Bindweed

abby1234519

how much would a pump action sprayer cost me? sounds expensive!

pinkcandyflossprincess

check with your local council as to the rules on tipping bindweed as its banned where i live in birmingham. I do get bindweed but manage to pull it up and then stick it incinerator once its dried up. It does pop up overnight though so a constant battle

abby1234519

pinkcandyflossprincess wrote: »

check with your local council as to the rules on tipping bindweed as its banned where i live in birmingham. I do get bindweed but manage to pull it up and then stick it incinerator once its dried up. It does pop up overnight though so a constant battle

I hadn;t thought of what I do with the stuff left over.......I have a yard at the back, could I just set fire to it...

DaftyDuck

Glyphosate is brilliant at getting rid of bindweed - but there is a really useful technique to improve the results. Rather than spraying, push the bindweed into glass pots (small jamjars, mustard pots etc) and top up with glyphosate solution. This way, the maximum amount of glyphosate is carried to the roots. Do as little physical damage to the plant as you can until it is in the pot (ie leave the stem intact), but once in the pot, poke it around to slightly damage the leaves... only slightly. This stimulates "growth & repair" in the leaves which, in turn, increases transport to the roots. I leave my pots for a couple of days, before moving on to the next area.

The advantage for you to this method is that bindweed has long underground roots. I find that, doing this, shoots that I have not treated that are up to four feet away are also killed - they spring from the same root. You'll get a barrier between you and the neighbouring garden, and this will delay its return. However, unless you get the neighbouring garden treated entirely, it will eventually return.

As to where to buy... Wilkinsons does a cheap litre of undiluted glyphosate at around £10, sprayers at £1 (£4 for big ones you pump up first to pressure... better if a large area to be sprayed). B&Q & Homebase sell similar, but it's more expensive. It is, however, much cheaper than buying it ready to spray. The dilution instructions are on the bottle.

abby1234519

Thanks thats really helpful....however....if I don't have any glass pots can I use plastic tubs? I;ve got a load of tallish lunchbox ones where I broke the lids. Otherwise I will collect all my dolmio jars over a couple of weeks then have a go. So I don't want to pull the bindweed out I want to leave it and just wait for it to die? How will I know when its all dead? I can guess when above the ground is dead obviously! I am assuming it will kill some of next doors if some of the roots are over there.

I shall go back to Wilkinsons when I am back in Leeds, we've got a big one with a large garden section. My boyfriend is going to have great fun, he took one look at it and his eyes light up. He wants to prove he has some skills (I'm the one who builds all the furniture he has no household skills) so I've said he can have a go. I'll be the one sitting on the steps giving him directions because he WILL get it wrong!

Why am I looking forward to killing these weeds?

Next stop, how to paint and protect wooden decking!

DaftyDuck wrote: »

Glyphosate is brilliant at getting rid of bindweed - but there is a really useful technique to improve the results. Rather than spraying, push the bindweed into glass pots (small jamjars, mustard pots etc) and top up with glyphosate solution. This way, the maximum amount of glyphosate is carried to the roots. Do as little physical damage to the plant as you can until it is in the pot (ie leave the stem intact), but once in the pot, poke it around to slightly damage the leaves... only slightly. This stimulates "growth & repair" in the leaves which, in turn, increases transport to the roots. I leave my pots for a couple of days, before moving on to the next area.

The advantage for you to this method is that bindweed has long underground roots. I find that, doing this, shoots that I have not treated that are up to four feet away are also killed - they spring from the same root. You'll get a barrier between you and the neighbouring garden, and this will delay its return. However, unless you get the neighbouring garden treated entirely, it will eventually return.

As to where to buy... Wilkinsons does a cheap litre of undiluted glyphosate at around £10, sprayers at £1 (£4 for big ones you pump up first to pressure... better if a large area to be sprayed). B&Q & Homebase sell similar, but it's more expensive. It is, however, much cheaper than buying it ready to spray. The dilution instructions are on the bottle.

DaftyDuck

Glass jars are a bit better, as they are easy to clean, but anything does, so long as it'll hold liquid. Spray bottle tops, cut-off lemonade/water bottle bottoms, yoghurt pots... You could use freezer bags if you wanted, just tuck some foliage in, and add a little glyphosate. You only need a little bit of juice to cover some of the weed; that's why smaller jars are better. I have a load of those mini marmalade pots from B&B's.

Whatever you use, don't re-use them in the house afterwards. Glyphosate is pretty safe stuff, but I wouldn't use drinking glasses after they'd had the muck in them.

While in Wilko, treat your other half to some rubber gloves. Again, glyphosate is fairly safe stuff, but if you like your boyfriend... be safe! If, on the other hand, you don't like him... :rotfl:

As far as what to pull up/dig... nothing! That's the beauty of doing it this way. You'll find that after a few days, the shoots exposed will wither to nothing... best not to do any digging, as this might break up the root, preventing the slimy glyphosate from travelling onwards.

I HATE BINDWEED :mad: with a vengeance. But I just :Alove :Adoing this in gardens... It gets out all my pent-up frustration and homicidal tendencies, and is just such a lazy, lazy way to deal with a problem. You'll see on various fora people who have been digging for years trying to get rid of bindweed... all they do is split one root into two, and both grow. You can lose your hair and teeth waiting for success that way. The dunking method will give superb results in a fortnight!

I have to admit, you'll always have a few bits left to dig out by hand, or spray. There'll be unconnected bits, the occasional seed, bits you miss. It's not a one-shot-cures-all... there isn't one. But, you'll find there's a HUGE difference in a very short time... and it is fun killing weeds with kindness... "Here... have another drinkie, likkle bindweed... heh heh heh"

When you've done, drop in at the Gardening Forum here... one below "In My Home"

toffeegirl

My tip - Invest in a red watering can for weed killer and a green watering can for watering.

abby1234519

toffeegirl wrote: »

My tip - Invest in a red watering can for weed killer and a green watering can for watering.

Aha! I see your logic!

abby1234519

DaftyDuck wrote: »

While in Wilko, treat your other half to some rubber gloves. Again, glyphosate is fairly safe stuff, but if you like your boyfriend... be safe! If, on the other hand, you don't like him... :rotfl:

I'm the type of person never to wear gloves, not when cleaning! i really should start! I'll get him some pink fluffy gardening gloves

DaftyDuck wrote: »

As far as what to pull up/dig... nothing! That's the beauty of doing it this way. You'll find that after a few days, the shoots exposed will wither to nothing... best not to do any digging, as this might break up the root, preventing the slimy glyphosate from travelling onwards.

So even when its died? I could leave it a month but then surely I would have dead plants everywhere.....

DaftyDuck

toffeegirl wrote: »

My tip - Invest in a red watering can for weed killer and a green watering can for watering.

Um.... I'm red-green colour-blind!

But I do have metal/plastic watering cans!