[billiejo]

Hello allotmenteers, can you help? around 3/4 of my 1/2 plot is covered in the blinkin' stuff.

I'm not sure what i'm supposed to do with it once i've dug it up - i mean there's going to be a huge great big pile of it, where should it go?  :?

I was thinking to cover it up with some blackout material for a year or so and kill it off, but i don't know where! Any advice greatly appreciated.

[compostqueen]

burn it once it's dark  

[billiejo]

i'd love to, i hate the stuff. Seems a bit of a waste though - there's surely loads of nutrients in it?

[Gwiz]

spray it with roundup.
it's the kindest thing, and less work than any other method.

[billiejo]

ah thanks but ( i should have stated in first post) i'm vehemently anti-any kind of chemicals. Each to their own i know, and it'd prob be much easier if i did, but i love hard work (ahem)

[love-my-plot]

Just keep digging it out ... you'll get it all eventually  
I had the same thing with mine, didn't use chemicals and it's mostly all out now. Even those that use chemicals still have to take all the roots out anyway. Cover any you can't get to. yet, and at least that'll curtail the top growth till you have time to deal with it.

[DD.]

I think we're missing the point that billiejo wants to know what to do with it AFTER it's been dug up.

This advice from Trillium in 2007...

Can you drown couch grass? - Just wondered if there might be some good from all this rain?

Yes, in a bucket of water and weighed down. Leave for a few months to mush down and it makes a rich liquid fertilizer. See Bob Flowerdew's No Work Garden book, pg 47. Don't bother leaving it on any ground surface as the dratted stuff will simply turn its roots downward and start afresh. Have had it happen with couch, bindweed and dandelion until I started the bucket method. Good way to recycle unwanteds  

You may need a big bucket though!

[Swee'pea]

Bung it in strong black binbags n leave it for 12 months ....open once rotted down and ready to add nutrients to the soil ( I usually add a bit of compost maker to it to begin process and a little sprinkle of water just to get it going) Black bags absorbs heat n voila!
 

 

[Jen]

bring it home and put in brown bin?

[compostqueen]

I burn mine as it appears, I don't dig so don't make an effort to find it. When I do find bits I bung it in the incinerator.   Once I get a goodly bit of ash it goes onto the soil so it's not wasted

[Yorkie]

These days, I tend to put mine in a friend's garden waste wheelie bin, or take it to the tip (green waste).

Originally I piled it into a huge pile but it never seemed to rot down, and is now covered with couch grass itself.  I may get round to tackling it this season if I run out of other things to do.

The bucket suggestion is a good idea, but not really practical if you have that much of the stuff - you do want some space left on the plot to grow veg, after all  :?

[GreenDavie]

Billie Jo

Believe what said bout the round up it works works works mate. I had my allotment covered from top to bottom. Sprayed it three weeks ago and its gone. It saves a serious amount of digging etc which is no doubt back breaking and in my eyes "not" enjoyable. From that point its easy to be chemical free.

Regards  

[Lee1978]

I burn mine too, tried composting the stuff but it always starts shooting away

[Clampit]

I just lob mine on next doors plot.

[woodburner]

Thick black rubble sacks with the tops folded over to keep light out. If you've really got masses of it a green dalek devoted to it might be better, they are really light proof.