debonaire
TOG
Old enough to know better but young enough not to care
Posts: 588
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Post by debonaire on Aug 6, 2010 14:37:33 GMT
.....I now have a plantation of vetch. It's every blooming where. Please can anyone suggest the ultimate annihilator?
Thank you
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Post by vgrumpy on Aug 8, 2010 0:41:22 GMT
Oh my God! Vetch!. This is a pernicious weed or as some idiot said "A plant in the wrong place". The only way to get rid of it is to take a very large spade and dig the whole lot out. Good luck.
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Post by Fi on Aug 11, 2010 19:39:58 GMT
Dig it in before it seeds - it's commonly used as a green manure because it fixes nitrogen in its roots. Read more here. Googling will come up with lots more sites on the same theme.
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debonaire
TOG
Old enough to know better but young enough not to care
Posts: 588
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Post by debonaire on Aug 12, 2010 8:15:57 GMT
Dig it in before it seeds - it's commonly used as a green manure because it fixes nitrogen in its roots. Read more here. Googling will come up with lots more sites on the same theme. Thanks for the tip and links Fi - sadly this stuff is running amok in a domestic garden (not a vegetable in sight to benefit from it's nitrogen giving properties). Digging it in is not an option - I'll persevere with wrenching it out! There is a certain satisfaction pulling out a root system that stretches about 2 feet! Gotcha ;D!
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Post by Tigger on Aug 13, 2010 14:44:37 GMT
You could try smothering it with old carpet or black plastic sheeting (weighted down), leave it over winter and it might just kill the stuff off
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debonaire
TOG
Old enough to know better but young enough not to care
Posts: 588
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Post by debonaire on Aug 13, 2010 16:15:54 GMT
You could try smothering it with old carpet or black plastic sheeting (weighted down), leave it over winter and it might just kill the stuff off This stuff has already had the total wipe out/black out treatment when the garden was made user friendly for my Mum - weed repellent matting etc, slate chips, big boulders, shrubs...the vetch crept in via the hedge when no one was looking and now wends it's way through shrubs, fir trees, rose bushes (ouch). I'm just adopting the gotcha approach. It's not as bad as last year when I filled a whole garden wheely bin with the stuff - so far it's only been half a bin this year. I think a blast of nitroglycerin and napalm in the autumn might do the trick ;D - neighbours might not be impressed but it's theirs in the first place
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Post by Tigger on Aug 15, 2010 19:48:41 GMT
If you are not an organic gardener you might consider applying glyphosate ... otherwise how about concrete?
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Post by Slowan on Aug 16, 2010 7:00:03 GMT
You were almost right with the nitrog..! You could apply mitrogen as nitrogen-fixing plants can't take much added nitrogen!! ;D
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debonaire
TOG
Old enough to know better but young enough not to care
Posts: 588
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Post by debonaire on Aug 16, 2010 9:11:34 GMT
Thank you Tigger and Slowan - all tips noted. Watch out vetch....I'm on a mission.
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Post by Tigger on Aug 19, 2010 19:34:20 GMT
Let us know how you get on ... I would suggest you avoid anything thermo nuclear though
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debonaire
TOG
Old enough to know better but young enough not to care
Posts: 588
|
Post by debonaire on Aug 19, 2010 21:58:05 GMT
If there is a news flash that Cumbria has disappeared you'll know the vetch went with it ...and it won't be anything to do with Sellafield....on the other hand, now there's a thought....they are always looking for a dump for the re-cycled stuff
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