How To Get Rid Of Couch Grass In Borders

Unwanted grass in your borders is very unsightly.

How to get rid of couch grass in borders.

Dig out all the roots and underground stems of this grass especially at the edge of infested lawns. One of the best natural ways to kill grass is with lasagna gardening or sheet composting. Mow or weed wack the area and then cover with cardboard or several layers of newspaper both are readily available at little or even no cost. Digging out couch grass this is the most labour intensive way to clear a medium to large sized area of couch grass and or other weeds.

Most of the couch grass was killed after one treatment of roundup applied using the hozelock wonderweeder hand triggered spray or pumped spray. This is a simple choice but you must take special care every step of the way. Gardening magazine trialled different methods for controlling couch grass we found that glyphosate sprays wins hands down. Don t trim the grass before you put the newspapers down since cut grass might push through the paper.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Let s make our position clear at the outset. You can soak the newspapers or cardboard before you put them down this will help the layer stick to the ground. Infested lawns should therefore be sprayed off with glyphosate until the grasses are fully killed.

As you dig break up the soil and the roots of couch grass and most other weeds can be removed. We are fully aware that the quickest easiest way to clear couch grass elymus repens is to strim the grass to a height of about 2cm 1 in and then spray with the weed killer glycophosphate. One of the easiest and least expensive ways to get rid of unwanted grass is to pour boiling hot water over them. Cover the ground with a thick layer of newspapers or cardboard.

Here s grant demonstrating in this short video how best to remove unwanted grass in boarders flower beds. It will kill the grass stone dead in 2 weeks and if it doesn t a 2nd spraying certainly will. Where couch grass is growing in permanently planted borders it s easier to lift all the plants and tease out the weed from the rootballs. Regular slashing of the grass with a sharp knife will further weaken and loosen the plant.

Water to moisten it well and top with a thick layer of compost and several inches 5 to 7 6 cm of bark mulch. It involves digging the area to a depth of about 15cm to 20cm 6in to 8in deep with a fork.