[harry]

I have struggled with couch grass invading my allotment since taking over 3 years ago. Is the answer a weedkiller such as Roundup and should I wait until spring or treat it now?

[DD.]

You need to apply it when it's actively growing, it is starting to slow down now, but I would think it will have some effect. Spring is the best time to do it, when they really start to get cracking.

I like Resolva 24, it speaks for it's effectiveness in that I no longer have to use it. It contains diquat as well as Glyphosate and you can see the effects in a day or two, (less with nettles!) and you can see in a short time if there's any bits you missed.

A little more expensive initially, but saves in the long run.

[mumofstig]

Do you spray all the grass edges around the outside of your plot, to stop it creeping in, or have you just got patches to deal with?


One plotholder on our site sprays around the edges every spring - and kills about half the path as well 

[heloise]

You have my sympathies.

I've also struggled for 3 years with couch grass. Our whole plot (c.30m x 13m) was essentially a couch grass field when we got it, the paths and edges and everywhere. Whilst digging and covering have made a big difference, so we have some beds and get some return on our efforts, I too am reaching for the bumper bottle of glyphosate. It's either that or cry and give up as it is so relentless and demoralising. The plan is to spray now (so it has time to work before the weeds stop growing) and then over the winter take out all the paths, covering them with woven weed suppressant and wood chip.

I feel like a bit of a failure as everyone says to dig rather than spray, but with the amount of ground to clear I see no other choice. It's your plot, so it's up to you what you do. As long as you use the glyphosate responsibly then it can help you get control back from the blasted couch. As it is still growing then spraying now is still feasible, though perhaps another go when it gets going again might be called for. Depends how much couch you have and whether you have dug it or covered it in the meantime I suppose.

[harry]

half my plot is couch grass and the rest is cultivated, but the couch creeps on to the veg beds, I hadn't thought of spraying the edges to keep it at bay.

[Yorkie]

I nuke some of my couch grass annually without compunction.

[jim1972]

Hi

Even though this is my first year as i got the plot in April it was a forest of couch grass. i have weedkilled it all and am now rough digging for winter. When i started i was trying to take all the roots out my hand and it was very time consuming. You have my sympathies.

Cheers
Jim

[Growster...]

Couch really needs to be clobbered with Glyphosphate, then dug out, bit by bit...

Those brown wires in the soil will eventually die off, but this stuff really has to be tackled physically, not just with killer spray...

Tough weed is couch, but you can beat it, rather than just control it like other pernicious weeds like marestail etc!

[GrowinGrowinGone]

Couch is an absolute nightmare!  When I first got my plot and not knowing what it was, or what I was doing lol, I tilled the entire plot    I soon found out it was a huge mistake  .  But I was lucky I had the time to dig it all out, but it took me many, many hours over a matter of a month or more during the winter.  Now is the time to dig it out, as you won't be planting much now.  You have until next year to clear it, so don't let it get you down.  If digging it out is really not an option, by all means weed killer it.  Do whatever you have to do to tackle the problem.  I came close a few times to giving my plot up as I felt I was fighting a losing battle with it, but I have turned the corner and things are better now.  You do need to keep the path away from creeping it back in though, this happened to me and I had to clear more this year.  Won't be making that mistake again.  Every year you learn a bit more from past mistakes.

[gummyboots]

Our veg patch was a couch grass field too. We've never used weedkiller. The killer for it is rotovation and cultivation. After a season or two, it just can't tolerate this sort of treatment. I mulch a certain amount too and use a lot of cow muck, but really, fat hen is much more of a problem for me now.

[Lulu]

Having spent a couple of hours removing couch grass, as well as some of the other evil weeds such a mares tail, I too was thinking of giving it a spray.  But as the paths in between the plots are grass which I presume include couch grass I do wonder if it is worth it? Won't it just find its way back.  I have noticed that areas that I've weeded over the year have less of it.

[mumofstig]

I sprayed the path edges at the end of May this year and, so far, none has crept back into the beds.

I think if the edges green up again in the spring, I'll spray them again........a bit less weeding to do works for me 

[Growster...]

I sprayed the path edges at the end of May this year and, so far, none has crept back into the beds.

I think if the edges green up again in the spring, I'll spray them again........a bit less weeding to do works for me 

That's probably the best way Mum.

In any case, couch tends to stay reasonably close to the surface, and if there's an appreciable edge to the bed, then it won't get far anyway.

[mumofstig]

if there's an appreciable edge to the bed, then it won't get far anyway

The deep groove is something I'm trying to avoid, as I'm always seem to be turning my ankles
stepping into them   

[Growster...]

if there's an appreciable edge to the bed, then it won't get far anyway

The deep groove is something I'm trying to avoid, as I'm always seem to be turning my ankles
stepping into them   

But you have gorgeous ankles, Mums...

Best to follow Growster's advice; eh...;0)

You know it makes sense...