[SusieB]

My strawberries are entangled with couch grass.  Is there a selective weedkiller for grasses that won't affect broadleaves?
Many thanks.
Susie

[Aunt Sally]

Not that I know of.  It would be useful though.

[SpudtheBinx]

It would be useful though

Now theres an understatement if ever I saw one!

[Nige2Plots]

I did have the same problem. The only way that I could see to get rid of the grass was to take runners in the Autumn and then dig everything out and start again as the plants were getting near to the end of their fruiting life.

[Lardman]

I find a table fork (yes the ones you eat with) ideal for weeding in confided spaces like that.

[Aunt Sally]

I find a table fork (yes the ones you eat with) ideal for weeding in confided spaces like that.

Great idea

[someoneorother]

Could you paint glyphosate onto the couch (very very very very carefully), like people do with bindweed? Might knock it back a bit, to make pulling the rest out by hand easier. Not sure how safe that is though - any experts?

[Goosegirl]

I did have the same problem. The only way that I could see to get rid of the grass was to take runners in the Autumn and then dig everything out and start again as the plants were getting near to the end of their fruiting life.

Best idea if yours are old plants. If not, you will, I feel, have to bite the bullet and dig them all up, disentangle the couch grass roots and re-plant. I get this in my raised beds from the grass paths and dig it up when it shows at the inner sides of the bed edges. Other way (if you are not going to kill the grass off and pave as I'm going to do) is to dig down the sides of the beds and put inner liners of, say, old plastic feedbags - that should stop their roots penetrating and may help to conserve moisture in the summer. Some roots aren't too far down - other go far lower.

[johnfh]

Probably be easier to move your strawberry bed to another site then spray couch grasss with Glyphosphate and leave for four wee eks before digging out roots carefuully (in theory you should not need to do this , but I would).  If space is a problem you could put your strawberries in pots (if not too many) then re-plant them in same bed in four weeks time. Good  luck

[Becci W]

Hmmm I was wondering the same thing today. I'm moving to a new plot and there is a huge patch of couch grass around an apple tree. Would the glyphosphate damage the tree? I have had the same problem with my strawberries and had to dig them out and replant them, got a great harvest last year so I don't think they minded too much

[Yorkie]

I very much doubt the glyphosate would damage the tree unless it got onto leaves, assuming that the tree's bark is in generally good condition.

[Elaine G]

I dug up all my strawberry plants a couple of weeks ago for the same reason.
All the replanted plants now have new growth and seem quite happy - even the one dug up by a cat and replanted later 

Elaine