[chillimummy]

Have a question about how bad bindweed is. plot next to me quite overgrown. greenhouse full and I mean full of bindweed!  (it looks like ivy with white trumpet flowers?) Is bindweed as terrible as I have heard to get rid of?
Would it be a bad idea to take on this allotment if I had the chance?!     

[Sparkyrog]

It is hard to eradicate by hand ! but if you use chemicals then a couple of doses of roundup at the right time will do it ,you probably have just enough time left to apply a first dose now .

[Kristen]

(it looks like ivy with white trumpet flowers?)

Yes - except soft leaves, rather than the tougher, shiny, ones that Ivy has.

[Kleftiwallah]

The only good point is that the roots are bright and shiney white and easily seen in the ground!

Cheers,   Tony.

[allotmentann]

You can eradicate bindweed by hand, it is not that difficult, as Tony says the roots are easily spotted. The secret is to be really thorough on the first removal and to be regular and consistent with removing any small remaining bits that pop up. The plots both sides of me are riddled with it. Mine was bad when I took it it on. I get very, very little now and only around the very edges where I have not been able to get every last scrap of root because the root is on neighbouring plots. I have to say I have not used any chemicals at all, but I do also love removing bindweed! 

[Rampant_Weasel]

You can eradicate bindweed by hand, it is not that difficult, as Tony says the roots are easily spotted. The secret is to be really thorough on the first removal and to be regular and consistent with removing any small remaining bits that pop up. The plots both sides of me are riddled with it. Mine was bad when I took it it on. I get very, very little now and only around the very edges where I have not been able to get every last scrap of root because the root is on neighbouring plots. I have to say I have not used any chemicals at all, but I do also love removing bindweed! 

couldnt agree more i have had the same problem and solution altho i have used roundup.
remember the first dig is the hardest, be patient and keep at it - i would rather have a bindweed problem than a marestail problem.

[Totty]

If it were me and it was a large area covered in the stuff I'd spray it for sure. As soon as it starts dying off I'd strim it right back to soil.

Totty

[Sparkyrog]

You can eradicate bindweed by hand, it is not that difficult, as Tony says the roots are easily spotted. The secret is to be really thorough on the first removal and to be regular and consistent with removing any small remaining bits that pop up. The plots both sides of me are riddled with it. Mine was bad when I took it it on. I get very, very little now and only around the very edges where I have not been able to get every last scrap of root because the root is on neighbouring plots. I have to say I have not used any chemicals at all, but I do also love removing bindweed! 

couldnt agree more i have had the same problem and solution altho i have used roundup.
remember the first dig is the hardest, be patient and keep at it - i would rather have a bindweed problem than a marestail problem.

I have both  Can't spray all as its too near to hedges !

[Rampant_Weasel]

use the neat stuff and a small paintbrush 

[GYO Girl]

but I do also love removing bindweed! 

I thought it was just me who enjoys bindweed hunting! 

I use the same technique as allotmentann.  In my first season I got really stressed about the amount of bindweed on my plot, but I have now come to realise that winning the war on bindweed takes time, especially if you don't use chemicals, like me.

At the beginning of the season before I plant anything I have a really good thorough dig over and remove every bit of those white roots that I can find, and I try to do this at least twice more before planting, as its amazing how much is missed, even when you think you've been thorough.  It's a sneaky little beggar and it lulls you into a false sense of security, making you think you've finally beaten it as it appears quite a bit later than other weeds, so it waits until you've planted your crops before popping up again. I just dig out what I can with a trowel and don't stress too much if it snaps (which most of the time it does).  Then once the crop has been harvested, I have another good dig over and remove everything I can.  Like allotmentann I really enjoy the bindweed digging!

I am in to year three now and every year I have visibly less bindweed.   I don't think I can eradicate it completely without chemicals as the roots appear from under the paths so I cannot get it all out by digging, but I am certainly winning! 

[Salmo]

It is hard to eradicate by hand ! but if you use chemicals then a couple of doses of roundup at the right time will do it ,you probably have just enough time left to apply a first dose now .

Agree with this. If there is green leaf Roundup will kill it.

Do this first before you disturb the roots at all.

[chillimummy]

Thanks all. Doesnt sound as bad as I thought. On my own plot have marestail but in second year of allotment am not so stressed about it now! Very satisfying feeling when you get really long root out even though you havent! 

[allotmentann]

If you have mares tail, a little bindweed will be nothing! Sow thistle is my nemesis, like mares tail the roots are almost impossible to eradicate. My only hope is to weaken it. Bindweed comes out so easily, it is just finding the tiny bits that is difficult.
GYO girl I wish I knew what it was about 'bindweed hunting', I love getting the ground elder at home too. To be honest I like removing all weeds if it is possible to get the whole root, but bindweed and ground elder are best, with a really big dock a close runner up! Couch removal is pretty good too! 

[goodtogrow]

I agree with allotmentann.  Bindweed is a wimp!  It seems to be more trouble than it's worth to try and get every last bit of root out of something so puny!

I think that it brings shame on us because it makes the plot look badly kept, but you could just laugh in the face of others' disapproval and snap it off at ground level when it gets in amongst the crops.

[Kristen]

Key is how often one is able to get to the plot for "maintenance".

Once or twice a week, and hoe all the emerging bindweed / marestail off, then it will be under control and diminish markedly over a season or two.

But for anyone not able to get to the plot often then there is a risk that, if not treated chemically or dug out carefully, that it will return in sufficient numbers to get big enough, before being weeded, that it stores up enough energy for the next assault

I'm in the Roundup camp, but I do remember the days when we used to dig it out, and the roots of Bindweed are so brittle that it is very hard not to leave a small bit in a clod of soil that it was growing through.  Maybe it is easier to find all the bits on lighter land