in the autumn. When I saw the usual couch shoots peeping through I went to dig them up before the asparagus puts growth on.
I found that they`d just grown through the top layer of the compost and I could just lift out the creeping roots, growing tips and all!
Brilliant!
Merry wrote:I put a really thick layer of compost on it in the autumn. When I saw the usual couch shoots peeping through I went to dig them up before the asparagus puts growth on.
I found that they`d just grown through the top layer of the compost and I could just lift out the creeping roots, growing tips and all!
Brilliant!
I will try this in Autumn. To be honest I'm only recently getting into gardening "properly" so previously I did a lot of complaining on my knees with a hand trowel - not the best tool for tackling this problem as it wasn't getting them out, only snapping the roots off. Fingers crossed that a little knowledge (and hard work) will help eh?
A subject that comes up on gardeners question time now and then, they normally come to the same conclusion dig it up!
I also put boards of wood in my allotment along the edges so that any couch grass can't grow in from areas that I have not dug up. Make sense?
I have heard about people burning to get rid of couch, can't give you any tips other than saying be careful and do some research before you do this.
An old wives tale about couch is to plant as many seed of turnips as you can in one place and you won't get any couch the next year. I tried it on one small patch last year. Guess what, dug out couch from that patch this year. The same text that I read that from said tomatoes would do the same job, been too much blight on my plot to tell you if that works or not.
We are dealing with this over our entire vege patch and fighting a losing battle after nearly 4 years of digging, digging, digging (and an entire year of the area under 3 layers of old wool carpet, worked for about a season, and now it's back with a vengeance). So, after never using any pesticides on the vege patch, I'm resorting to round up. I even had a couple of organic growers tell me that's what I should have done to start with, and went on from there.
I have been advised to rotary hoe the entire area, let the chopped up rhizomes re-sprout, spray and then spray again 10-14 days later. I am sick of my crops being choked out (and in the drought we had this summer, which wilted and browned the couch above ground, only served to strengthen the rhozomes, some of which are over 2 meters long)! Very frustrating.
I sympathise with any couch grass sufferers
(apart from my 13yo to hear him tell it 
