Bineweed!

Notyalca

There might be loads of posts on bineweed but I just figured I’d start my own. 

We have a pub and at the back of the beer garden there is a fenced off part which has been just overrun with weeds mainly just nettles, grass, sticky weed. I was getting the clearing done pretty quickly at first  and then came across bineweed!  And the more I looked the more I saw and the entire plot is riddled with it. 

Im going to be making the entire area into an allotment so the pub can grow it’s own food. But now have a bineweed battle when it was supposed to be straightforward 😂

im digging up as much as I can where I find it and I’ll burn it on the bonfire. 

i will be getting some spray from work to help kill it. But I still have a few questions 

should i continue to clear the area digging up bineweed and other weeds until it’s all clear and spray the bineweed as it comes up afterwards? As I know I’ll not get it all first time round . If I spray first I’ll be stuck not being able to do anything until it’s died back..

I also thought if i cover the ground with cardboard and a weed membrane that could slow it down and then build raised beds On top?  

If I could have some advice and some “what would you do” answers that would be great 😁

hobsonrichard19

I think you should use weed killers to kill the weed. I have found an article on how to kill weed. Visit the following link to know more- https://members.webs.com/manageapp/blog/show/46620384-how-to-kill-weeds-from-your-lawn-

Topbird

If you have the energy I'd go with your suggestion Notyalca. Clear the area thoroughly and then see what comes up in the next few weeks.

If there's not much you might be able to deal with it by doing more weeding. Otherwise glyphosate on the new growth once it has some leaves on. Leave for a few weeks and repeat. You probably won't be able to grow much this year but you should be able to get everything prepped for next year.

I'd certainly try to get on top of the weeds before putting down any membrane - tough weeds will just push through it and then you can't dig them out. If you can manage without membrane that would be better - it doesn't do the soil much good. If you do use membrane, there are different weights - I'd go for a heavyweight.

Raised beds are great in that you can really make up the soil to suit the crops you want to grow. A big disadvantage is that they usually dry out quicker than the soil so (depending where you are) you might have to do a lot of watering.

One thing you might want to think about (and may be irrelevant) is whether you were thinking of advertising your food as being in any way organically grown. If so, you need to reconsider the weedkiller route.

barry island

At least the bindweed and nettles show that the ground is fertile, could you get some chickens as I believe that they are good at rooting bindweed out and if it's pecked out enough it will eventually get less persistent. Pen the chickens in one area until the ground is cleared and then move the pen along to another area, keep doing that until you have an area large enough to grow veg on, the chickens not only clear the weeds but fertilise the ground, win win situation.

Notyalca

Hello, Thanks for the replies! 

I wasn’t going to be planting anything this year anyway. The plan was to always start planting next spring so I have a whole year to clear and sort it out which is handy!

Yeah i will be digging the whole place over and removing as much as possible before I cover. But it will mainly be the pathways between the beds that I will focus the weed membranes on. 

Also by raised beds, they won’t be really tall it will be 4-5 inches higher than ground level. I wanted ones straight in the ground but it’s what the husband wants 🙄 haha. I can always tweak the plans my way though haha. 

ill only be using weed killer potentially for this first crack down then manage afterwards by digging. I may not even need to use it if I do a good job in the first place! I wouldn’t be spraying it on or near veg when i eventually start to grow.