[Dai]

is there a way to do it?
ive spent all winter turning the soil over and picking out couch grass roots but ive failed to get them all, my brassica bed is ready for planting but if i were to stop hoeing and pulling for a week it would quickly turn into a lawn!

ive also been spraying the grass with diluted glyphosate in the form of roundup ultra 3000 but it seems to be having little effect as far as i can see.

any input on this would be gratefully received.

[Lisa62]

Our plot was covered with the evil stuff a year ago.  We dug, dug and dug again pulling out every bit of root that we could find and have managed to eradicate 95% of it without resorting to chemicals. Took bag upon bag of root to the tip.  Keep turning the soil over and pulling out every bit of white root you can find. 
Planted our brassicas through membrane which really helped too.
Good luck!

[Beetroot queen]

We did as Lisa did with the help of roundup at the start, we still get it appear at the edges and remove it as we see it, I treat it as I would any weeds, when it's got to go it's got to go. Don't compost it, dump it.

[seaside]

Yes, dig it over in whatever way you deem appropriate for this year. A fork's depth will probably see most of the couch roots pulled to the surface. And then just lift and pull out any re surfacing evidence as and when. No point in being ever so fastidious, as even the chemical plots on our site have grown couch everywhere within 9 months, when not maintained. Probably worth it to be a bit more careful around planned fruit bush sites that remain static for some years.
An irritating initial job, but well worth it, and on going maintenance is actually quite easy on the couch front, as with most creeping weeds... when soil is loose and dryish, these roots come up quite easily.

[gremlin]

You cant clear it in one year alone.  Do want you have done this winter, for three years.   

Then never turn your back on it, and dig out every single strand as they pop up

[Buddleja]

I've been digging out loads of the stuff -   at least the roots are very visible and not too brittle. Hopefully eventually there's just small bits to get rid of. It's very satisfying to see the soil clear after lots of digging.

Last weekend I threw all the roots on the bonfire - well away from the plot. Susely they can't survive that?

[cadalot]

The guy in the plot next to mine rotavated the whole of his plot - looked really good for just under a week then within a fortnight he had a nice lawn grown back and now he is tuning it over by hand but not extracting anything - I know I have only just got half of my plot turned over and cultivated and I've dug the path areas as well - but in the long run I know it's going to be less work than my neighbour who has planted potatoes thinking they will clear the couch grass and bindweed for him 

[allotmentann]

If you have any beds that you won't be planting up this season, you could try growing buckwheat as a green manure, which is supposed to have an alleopathic effect on couch and discourage it from growing.

[Dai]

Thanks for the input peeps, I also have something more to add, i saw a link that john tweeted about helpful hints and tips from a guy called henry and apparently couch grass wont grow if you sow turnip seeds on the area too (turnip must also have that same alleopathic effect you speak of that buckwheat has allotmentann)

Heres the link http://www.allotment-garden.org/vegetable/garden-hints/garden-hints-tips-henry-1.php

[Potty Plotty Lotty]

Very interesting. Not something I'd come across before.

Thanks for the link Dai.

[Armleywhite]

I just keep on top of it by digging out the root system.  I'd never touch glyphosate in a million years.

[bluealf]

I will be having trouble with this pest soon, all my plot is clear of it after 3 years of constant digging but we have two plots either side of us that haven't been touched in 2 years and I lifted some old carpet that we had thrown on one of the plots next to us to stop the weeds growing over the path, it was like a network of couch grass, it is only 3ft off my plot now.

Very discouraging if I have to start digging another plot to stop there rubbish weeds getting to mine 

It was hard enough doing it once 

[Totty]

If its at the point of creating a lawn of the stuff in weeks I would let it go for a bit longer, wait till its warm and still and spray it with Weedol root kill. It uses glyphosphate to kill the roots over a few weeks but also uses a contact killer which will kill top growth off in a few days. There are lots of differing views on the chemical subject, if its not a hardship for you to go through your soil removing every piece of root then do that. Personally I think life is too short to spend all day picking the damned stuff out, when you can spray something to kill it which will neutralise in the soil anyway. Organic for the edibles, chemicals for the enemies.

Totty

[DD.]

I use Resolva 24 for such areas, it's very similar in how it works, but do believe that it works out cheaper than the Weedol version.

[Weston grower]

After a couple of years of fighting couch it is now under control - not eradicated!. What I did do though to stop it coming back from the paths is to buy some 9" dpc plastic, the stuff bricklayers use in walls, and put it all around the edge of the plot on end. As couch lives mainly in the top 9" I dont get too much coming back thro.

Regards, WG