Weed

John Handley

Hi

i was wondering if somebody could help with a weed problem i have. It is sprouting up all over the garden.

 

ive tried digging some up but the roots go quite deep.

 

 

Dave Morgan

Ground elder John. If you don't mind using chemicals roundup is the thing you want. It is almost impossible to dig out, but some people prefer to try.

John Handley

Thanks Dave.

its growing up through veggie patch as well.

which round up is the best one to use

Dave Morgan

They're all the same it's a brand they all contain glyphosate.

Dovefromabove

As Dave has said, spray with glyphosate then leave until the plant dies down and goes brown - only then has the glyphosate got into the roots to kill them. 

If you pull the ground elder up before that has happened the roots will grow again, and every tiny piece of ground elder root left behind will grow - that's a promise

Steve 309

Fine specimens of ground elder there, my friend.

Glyphosate's the stuff.  It'll kill everything it touches, by getting transported throughout the plant and b*ggering up their metabolism.  Takes about two weeks till they all go brown.  Don't let it touch the plants you want.  If you're rich enough you can buy a sort of gel that you paint or dab onto the leaves, otherwise you have to spray very carefully, on a calm day and possibly using something to shield the plants you want to keep.  It's inactivated on contact with the soil.

What did the Romans ever do for us, eh?  Brought ground elder, that's what.  They reckoned it was edible.  Bloody Romans.

Dovefromabove

If it was really edible, really tasty, and we wanted to grow it in our veg patches, would it grow?............. Would it heckaslike???

Dovefromabove

AND ... if we wanted to grow it in our veg patches, what's the betting slugs and snails and caterpillars would love the leaves, and vine weevil grubs would eat the roots

Steve 309

Well maybe we should start cultivating it then......