Scorched Earth Gardening

[Biggles]

First time post so would appreciate some advice.

Just bought a house with a neglected garden.

To the back I had 10 foot tall ivy which I have cut down and a mat of ivy just below what was once the lawn. After 3 rounds of glyphosphate much of the greenery is dying. I plan to leave over winter and then apply a further 2 rounds of glyphosphate to any growth before rotavating.

Mymain concerns are:

Will glyphosphate kill roots of ivy\couchgrass which do not multiply after rotavating the soil?

I have also heard of triclopyr and brushwood killer, can this be used in conjunction with glyphosphate?

Just don't want to make matters worse by rotavating roots which reproduce.

Thanks in advance.

[David E. Ross]

Glyphosphate should kill the entire plant, roots and all. Actually, it is taken up by the foliage and translocated in the sap to the roots. It then kills the roots.

There are two problems:

First of all, some woody plants (including ivy) might require more than one application. Wait about two months after the first application to see if a second is needed.

Second, glyphosphate will also kill the foliage. This might happen before it can reach the roots if the application is too strong. When mixing the concentrate with water, I generally use very slightly less than the instructions specify to ensure that it does indeed reach the roots.

The best time to apply glyphosphate would be in the spring, as new growth starts. I always mix it with liquid soap as a wetting agent because some plants have waxy or hairy foliage that repels water-based sprays. It is safe to set out new plants a week after using glyphosphate; exposed to the air, it breaks down in just a few days.

Having used glyphosphate, I would definitely NOT use any other herbicide until I see what results I get with the glyphosphate.

[Fran Farmer]

Be very careful of doing anything that could possibly chop up and spread active roots of ivy around the place.

I'd have severe doubts of that. I've never found glyphosate to be effective at killing ivy. When I've used it on ivy on a wall, the ivy looks like its dead but within the next 2 years it sprouts again and starts growing.

Yes. In an effort to kill an infestation of Sacred Bamboo, I've used undiluted glyphosate and triclopyr mixed together in an old jam jar and painted it straight onto each stem immediately after cutting through the stem. I still haven't managed to kill the sodding thing but it looks very sick. I must do the regrowth again this year now that Spring has finally arrived.

I wouldn't rotovate. With ivy I think that the old fashioned and more arduous way is the best way to deal with ivy.

[Biggles]

Thanks for the reply.

The soil quality is poor, its clay not soil so naturally rotavation is the lazy mans choice.

Will glyphosphate kill the couch rhyzomes after repeat applications?

[David E. Ross]

I'm not sure, but I think glyphosphate has to enter the plant through its foliage, after which it moves through the plant's sap to its roots. It kills plant tissues all along the way from foliage to roots but does the most damage to the roots. However, I think the plant must be actively growing (e.g., with foliage) for glyphosphate to be effective. I know it is not effective if merely applied to the soil. Thus, if the rhizomes are not supporting any foliage, glyphosphate will not work.

For clay, apply a generous amount of gypsum, at least enough to hide the soil. Lightly wet down the gypsum. Then, starting about 2-3 days later, slowly rinse the gypsum into the soil. This takes some patience since you do not want to have the water with gypsum running off. After all the gypsum has disappeared into the soil, wait about a week. Then rotavation (which I think is what we in the U.S. would call rototilling) will be more effective. That is because gypsum (calcium sulfate) reacts chemically with clay to make the clay porous and granular instead of pasty.

Even if you till much organic matter into the soil, you should apply more gypsum every year or two. Otherwise, the clay will revert back to its natural pasty state.