Dock Terror!!

Good morning all,

So basically we are being invaded by terrorists! Yes docks! Myself and the other half moved into this house last winter and the garden was essentially a cat toilet filled with weeds. I suspect the previous owners didn't do anything for years. No problem - not afraid of hard work - so we cleared everything, dug it all up, added topsoil and so on. Only problem we didn't realise how bad docks are, and they have turned up everywhere, and I mean everywhere. They have even taken hostages of a potted palm and hyacinth and had to be dug out of there! I suspect having read since, by digging and tilling the soil (which we did to get rid of the mounds of cat muck), we've awakened thousands of dock seeds...

Spent hours and hours digging these things out - but they keep coming back! I don't really want to use harsh weedkiller - because after we cleared the garden out, we went on a planting spree and put some cordylines, astible, hostas and all sorts in there - all growing nicely - and I don't want to end up killing them off either!

Any ideas? Or is it just dig dig dig dig and dig and keep mulching over?

On a related note, if anyone has any cat issues, we used the pestbye sonic deterrent and have been cat muck free ever since.

 

Yes, stir the soil and up they come, dig them out or use weed killer just spot treet, if digging them out make sure you get all of the root as they will grow back
docks will even grow up through a gap in concrete so tough as old boots

There was a bug that was about which would eat docks but i think that was only the leaves not the root

(Coreidae) Coreus marginatus Dock Bug

 

If they are small, hoeing should be good enough for most of them and rake up the tops so they don't reroot. The main thing is never let them set seeds.

 

I have lots of docks, two different kinds. They are very tenacious. I try to avoid weedkillers, so my approach is to try and control rather than eradicate all together. My garden is surrounded by fields, there are lots of birds and it's windy. I cut off the seed heads on the docks, although it's a job I have to keep doing as they grow back. I also cut the docks down to ground level and then place a dark coloured container over them weighted down. Deprived of light the plants will die but takes awhile. I try not to dig in the garden too much. Good luck with your battle.

 

You could eat it!!!
Dock: A Tasty, Creamy Spring Green