[Glyn]

Have the top half of my plot to clear,(mainly couch grass). Was speaking to one of the old guys on the plot who said to get the flame gun from the allotment shop which we can hire for the day. He said it would get it cleared in no time.  Question is would this work?

[DD.]

Only for the foliage - all the roots would still be there waiting to attack again!

[Aunt Sally]

Great idea.   :!:

I  had a bit of...   trouble though  :shock:

[cawdor2001]

would burn the tops Glyn but they will come back just the same next Spring, as Rhizomes will sprout up again and if you then have a crop in there they will be much more difficult to remove.  Glyphosate gr8 on couch but way too cold now, need to wait until Spring, its the only chemical i use, when circumstances call for it but very rare now i am on top of things, doesn't take long to get there.  If you have time and not much else to do over the Winter i would try and dig over the patch and remove rhizomes by han, they are not deep down.


Cawdor

[richyrich7]

It'll take the foliage off like everyone has said, if its dry it will probably also burn off the next few plots as well if your not careful... I know I've done it  :oops:

[LucasAndRichard]

I  had a bit of...   trouble though  :shock:

Tell us more...
 

[Aunt Sally]

I  had a bit of...   trouble though  :shock:

Tell us more...
 

It's all in the picture L&R

Flmes + wooden doll =

[corynsboy]

If I've learned nothing else this year, it is that couch grass needs special care and attention.  I'd always say that if you can, digging is your best bet.  Chemicals will work at the right time of year but nothing works as well as a fork all year round in my opinion.  

Careful of even using a spade as you want to get as much of the roots out as possible.  The couch grass by my greenhouse had roots that were very shallow but went on for feet in either direction.  In a well grassed area say 10 feet by 6 feet I filled 3 carrier bags with grass roots.  Blastsed stuff keeps coming back but only in 1s and 2s rather than as a carpet!

[Glyn]

Thanks for your replies think i will stick to the folk and dig it out.

[sharky]

As has been said, ALL about the root with rhizomes. :evil: They are so persistent. This fact has made my plot in the garden practically derelict for growing veg.

[Oscar Too]

Your old boy is talking rot.  Probably gets a kick back from the hire fees.  Could be ...ooh... PENNIES!

When properly used, flamethrowers work by quickly boiling the moisture in the plants cells, bursting the cells and destroying the plant's ability to grow.  For this reason, they're really useful just before or just after sowing a bed, when they can take out the weed seedlings that have germinated, and give the plant seedlings a head start.  They're not designed or supposed to burn the growth.

Little ones are not much use for anything other than very local application.  Big ones tend to be mounted on a tractor and to take several big gas cylinders to run.  I've crushed a few fingers changing cylinders.

[BigPaddy]

Well going against the trend here I think that they can be very useful.

Everyone is right that they wont kill the roots.

What a flamethrower can do is get rid of the top growth and the seeds lurking there. Once that has happened you can then see the job in hand. One way or another you have to get rid of the top and burning it does kill those seeds too.

You still need to weed of course.

[gregmcalister]

I would go for the flamethrower. It might not be much use in the long run but it sounds like a lot of fun!

[BigPaddy]

I would go for the flamethrower. It might not be much use in the long run but it sounds like a lot of fun!

That's true. I should have mentioned that - flame on!

[Oscar Too]

I would go for the flamethrower. It might not be much use in the long run but it sounds like a lot of fun!

This is very true!