Getting rid of a large patch of nettles?

1940sGal

Here's a pic of our garden (as it was last March just as we started the makeover).

Toward the bottom, just where the little bin is stood and right down to the end, gets completely covered in nettles. We left it last year but this year I'm determined to get rid of them.

So what is the best, chemical free way to do this? I'm not averse to heavy digging if that's what it takes. I dug up all that border myself plus another behind the shed.

elsien

When I blitzed the garden at work I found that the nettles were quite shallow rooted. A good long pair of gloves and pulling them up making sure I followed the roots along to the end did the job quite effectively and it was much easier than I expected. No digging required. (Might depend on how heavy your soil is though.)
Then keeping on top of the bits you've missed that might reappear, as and when.

1940sGal

Well if last year taught us anything it was that the nettles we did get rid of when we dug the veg patch had anything but shallow roots

Is it best to get rid of them before they grow fully? i.e attack the roots now (or at least as soon as this ruddy snow has vanished!)

littlemrtinkle

make gallons of nettle wine/tea

Leif

You can of course use glyphosate when they are in leaf.

I let some grow, as I had other things to attend to, and I didn't realise how much root they had put down. Fortunately they were fairly shallow rooted, no more than 6", and a fork was enough to get them out, it wasn't that hard. I did spray some before digging, just to make sure the roots were dead, and I removed the roots as part of digging the soil anyway. I imagine a nettle patch is not such a bad thing to have as it attracts insects, and the leaves can make good fertiliser. I heard you can rot them in water with comfrey, the nettles help balance out the comfrey.

Mojisola

Good advice here - http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=714

Mollymoonlight

Can't you keep some? Their so useful in the garden!

Mojisola

Mollymoonlight wrote: »

Can't you keep some? Their so useful in the garden!

If you have the space, down at the end of the garden maybe, try leaving a patch to grow. You'll have loads more butterflies in the garden and, when the caterpillars have finished with them, you can cut the nettles down and add them to the compost bin. They contain a lot of minerals and will improve your compost.

1940sGal

Keeping them isn't an option. There's far far too many. They are awful and unsightly and not what we want in what will (hopefully) eventually be our very pretty garden. I know they attract wildlife but so do our other plants and flowers. We want to be able to relax in every part of the garden, and not be restricted by nettles

And I'd rather not use chemicals of any kind for that reason. I guess I'll just have to go with digging them out and see what happens. Will have to keep on top of them.

Ken68

Yes agree, keep some for the wildlife, tis all the rage, and EAT some. Very MSE. Win Win all round.

Mojisola

1940sGal wrote: »

Keeping them isn't an option.

And I'd rather not use chemicals of any kind for that reason. I guess I'll just have to go with digging them out and see what happens. Will have to keep on top of them.

They can't stand constantly cutting back so, if you dig out what you can and then strim or mow off any new top growth very regularly, you'll get rid of them.