Raspberries and bindweed

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Allan-25J

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Raspberries and bindweed
« on: August 22, 2018, 04:50 »
Hiya all

First post so go easy on me  :D

I have 2 lines of raspberries on my plot which I took over earlier this year. I have been pulling loads of bindweed and couch grass from the area but with this weather they have gone crazy.

Question without harming the raspberry plants is there a way to get rid of the bindweed and couch grass either while the raspberries themselves are on the canes or after the canes are cut down. I can only think to dig carefull around the plants after the canes are cut and remove the offenders. Is there a better way?

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DHM

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Re: Raspberries and bindweed
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2018, 07:32 »
Good morning and welcome! Bindweed is a pain, I would cut the stems down to ground level and carefully pull away whatever you can without damaging the plants, the rest will die in situ. The bindweed roots are usually fairly close to the surface but expand laterally so are likely to be tangled with the Raspberry roots meaning that even stems away from the plant are likely to be totally immovable. For this reason keep cutting the vines down to the soil until you cut the canes then embark on a more thorough dig out. You could surround the plants with cardboard to deprive the bindweed of light but it will always shoot through any gaps so keep it cut down. At the end of the season you may even want to think about taking the plants up and digging it all out to prevent future flare ups but  this would involve sieving the soil to get every last piece of root out as even a tiny piece left in the ground can grow back.

The alternative is using a chemical weedkiller but I don't use these, so another forumite would have to advise on that one.

Good luck!

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jaydig

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Re: Raspberries and bindweed
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2018, 08:10 »
I agree that bindweed is a total pain, and I have it among my raspberries.  In the spring I dig out as much of the root as possible, then as previously advised, when it inevitably rears its head again, I go along at the base of the raspberries and cut it off at ground level, leaving the winding stems in place so that I don't damage the raspberries.  I also don't use weedkiller, but each to his own, and someone else may be able to advise you differently.  We all have to garden in the way that suits us best according to our time and physical abilities.

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mumofstig

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Re: Raspberries and bindweed
« Reply #3 on: August 22, 2018, 09:20 »
Good advice so far. When it appears again in spring, and it will no matter that you think you've got it all out - wrap it around a cane/stick away from the raspberry growth, if you can,and use glyphosate weedkiller, the kind you paint on the leaves is the easiest to use without collateral damage. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evergreen-Garden-Care-Ltd-Weedkiller/dp/B005ZALTF0

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Goosegirl

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Re: Raspberries and bindweed
« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2018, 14:31 »
Raspberries are quite shallow-rooted so are easily removed so you could transfer them to a large pot for over-wintering whilst you dig the bed over. When you dig them up, their fibrous roots should easily show the whiter roots of couch grass and bindweed so just remove them as you go. Whether you cut the canes right down or just take the tops off will depend on whether they're summer or autumn fruiting.
I work very hard so don't expect me to think as well.

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Salmo

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Re: Raspberries and bindweed
« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2018, 15:55 »
These weeds are difficult to control with glyphosate as by the time they sprout in the Spring the raspberries are also starting to grow. I know, I have tried it. In fact it worked well but there were a few gaps after that.

These raspberries have probably been there a long time. The will have virus and will not be at their best. You are probably just as well to plant a new row. Bare root canes are not expensive. Avoid accepting gifts of offsets from other plotholders, they will almost certainly have virus.

Keep the old row for next years fruit and then dig them out. You will get a small crop from the new ones, by year three they will be in full flow.

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Allan-25J

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Re: Raspberries and bindweed
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2018, 22:06 »
Thank you for the helpful suggestions. I will start to put the some of the suggestions into practise this weekend, others in the spring and after the winter will start establishing new else where.

I have had over 5 kilo of raspberries so far with at least as many still to ripen and harvest, so how do I tell if they have a virus?

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Goosegirl

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Re: Raspberries and bindweed
« Reply #7 on: August 23, 2018, 12:54 »
Plant viruses show as an irregular green and yellow "mottled" pattern on the leaves and not to be confused with a shortage of feed where the green and yellow pattern follows the veins of the leaf. Personally, if you think they look healthy and you like the variety, I'd dig up the strongest ones and put them into pots. This will give you chance to have a really good dig over your bed using a fork rather than a spade so you don't chop the roots up and make more! If you do it now, there should be enough warmth in the season for any re-growth which you can remove. I'd also get some compost, manure, mushroom compost or topsoil (and coarse grit and sand if your soil is heavy) so you can dig it into the beds.

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Allan-25J

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Re: Raspberries and bindweed
« Reply #8 on: August 23, 2018, 22:02 »
thanks



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