Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: sunlover on April 29, 2007, 11:19

Title: Help with Ground Elder
Post by: sunlover on April 29, 2007, 11:19

Took over a new allotment in February which hadn't been cultivated for over 10 years.  We had the usual brambles and thistles, but following last week's rain, now have a bumper crop of ground elder which is threatening to choke my soft fruit bushes.  We aren't allowed to use weedkiller or burn on the site.  Aside from pulling by hand, does anyone have any bright ideas how we can get rid please.

Title: Help with Ground Elder
Post by: richyrich7 on April 29, 2007, 12:40

Hoe it all down, then apply a light depriving mulch, whole Wet newspaper's laid down and covered with anything like straw, grass cuttings etc  for cheapness.  Gonna be hard work but keep at it and it will go. I know we used to have it in our garden. You can eat it by the way   :wink:

Title: Help with Ground Elder
Post by: WG. on April 29, 2007, 12:40

Mulch around your bushes.  Perhaps cardboard + manure on top plus grass cuttings in thin layers.   Some ground elder will poke through but it is infinitely easier to pull out.

Title: Help with Ground Elder
Post by: sunlover on April 30, 2007, 08:41

Thanks both.  How do you prepare it to eat?

Title: Help with Ground Elder
Post by: WG. on April 30, 2007, 09:04

Quote from: "sunlover"

How do you prepare it to eat?

I'll just go dig out my Roman Army Cookery Book.  Do you read Latin?   :lol:

Title: Help with Ground Elder
Post by: moz on April 30, 2007, 13:34

our garden has suffered from this for years. I find going through with a fork to get out as much as I can then covering with a membrane and mulch can sometimes work. Unlike you however I usually give it a load of roundup to knock it back.

Cheers