Re: Weeds
- Subject: Re: Weeds
- From: R* G*
- Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 06:12:47 -0800
You will never completely eliminate bermuda, but you can limit it's
ability to make your life miserable.
Next time you clear your beds and replant, lay down mulch at least 3in.
thick, do not leave disturbed soil uncovered. Immediately upon exposure
to sunlight the seeds will germinate and stolons and rhizomes (you'll
never find them all) will emerge from dormancy (in the case of the
stolons and rhizomes, disturbance may be enough to wake them up, not
sure on that score). Even with the above actions you will still have
bermuda blown in from elsewhere, pull them individually, don't attempt
to hoe them out, you'll just awaken the sleeping giant.
Joe Seals wrote:
> Boy, talk about two of your top ten toughies!
>
> In small, planted gardens, I, too, have had a heck of
> a time getting rid of such persistent weeds. The only
> thing that even came close to working was an equal
> persistence on my part. Who was it that said, "For
> every action, there is an equal and OPPOSITE
> reaction"?
>
> One thing that worked VERY well for me when I had a
> lof of property in Wisconsin (no -- it's NOT
> Mediterranean; but it did have more than it's share of
> monstrous weeds) was a three-step one-year process
> called BOP-BOP-Rye. Note that it works only on BARE
> ground; it wouldn't work at all in a planted bed, as
> you'll see.
>
> First step: in spring, sow a mix of buckwheat, oats,
> and (field) peas; equal parts by weight, 1 pound per
> 100 square feet (10 square metres). Water well.
>
> Second step: in mid-summer, mow nearly mature plants
> and repeat sowing.
>
> Third step: in fall, sow winter rye for cover.
>
> Next spring, scalp and plant your desired plants.
>
> This worked for bindweed (yep, in Wisconsin, too) and
> quackgrass (Wisconsin's version of Bermuda or Kikuyu
> or Veldt grasses).
>
> The items that need translation:
>
> 1. The timing would be considerably different for Med
> climates, as you can imagine.
>
> 2. This doesn't work for planted beds, as already
> noted. Does one need to dig up everything and replant
> NEXT year?
>
> 3. I don't think buckwheat, oats, and field peas
> would grow in Med climes except in winter. What to do
> in summer when the Bermuda grass is at its most
> ferocious?
>
> So, what would be a suitable substitute for the plants
> and the process timing? And would some kind of living
> mulch between exitsing plants do the job?
>
> As I remember reading many moons ago, bindweed has a
> seed that can lay dormant in the soil for 10-40 years!
> So, even though you think you've dug out EVERY piece
> of fleshy root, one little seed will find its way to
> the surface and start the process all over again.
> That reminds me -- not a good idea to constantly till
> one's soil or DIG weeds out, hence disturbing the soil
> and bringing up dormant seeds.
>
> Joe
> --- K1MIZE@aol.com wrote:
> > All:
> >
> > I'm looking for suggestions to rid my garden of two
> > particularly persistent
> > weeds: Bindweed, (Convolvulus arvensis?), and
> > Bermuda Grass, (Cynodon
> > dactylon?). I've tried both thorough digging and
> > repeated spraying with
> > Glyphosate.
>
> =====
> Joe Seals
> Santa Maria, California --
> where the weather is always perfect
> and my garden always has something blooming
> and birds galore
>
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