I have been gardening in Alice Springs for approx 27 years and the biggest problem that I have encountered is couch grass. On a small scale I have managed to crowd this weed out with prolific ammonts of mulch, usually thick layers of newspaper/cardboard followed by straw. I never pull out the couch and continue to mulch as the runners creep out from the mulch cover after about 5 years the couch was eradicated, from my observation it seems that the couch gradually exhausts itself in continually seeking sunlight above the mulch.
I was wondering if any one has found a faster or more efficient method of couch eradication?
My gardening has always utilised similiar methods as Peter's and I regard weeds as a friend not a foe, "Except for couch grass" I see no real benefit to the backyard gardener. Love to hear any info on this subject
Couch grass (Cynodon dactylon)
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Couch grass (Cynodon dactylon)
Steve
Alice Springs
Centre of the Universe
Alice Springs
Centre of the Universe
Dear Drpat
Here in drought ravaged Melbourne we are left with brown dead patches where our lawns used to be, yet the couch and buffalo are having a great time in my flower beds. I just continually pull it out and try to mulch as best I can. I have been lately thinking of 'Divine Intervention'! Will let you know if it works?
Cheers
Col.
Here in drought ravaged Melbourne we are left with brown dead patches where our lawns used to be, yet the couch and buffalo are having a great time in my flower beds. I just continually pull it out and try to mulch as best I can. I have been lately thinking of 'Divine Intervention'! Will let you know if it works?
Cheers
Col.
Couch grass. Curse it!!!
Hi, I live in WA and our farm is cursed with the couch.
I am told that the old timers planted it in this area as an experiment to see if it would hold the light sandy soils against the wind and also provide a bit of feed for the sheep.
I guess they would have been pretty pleased at first; it sure does the trick if that’s your aim. I also guess that they didn't expect that the grass would be such a gun at transplanting to all the fence lines and roadsides and to huge areas of all the neighbouring paddocks as well.
It makes such a thick matt of turf and catches any drifting sand particles flying past so that eventually the couch patch becomes and elevated plateau, gradually rising every windy day, every week, month by month, year by year.
When you drive across a paddock in a motor car you soon remember to keep an eye out for the couch since slamming the scone against the roof is no fun twice the same day.
My neck sure isn't built for it any way.
It's a curse all right and I've done my share.....
No one would have spent time ensuring that this plant could be kept in control or removed from an area easily once established. That's obvious because if they had, couch would never have been sown on a farm in Australia.
I have seen it controlled and I have seen signs that a turf of couch has been killed, but I've never seen it eradicated, in all cases the couch has taken a temporary hit and resumes its re-establishment from the remnants of it's root nodes within a few weeks or from nearby surviving stands encroaching as ever.
To control couch the old farmer’s tale goes like this.
Since the couch is summer active and needs a bit of moisture to get it out of it's winter dormancy it is normally found growing actively at the end of spring as the warmth of summer and the moisture of the recent winter rains combine to coax a flush of green from the roots tangled thickly below.
Now, before the days get too hot and before the couch becomes the next most tasty fodder on the plain and is grazed back to a short Number 1 crew cut, now is probably the best shot you will get to inflict a lethal dose of Glyphosate (Roundup).
The aim is to achieve maximum target area (green leaf) contact with the active ingredient.
Also to ensure that the grass gets a good gut full it is imperative to apply the herbicide before 10: am or after 5: pm because it is between these times when the plant is not receptive or absorbing through its leaf surface.
Another thing that must be mentioned is to avoid as much as possible wet, dewy, or hot, dusty conditions because these factors will deactivate the medicine you are delivering.
Make sure you add citric acid if the pH of the water in the mix is above 7, best to get it around 6 and spike it if you can with ammonium sulphate at around 1% of the mix.
Now depending of the alignment of all these factors either in your favour or in the favour of the couch, you would decide on a rate of ingredient and the volume of water to spray.
Think like this, if everything seems to be in your favour.... such as lots of green healthy fluffy couch leaves (even better if it is running up to seed) and not to much sign of heat or moisture stress (browning off or drying) then you could get a reasonable job by adding 1.5 lt of Roundup 450 to about 50 lt of water to be sprayed on. This amount should cover 1 Ha. or 10 000 m2. Chuck in the ammonium at 1% (which in this case is 500ml) and go kill some.
If it is getting hot or the growth is not so great, a little dusty or even damp then double the rate to 3 lt Roundup and double the water to 100 lt and give it a real watering.
Some people say use 10 lt of roundup.... and I can understand why because..... it's a bitch to kill so hit it with everything you got.
But wait, there's more.... what you need to do now to make sure your efforts have not been wasted is wait a few weeks, pray hard that it doesn't rain and watch the couch all go yellow and dry and brittle.
