I have ground elder on my recent allotment-how can i shift it organically?
Our recently acquired allotment has ground elder and nettled.It is also overgrown (so we missed this season ) and needs cutting back... to try and get ready for autumn . I dont want to give up on it which was my mums advice-she was a keen gardener. Any tips? Thanks
Hi, The answer is a lot of hard work and patience if you want to do it this autumn otherwise it could take (at least) two years. The nettles are good news; they indicate fertile soil but the elder is about as pernicious as weeds get. Double digging and removing the last scrap of root by sieving the soil will reduce the problem but probably not get rid of it completely. The other solution is not very organic: glyphosate weed killer combined with an opaque water-permeable covering for two years but that's a long time. Whatever method you choose, there is likely tobe regrowth, which must be removed to the deepest that you can reach. Vigilance is the key word. Good luck.
