glyphosate

[AnneWhittle]

considering using this to get rid of ground elder, which is spreading from under the hedge at the back of my allotment plot and starting to pop up in the actual beds
argh
of course I wouldn't use it on the beds but I imagine its spreading somehow ro the original source under the hedge
thoughts anyone? its supposed to be broken down in the soil so not persisting and to only affcet the plants its sprayed on to
but it seems to have such a bad reputation
I'm a bit nervous tbh but I don't see any other option

I very occasionally use the minimum of glyphosphate for ground elder. I dig out as much as I can when it appears in spring then spray only on the small areas of regrowth. This is gradually eradicating it. Obviously use protective clothing and keep animals away.

Uk farmers spray whole fields with glyphosate to speed up ripening of many crops which then go into the food chain. Careful, limited use by gardeners is a tiny proportion.

Thanks, that's reassuring

It has a bad wrap but I struggle to find any evidence of any other weed killer product to be better to use. I always dig up first and also use one of those heated removers but I've used it on bindweed and couch grass when it's just not gone and it's done the trick more than any other. Like you say it breaks down in the soil so I know I can plant on top of it.
It's very effective and I don't use other weed killers.

If you can make a sort of funnel round the plant with some card or plastic, then spray only onto the leaves of the plant yours aiming for, it's rather different to effectively "nuking" a whole garden. I have to use this technique for the bindweed. It responds well when it's sprayed in early growth and using my "collar" protects everything round it.

I use it. Had a big wisteria which had a load of brambles through it. Cut back the wisteria and dipped the ends of the bramble in glysophate. Has dealt with the bramble completely. It's a useful chemical just has to be used carefully

I've used glyphosate with a dropper straight onto the ground elder, it was so entwined with my hedge digging it up was impossible. It works pretty well, I have a small amount coming up this year, but easily treated and the bulk is gone.

Otherwise I avoid glyphosate, but I think it's sometimes needed if done carefully.

thanks all @helly29 this is pretty much what I am facing- there's a bank at the back of my plot with a hedge of brambles (I can live with that as its probably 3m away from my actual beds) but beneath the brambles is a dense swathe of ground elder. This continues across the border with my neighbours plot so they have the exact same problem.

I don’t think its bad rep is justified provided you use it carefully.

It’s the only thing that will deal with ground elder. You do have to do repeat sprayings though, weekly, till it’s gone.

I seem to be in the minority here, but glyphosate is so horribly toxic, I'd never use it. Some countries have banned it. Here's a brief outline for anyone who wants to know more: https://www.pan-uk.org/glyphosate/

@comeondover that link is from a lobby group that exists to oppose the use of pesticides, I’d take it with a grain of salt, personally. I also think that large scale use of glyphosate in the human food chain is a different issue from occasional use against garden weeds.

I use weedkiller as a last resort from time to time.

My motto is to dig out what I can, and weedkiller what I can't.

Got rid of some highly persistent bindweed with the help of glyphosate, spent ages digging it out only for it to eventually come back after I'd planted out the bed. Brushed some weedkiller onto the leaves after a few shoots sprang up, and finally it's been gone for years now.

you can get a version that comes as a gel that you squeeze directly onto the leaves of the offending plant. that way it doesn't touch any other plant and you are using the minimum quantity. I've used that effectively on Japanese knotweed.

i have also dug out an entire bed of ground elder - the roots are easy to lift out of the soil.

@IceandIndigo you're right, it is from an anti-pesticide group, but for me that doesn't disqualify what they say - rather, the reverse. We obviously disagree, but I will add that while garden-scale use is not the same as farm-scale, it still is harmful to wildlife and other plants, and quite possibly the gardener.

On a related note, on the radio today, I heard that the RHS is rebranding weeds as 'resilient plants'!