Ground Elder, Goutweed, Aegopodium running amok!

S

SnotBoogie

Well-Known Member
Hey Gardening section, my first time in here! :dunce:

So I am revitalising a friends vegetable and herb garden as a favour. Very quickly it became clear that the biggest issue is that it has not been maintained for a couple of years at least and there is a TERRIBLE infestation of ground elder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegopodium_podagraria throughout about half of the plot and an adjoining strip of land (i.e it will probably be recolonized quickly if i just weed the actual plot). It is also interspersed with shit i want to keep if possible so its a total nightmare.
My current plan of action is to only dig out the actual plot, taking the top foot of soil where the roots will mostly be, spread it thinly on a tarp and leave it for a week or 2, and then glyphosphate anything that germinates. After that i'd supplement the soil and fill it back in, then transplant something with good ground cover to crowd out any colonizing ground elder from the adjoining strip of land. Kinda sucks cos in my "other" garden im strictly organic, but im a little out of my depth here. Will this plan work?

Im also looking for general advice, alternative suggestions, novel techniques, etc if anyone can help?
 
WeedKillsBrainCells

WeedKillsBrainCells

Well-Known Member
that sounds roughly like what im gonna do. i havent really been into gardening til the last year and theres been ground elder spreading. i thought it was the elderberry bush we've got that was spreading but yeah obviously my face dropped when i learnt of what it was. i dug out several areas and actually it hasnt come back too bad. having dry chalky soil is a help in this instance. ive bought 75 liters of top soil though and also have glyphosate. thing is you cant compost it and if youre trying to stay organic you wont wanna do the recommended thing of glyphosate + compost (though it turns out there are trace elements of glyphosate in my tap water so does it matter??), so all thats left is drowning or drying in the sun like youre planning too. either way if its more established it might actually be better to pull up in 'mats' ive found, good luck anyway
 
S

SnotBoogie

Well-Known Member
Good to know man...im organic in my weed garden is what i meant. While id like to stay as organic as possible, glypho is pretty inert in soil to my understanding, and this isnt my garden so you know. got to do something. I have chalky soil too, but generally wet as i'm in the UK. :D

Do you mean the roots are like "mats"? i'll be interested to see what the really established areas are like in my plot. Ive had an exploratory dig about but only on the edges where they're not so concentrated.
 
dannyboy602

dannyboy602

Well-Known Member
SnotBoogie said:
Hey Gardening section, my first time in here! :dunce:

So I am revitalising a friends vegetable and herb garden as a favour. Very quickly it became clear that the biggest issue is that it has not been maintained for a couple of years at least and there is a TERRIBLE infestation of ground elder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegopodium_podagraria throughout about half of the plot and an adjoining strip of land (i.e it will probably be recolonized quickly if i just weed the actual plot). It is also interspersed with shit i want to keep if possible so its a total nightmare.
My current plan of action is to only dig out the actual plot, taking the top foot of soil where the roots will mostly be, spread it thinly on a tarp and leave it for a week or 2, and then glyphosphate anything that germinates. After that i'd supplement the soil and fill it back in, then transplant something with good ground cover to crowd out any colonizing ground elder from the adjoining strip of land. Kinda sucks cos in my "other" garden im strictly organic, but im a little out of my depth here. Will this plan work?

Im also looking for general advice, alternative suggestions, novel techniques, etc if anyone can help?
Click to expand...
Eradicate the Bishop's Weed at any cost. It should be banned on the state's banned from growing, selling, propagation list. like Lythrum salicaria. In PA it's banned from selling in Nurseries etc. You can even cover the space with weed preventing cloth for a year and sterilize it. IDK about the spray. sorry. And lastly, I think you could plant Pachysandra as a groundcover. And Periwinkle. Spring Crocus and Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica). It would be a nice spring and summer look.
 
Mister Sister

Mister Sister

Active Member
You might be better off with a no-till method of gardening...can't remember the exact name.

Basically, you throw down a layer of fresh manure, like 2-3 inches solid. This helps burn existing plants.

Next, smother the area with newspaper and/or cardboard. A nice healthy layer, like 2 sheets of cardboard or like 5 sheets of newspaper.

Another layer of fresh manure.

Next, add a layer of leaves/grass clippings, compost etc.

Then a layer of finished compost that has been heated to kill seeds (you can buy this at the store).

Another layer of potting soil/topsoil (again the garden store).

Plant in that layer.

It takes a large amount of materials, but yields are still good and weeds are greatly diminished. Of course they will appear at some point, but it's easier to keep a handle on them with this method. Just stay on top of it, don't let anything go to seed. Hope this helps! Peace
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top