Bind weed- argh!

[EarSlaps]

We have so much bind weed it is ridiculous! I know we're not the only ones as everyone I speak to here seems to be struggling with it.

We moved into our house last year and the previous owners hadn't really bothered with the garden so it was choking everything. We pulled up what we could but it soon started to die off at the end of summer. Now it is all springing up again and I've dug out endless clumps of it.

As far as I know the advice is to pull and dig up and repeat ad infinitum. I can feel it will take me to the brink of insanity! Will mulching help keep some of it down a bit?

Oh gosh, I know how you feel - my allotment was like that. It is a complete PITA because the roots go so deep and every little bit of them can sprout and make a new plant!

This is the time of year when it really tries to get going - if you can conquer it now, you will weaken it for next year. I have reached a point now where it still comes up all over but I pick it out when it's 2-3 inches long and it is a very manageable job. You will get there!

One thing that really helped me was to keep cleared areas covered, either with weed sheeting or mulch. (Or to plant immediately and mulch). But the mulch needs to be quite thick to keep it back. There are also some plants that can help you in the battle - tagetes minuta is a natural bindweed killer! It's sadly not the most attractive thing to grow, though!

Shove has given some good advice. If you're not adverse to using chemical products you can dab the bindweed leaves with round-up gel which contains glyphosate. It doesn't like that much either

Phew, so it shouldn't be this level of intensity all summer then? My technique at the moment is to dig and pull out the little bits and spray the bigger bits that look like the mummy and daddy plants! Just thinking I might need to stockpile glyphosate as the EU have banned it other than for use by 'professionals'.

Depends how you feel about chemical products but a friend swears by cutting the stem a little and then sticking the cut ends into a jam jar containing a glyphosate containing weed killer. Obviously need to be careful with pets/children/wildlife with this approach but it is very effective.

We improved it massively by digging and pulling it out but didn't manage to get rid of it, just control it a little.

We mix strong weed killer in cheap wallpaper paste, and PAINT all the bindweed leaves with it; also works for dandelions.

That sounds genius Ferguson. I actually have some wallpaper paste from an abandoned DIY project so I could give that a go!

Thanks for your help all!

Just having a look at the tagetes minuta suggestion. Might give that a go as a lot of the bind weed is around underneath a big bush, so I could plant it under there.

Might try popping some cardboard over the worst affected areas before covering with mulch too. Should suppress it with a bit of luck!

Our garden has it - as do a lot of the gardens down this street (apparently). Have been digging it out since we moved in and am nearly there in that it's not a problem really any more. Not a thick mat of roots either any more either so easy to get out. You just need to keep on top of it.