[Mr Rotavator]

Morning all.

I am continually removing the couch that pops up in my raspberry bed as sadly there is no weedkiller that is specific to couch (Dragon's Den idea here). Would it be a bad idea to apply a gel weedkiller that is dabbed onto the couch in the raspberry bed?

Thanks in advance.

[mumofstig]

I have been known to wrap the plants in polythene (so they can't be dabbed by mistake) and to apply glyphosate carefully to clumps of couch and bindweed that I've unwound from the canes. I've not managed to kill the raspberries yet!

[Goneterseed]

I use a glyphosate weed killer diluted as per instructions and apply it with a kiddies paint brush so that it does not affect other plants.


Like Mum say's.   

[Salmo]

Roundup gel will work well. Just be careful that the gel splodged couch leaves do not rub against raspberry leaves.

The best way to apply it is to wear a rubber glove, or polythene bag. Hold the leaves in the gloved hand and push the gel applicator against it. It just gives something to push against. It is probably a good idea to wear gloves for such jobs anyway

[Markw]

I had the same problem when I took over a plot a few years ago. but it was with asparagus. I covered the stems with cardboard tubes and then carefully sprayed using a small hand sprayer. I have never had any problem since.

[Christine]

If it's a really serious problem can you pot up runners and eventually move your raspberry patch to a cleared area with no serious weeds? Just a thought.

[Growster...]

This really is one of the worst problems associated with growing raspberries.

After a season of trying to clean the couch from a long established bed of Autumn rasps, we eventually just gave up, and bought some fresh stock for another two beds, which are now growing stems like the clappers compared with what we gave up! Last year's first crop was fabulous - especially the Joan J!

Just to prove that we had made the right decision, we decided to dig out the old rasp bed for something else! The soil was like reinforced concrete, with so much couch that it was strangling the rasps and the roots, and I had to use a pickaxe to even break open the surface! It took us two days just for 12' of old plants, which went straight onto the tip! The plants - and us two, were exhausted!

Even if the couch can be Roundupped - and we did try that on several occasions, the old dead roots still clog up the soil, and generally knot around and suffocate the rasps, however much they're mulched and fed!

It's a bit like changing banks, moving a bed of favoured plants, but sometimes it proves to be a better bet in the long run! The cost of fresh new plants can also be laid off against all that Roundup...

[Headgardener22]

Strange, I was just going to ask the same question. My summer raspberries are infested with couch grass. Sounds like the best thing is to invest in some new canes, plant them elsewhere and dig out the old ones.

[mumofstig]

IMO It's lack of cultivation that allows the couch/bindweed roots to grow - starting a new bed just moves the problem elsewhere, as eventually the weeds will flourish there

So I'm going to weedkill clumps of weeds this summer and then dig out as many weed roots as I can in the autumn/winter.

[sunshineband]

The funny thing is that I wanted to get rid of some unwanted summer raspberry suckers that popped up after I thought I had cleared them all away. I used round up.

the leaves went a bit yellow, then the plants almost shook themselves, and then carried on growing.

You can bet if you got one little splash on them when you were trying to rid the bed of couch, they would up and die on you... that's the way life seems to go sometimes!!!