Bind weed

Has anyone had Problems with bind weed poking through the weed fabric? I was thinking of using cardboard on the base and as a cover mulch. Thanks for your comments.

Bind weed will probably penetrate the weed cloth, and the cardboard as well once it's started to decompose. The roots of this weed can be many feet deep (I think I saw somewhere 10-15') and is nearly impossible to eradicate. I think the only thing that would block it would be a solid bottom such as wood or concrete. (brick wouldn't work, as it would find the cracks between the brick)

Ick! The dreaded bind weed. Here is a link on some things you can do.
http://gardening1.knoji.com/how-to-get-rid-of-bindweed/

I wonder how effective vinegar would be...

To avoid bind weed This is my next move. Should I have 3/4" gravel on the bottom? Tips, suggestions are welcome. Thanks:shock:

My guess is that is will simply grow up between the small rocks.

Hoggar wrote:[i]Strand board is not something I would put on the ground where it
will get wet it will just disintegrate...

+1

Plywood will fare somewhat better than OSB.

Tile backer cement board is another option. Use the gravel to get a flat surface to put it on.

What is the best option for bind weed?

to prevent it from encroaching or trying to get rid of it?

you don't get rid of bind weed, you work around it.

With that in mind, I'm wondering...

Would it make it any easier to raise the beds up a bit? I mean I know it's a vine but I'm not that familiar with combating it. I chose to put bottoms on my beds and raise them up a cinderblock high to keep them away from my native soil so not sure if that would be of any use to you.

I wonder would it be worth it to just put bottoms on the beds and raise them up a bit?

That sounds great! How did you do it? With plywood and drain holes? Thanks

UnderTheBlackWalnut wrote:With that in mind, I'm wondering...

Would it make it any easier to raise the beds up a bit? I mean I know it's a vine but I'm not that familiar with combating it. I chose to put bottoms on my beds and raise them up a cinderblock high to keep them away from my native soil so not sure if that would be of any use to you.

I wonder would it be worth it to just put bottoms on the beds and raise them up a bit?

That's a great idea!!

I don't want to misspeak - I did NOT do it because I was combating bindweed, so I can't speak to your level of success with the idea. I did it because I was trying to avoid the chemical that my large black walnut tree secretes into the soil which many veggies dislike and contract something called "black walnut wilt".

However, I thought if the problem was this weed was coming up in your native soil, then maybe the solution is to get the beds OFF the native soil.

Yes, they are called Table Tops and Mel talks about them in the book (they don't HAVE to be waist high if you don't want them to be). His suggestion is plywood with drainage holes (you can find the particulars in the book). BUT, Boffer is our resident Table Top KING and you can find some excellent directions for building them with hardware cloth as well in this thread.
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t297-building-a-table-top-sfgsome-ideas

Boffer puts his on legs and I am in constant awe of the things he builds. They are so cool! But I have to admit, I just built mine according to the book and put them on cinderblocks. I put about 6 blocks underneath a 4x4 box and it seems to work out fine, but mine are only 1 block high. I've seen people stack the blocks as well to raise the box higher. Do some searching for table tops using the white search box in the upper left and see if you can come up with any ideas...this is a pretty creative bunch.

Thanks for the link on table tops. This is what I belive I need to do. Thanks again.

camprn wrote:I wonder how effective vinegar would be...

Vinegar kept it under control in my walkways last year, but did not get rid of it. But, I wasn't out spraying it every few days either.

GG

I think this is going to require persistence. I have a problem with bittersweet and over the course of several years it is almost gone. Is there any way you can mow it down so it can never go to seed? I know it propagates by runners, so to keep up with it is a chore. Maybe Rooster has some insight on battling it.