Nemesis: Thy Name is Bindweed

[clovehitched]

I have this stuff growing in the patch of my garden between the fence with the neighbours and my house wall. The neighbours let their garden grow wild, so I suspect that's why it's taken hold. I have a weed membrane, but the weed is expert in spreading under it until it finds the holes and edges, and then spouts up.

To date, I have been waging a war of attrition. Every couple of days, glo out, find new shoots, pull them out. Hope the root system will eventually starve.

In the last couple of warm days, the cursed stuff has thrown up at least 3 new shoots, one of which has managed to grow several leaves and is almost a metre long. I am apparently not winning this war.

So today, I have decided not to pull the eponymous villain out. Instead I gave it a garden cane to wind round (for the longest shoot), and just let the other two, growing out through a gap in the concrete between my house wall and a bit of foundation (nice) stay where they are, unmolested...

...unmolested, that is, apart from being sprayed with glyphoste. This process I shall repeat on each new shoot as it comes through.

You will be exterminated.

Comments

[snakey.livejournal.com]

I'll trade you bineweed for snails?

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Got them too :-(

[natalie-456.livejournal.com]

if in doubt, use a dalek!

[aki-no-kaze.livejournal.com]

I was just about to say she needs a dalek icon for this post.

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

I say we dust off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[dave holland (from livejournal.com)]

Cut the end off and fix it dipped into a jar filled with glyphosphate or similar?

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Will escalate to that if spraying doesn't work.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Bleah! Sympathy! We had a Russian Vine growing in our neighbour's garden when we moved in ten years back. It had destroyed the fence and colonised like crazy. It took two years to get rid of entirely, delaying our ability to get a lawn laid. Why does anyone actually believe such a monster is attractive as a garden plant?

At least convolvulus is simply a weed, not a deliberate planting, but it is, nonetheless, a bugger if the neighbours don't deal with it too! Perhaps words need to be had if you are on friendly terms with them?

[bluestardamsel.livejournal.com]

We have a russian vine in our garden, hubby thinks it's nice ad won't let me cut it down! It's already got tendrils reaching half way across our patio!

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Could you have an accident with a bucket of glyphosate?

"No dear, I have no idea why it went brown and died. Perhaps it was just its time?"

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Oi vey! Threaten not to make him any more tea or something before it takes over the house! At least my other half loathed it too :o)

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Previous-but-one neighbours used to have one of those. Previous neighbours took it out, thankfully (it was starting to go to war with my pyracantha). Current neighbours show no interest in the garden whatsoever. When I see them next (could be ages - the house isn't theirs - belongs to a theological college and it's a perk for some of their mature students, but the current lot don't seem to be about much), I shall raise the issue.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

In that case there's a landlord and they have a responsibility for such things- to deal with them or to make sure the tenants deal with them!

[nicollegurrl.livejournal.com]

I know them!, in my back garden they try to grow also,
but I found out you have to dig at least 1/2 a meter to
get to the big nasty roots :-(

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

That's what the glyphosate's for - get the plant to destroy its own roots.

[nicollegurrl.livejournal.com]

Never heard of it before, but I sure will
try to get some :-)

Thanks!!

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

It's commonly called "Round Up". It's sprayed on the leaves and then spread through the plant, which it slowly poisons over about 3 weeks. Breaks down in the soil, leaving no residue.

Don't get it on anything you want to keep.

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

*hug* You're very welcome. It was nice to talk to you - haven't spoken in ages.

[the-local-echo.livejournal.com]

Roundup's fairly OK with animals - the active ingredient is plant-specific, and the most toxic ingredient is the wetting agent that makes it stick to the leaves, so it's about the same risk level as detergent.

Unfortunately other herbicides aren't, which is in danger of leading me into another rant about how Monsanto's mucking around with roundup-resistant genes puts us in danger of much worse environmental consequences in a few years if the resistance gets out and the stuff becomes ineffective. But it's a bit too late in the day for ranting, so I'll stop there :-)

[the-hunter.livejournal.com]

I demonstrated the *untoxicness* of glyphosate (ammenity glyphosate in my case...we by it by the hundred gallons) by spraying some onto my hand and drinking it...before you ask it was to demonstrate to a very psychotic resident that we were not poisoning her cats (it didn't work...still got an abusive letter)...
I should point out that it was A) very dilute, and B) very nasty tasting. I didn't die, and since I tasted it I have never suffered from bindweed.
Incidentally, the very best way to get rid of bindweed is to very carefully pull up as much root as possible, and then inject glyphosate into the remaining root using a syringe from an inkjet refill kit. Effective, but ssslllooowww....
Oh, and don't, whatever you do, try and compost the stuff. Any root length over about 1cm is perfectly capable of growing into a root several dozen feet long within minutes, in my experience.
Bindweed, we hates it!

[angua.livejournal.com]

Trade you for the japanese knotweed growing in the hedges near here (here being my parents house not my house in Cambridge).

[angua.livejournal.com]

Ha, in a random google search I've discovered that Cornwall County Council have a page where you can report places where knotweed is growing and they've got a nice little map thing and the patch just up the road has been reported and investigated already.

That's pretty cool actually.

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Oh Gods - that stuff is beyond evil.

Perhaps you could encourage your parents to move?

[angua.livejournal.com]

It's OK, it's up the road so it's not invading yet... the bamboo the next door neighbours have been nurturing not in any kind of pot or restraint under the ground is another matter.

[vyvyan.livejournal.com]

Hello! I guess since you posted at this time, you didn't come to the bi meet. I was worrying you might have come and not seen us, because we were sitting outside and rather out of sight. Anyway, it was good to see you today :-)

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Had a most enjoyable chat, yes! Would def like to go to the bi meet, but I was just too worn out this evening to muster the energy. It'd be nice to engage a bit more with the queer scene in Cambridge - everything I do seems to be in London at the moment.

I managed to get me some sandals, btw :-)