I think tight mowing the perimeter at least a meter out will keep the grass busy trying to recover so that rhizomes don't have the energy to explore. Only a hypothesis though.
Tried making two beds with three layers of cardboard underneath last year - the couch grass seemed to have fun colonising them. I could not keep up with the weeding. This year I've put down landscape fabric that stretches a foot past the edges of the bed itself. Hoping it'll work, since it did work for my vermiculture bed. I made the new bed deeper, since the landscape fabric will act as a barrier to the roots of my veggies as well, so they won't have access to the top soil underneath the bed. I've basically built a giant container to plant in: A tall raised bed built out of ceramic blocks on top of the landscape fabric. Expensive if you were to do it on a larger scale and didn't already have the blocks on hand. And I passed the soil from the previous year's beds through a mesh sieve in order to catch all the bits of rhizome and be able to re-use the soil. Couch grass is the absolute worst. If scientists ever come up with a couch grass plague, I would fully support unleashing it world wide.
Try this: 1. Weed by hand as best as possible.....2. Cover up with Tillage tarp for 1 Year .... 3. Check for remaining rhizomes.... 4. Dig a trench around the cleared section ... 5. Don't allow any appearing Quack grass in this trench and in your garden to deprive any remaining rhizome of light.... 6. Mow with a mower or line trimmer 2 -3 feet outside the trench. 🌻 And by the way.... Landscape fabric can worsen the situation! If any rhizomes remain and the Quack Grass grows again then the roots will grow in and through the landscape fabric and make it very difficult to be removed!
We don't censor the f-bombs around here for this devil. We thought we could we could reclaim an old 800sq ft garden that had been abandoned for 5yrs. Then we learned what quack grass was. We are putting the whole thing under silage tarp this season, then we will be digging it out section by section. Hopefully we can get it under cardboard/mulch/covercrops before next spring. (We are just home gardeners with day jobs!)
Was just preparing a bed tonight and thankfully made the decision to remove the scutch grass remnants from the topsoil and manure I used.Good vid, delighted to discover your channel chief 👍👍
Interesting! I tried no dig and honestly I hated it. If I didn't have cooch grass i might have liked it. Im currently digging a 7metre by 8metre patch for cut flowers. I'm almost half way doing it by hand and getting all the cooch grass out! Last year I dug rows with grass paths iv now decided I hate the rows to because with grass paths the cooch just sneaks through from both edges and drives me crazy! Bigger beds with woodchip mulched paths (after de cooching) is how I'll do it from now.
Weeding in the rain and/or using a hose, as I pull very gently on the roots is one of my hyper-focus activities! Honestly, I’ve “wasted” 2-3 hours before now and challenge myself to pull the longest chain of rhizome out in tact (about 50cm so far!). The best is when the tufts of new grass disappear from the surface as I extract the rhizome from beneath 😵💫🤣✊ PS what is that double handled fork you’re using to get under the roots?! #forkenvy
I think tight mowing the perimeter at least a meter out will keep the grass busy trying to recover so that rhizomes don't have the energy to explore.
Only a hypothesis though.
Tried making two beds with three layers of cardboard underneath last year - the couch grass seemed to have fun colonising them. I could not keep up with the weeding. This year I've put down landscape fabric that stretches a foot past the edges of the bed itself. Hoping it'll work, since it did work for my vermiculture bed.
I made the new bed deeper, since the landscape fabric will act as a barrier to the roots of my veggies as well, so they won't have access to the top soil underneath the bed. I've basically built a giant container to plant in: A tall raised bed built out of ceramic blocks on top of the landscape fabric. Expensive if you were to do it on a larger scale and didn't already have the blocks on hand. And I passed the soil from the previous year's beds through a mesh sieve in order to catch all the bits of rhizome and be able to re-use the soil. Couch grass is the absolute worst. If scientists ever come up with a couch grass plague, I would fully support unleashing it world wide.
Try this: 1. Weed by hand as best as possible.....2. Cover up with Tillage tarp for 1 Year .... 3. Check for remaining rhizomes.... 4. Dig a trench around the cleared section ... 5. Don't allow any appearing Quack grass in this trench and in your garden to deprive any remaining rhizome of light.... 6. Mow with a mower or line trimmer 2 -3 feet outside the trench. 🌻 And by the way.... Landscape fabric can worsen the situation! If any rhizomes remain and the Quack Grass grows again then the roots will grow in and through the landscape fabric and make it very difficult to be removed!
Ive had quack rhizomes go through a 4" russet potato.
We don't censor the f-bombs around here for this devil. We thought we could we could reclaim an old 800sq ft garden that had been abandoned for 5yrs. Then we learned what quack grass was. We are putting the whole thing under silage tarp this season, then we will be digging it out section by section. Hopefully we can get it under cardboard/mulch/covercrops before next spring. (We are just home gardeners with day jobs!)
800 sq foot is a good size for gardeners with day jobs - I hope it works for you - id love to hear how it turns out.
Was just preparing a bed tonight and thankfully made the decision to remove the scutch grass remnants from the topsoil and manure I used.Good vid, delighted to discover your channel chief 👍👍
Good to hear form you! yes always a good plan to inspect anything you bring into the garden and remove any roots you see! good stuff.
I have quack grass, crabgrass and horsetail. I'm seriously considering moving.
How I am fighting it dig it all out then 4 inches of compost and then cover in black plastic until spring planting
Interesting! I tried no dig and honestly I hated it. If I didn't have cooch grass i might have liked it. Im currently digging a 7metre by 8metre patch for cut flowers. I'm almost half way doing it by hand and getting all the cooch grass out! Last year I dug rows with grass paths iv now decided I hate the rows to because with grass paths the cooch just sneaks through from both edges and drives me crazy! Bigger beds with woodchip mulched paths (after de cooching) is how I'll do it from now.
My couch grass loves my wood hip pathways
Weeding in the rain and/or using a hose, as I pull very gently on the roots is one of my hyper-focus activities! Honestly, I’ve “wasted” 2-3 hours before now and challenge myself to pull the longest chain of rhizome out in tact (about 50cm so far!). The best is when the tufts of new grass disappear from the surface as I extract the rhizome from beneath 😵💫🤣✊
PS what is that double handled fork you’re using to get under the roots?! #forkenvy
Broad fork
I tried no dig and couch grass won. Then I tilled and put a landscape fabric. We'll see.