Advice For Getting Rid of Couch Grass In Flower Beds

Hello

I have just moved into a new home and want to tackle the couch grass which has infested the flower beds, along with thistles.

What is the best way to get rid of it in the easiest and quickest way without me having to dig it all up, making it very hard work in heavy clay soil.

Hoping someone might be able to help with suggestions...

Helen

 

If you are not happy with digging it out, I assume you want a weedkiller? The best one is Glyphosate which is rendered inert on contact with the soil, But, it is not selective and will kill any plants it comes in contact with.:thumb:

 

Many thanks for the help, John and Daitheplant! I suspect that I will have to get my back into it and dig it out mostly! But I will perhaps give Roundup a go in areas where there are not so many other plants.

I had wondered whether I could suppress the grass with something that would get it to die back and perhaps make it easier to get out.

Helen

 

I assume you've got creeping thistle.. the one with the long underground roots!

Take out anything that you can that is worth saving, either pot them up, or move them to another part of the garden..... In which case you'll be taking bits of couch root with them!.... .. anything too big to move, like shrubs, protest with polythene of cardboard.....then zap the whole lot with Round-up.... leave to see what comes up... and re apply until no more comes up.. it might take a few goes.. don't replant til next spring, after Easter.. when you know you,ve got rid of it all.. and make sure theres no weed roots mixed up with the plant roots.

If you mess about with membranes, you'll make the place look a mess... and still not get rid of it all!

 

I've been disappointed with weed suppressing membrane too. I cleared an area meticulously, put down a membrane and then added a decorative layer of pebbles. I find grass still manages to poke through in odd places but now the membrane makes it difficult to pull it out cleanly.

 

Hi,
I inherited 4 raised beds full of couch grass. The first spring, I dug everything up and with plenty of child labour and took manually out everything I could. Planted. The 2nd year I just dug up the shoots as they came up with as much as possible root, this has kept me with reasonably clean beds. I'm not after an 100% solution as the grass grows freely just outside of our fence but I think I've got an upper hand on it now.

Must say, I'm more than impressed with this plant's root system. A tiny leaf has just a slim white spaghetti attached, this connects to an old root, fat and brown, that just goes on and on... And there is great satisfaction to ease out and pull meters and meters of spaghetti root from your flower bed.

 

There used to be a grass killer only that was called "couch out" but they banned it.

I would recommend taking everything out, washing out the roots of everything you want to save and potting them up. I would wait a month and then spray with glyphosate, wait 2 weeks for it to take effect and dig over taking out the dead and dying roots. I would then wait a month and repeat the process for a whole season.

 

If you are going for the digging option then do it with a fork. As you lift the fork shake it and you should be left with the couch roots intact on the fork minus the soil. Takes a long time but it is the only thorough way to do it. A spade will just chop it up and every tiny bit makes a new plant/thicket.