Now you hire (buy, $12000 -$14000) a blade plough (get advice if you're not sure what it is), it has 3 x 1 meter wide scarifier points on it and it slices the turf from it's roots about 20 to 30 cm below the surface.
The hotter and dryer the conditions the better.
Now if you have been lucky enough to get a good hot dry spell after you have sprayed the couch and you have used a blade plough to decapitate the turf, I'd say you have a 50/50 chance of eradicating the couch on the treated area.
Keep an eye out for any surviving shoots about 5 weeks later, if you have any then you will get another chance to get them just before the winter cold but after the first rains.
Don't wait too long because the cold will make the grass go dormant. Do it all over again but this time you won’t use the blade plough as you aren't going to get the killer heat and dry, but you will give it a good slug to put you in a reasonable position for the following summer when it will be time to get out there and search and destroy all over again.
If you have the energy and funds to keep this up for a number of years, depending on the access you have to the affected area, you should achieve some form of control.
The longer you keep it up the less you will have to do each year.
Good luck!!!!
I am told that the old timers planted it in this area as an experiment to see if it would hold the light sandy soils against the wind and also provide a bit of feed for the sheep.
I guess they would have been pretty pleased at first; it sure does the trick if that’s your aim. I also guess that they didn't expect that the grass would be such a gun at transplanting to all the fence lines and roadsides and to huge areas of all the neighbouring paddocks as well.
It makes such a thick matt of turf and catches any drifting sand particles flying past so that eventually the couch patch becomes and elevated plateau, gradually rising every windy day, every week, month by month, year by year.
When you drive across a paddock in a motor car you soon remember to keep an eye out for the couch since slamming the scone against the roof is no fun twice the same day.
My neck sure isn't built for it any way.
It's a curse all right and I've done my share.....
No one would have spent time ensuring that this plant could be kept in control or removed from an area easily once established. That's obvious because if they had, couch would never have been sown on a farm in Australia.
I have seen it controlled and I have seen signs that a turf of couch has been killed, but I've never seen it eradicated, in all cases the couch has taken a temporary hit and resumes its re-establishment from the remnants of it's root nodes within a few weeks or from nearby surviving stands encroaching as ever.
To control couch the old farmer’s tale goes like this.
Since the couch is summer active and needs a bit of moisture to get it out of it's winter dormancy it is normally found growing actively at the end of spring as the warmth of summer and the moisture of the recent winter rains combine to coax a flush of green from the roots tangled thickly below.
Now, before the days get too hot and before the couch becomes the next most tasty fodder on the plain and is grazed back to a short Number 1 crew cut, now is probably the best shot you will get to inflict a lethal dose of Glyphosate (Roundup).
The aim is to achieve maximum target area (green leaf) contact with the active ingredient.
Also to ensure that the grass gets a good gut full it is imperative to apply the herbicide before 10: am or after 5: pm because it is between these times when the plant is not receptive or absorbing through its leaf surface.
Another thing that must be mentioned is to avoid as much as possible wet, dewy, or hot, dusty conditions because these factors will deactivate the medicine you are delivering.
Make sure you add citric acid if the pH of the water in the mix is above 7, best to get it around 6 and spike it if you can with ammonium sulphate at around 1% of the mix.
Now depending of the alignment of all these factors either in your favour or in the favour of the couch, you would decide on a rate of ingredient and the volume of water to spray.
Think like this, if everything seems to be in your favour.... such as lots of green healthy fluffy couch leaves (even better if it is running up to seed) and not to much sign of heat or moisture stress (browning off or drying) then you could get a reasonable job by adding 1.5 lt of Roundup 450 to about 50 lt of water to be sprayed on. This amount should cover 1 Ha. or 10 000 m2. Chuck in the ammonium at 1% (which in this case is 500ml) and go kill some.
If it is getting hot or the growth is not so great, a little dusty or even damp then double the rate to 3 lt Roundup and double the water to 100 lt and give it a real watering.
Some people say use 10 lt of roundup.... and I can understand why because..... it's a bitch to kill so hit it with everything you got.
But wait, there's more.... what you need to do now to make sure your efforts have not been wasted is wait a few weeks, pray hard that it doesn't rain and watch the couch all go yellow and dry and brittle.
Now you hire (buy, $12000 -$14000) a blade plough (get advice if you're not sure what it is), it has 3 x 1 meter wide scarifier points on it and it slices the turf from it's roots about 20 to 30 cm below the surface.
The hotter and dryer the conditions the better.
Now if you have been lucky enough to get a good hot dry spell after you have sprayed the couch and you have used a blade plough to decapitate the turf, I'd say you have a 50/50 chance of eradicating the couch on the treated area.
Keep an eye out for any surviving shoots about 5 weeks later, if you have any then you will get another chance to get them just before the winter cold but after the first rains.
Don't wait too long because the cold will make the grass go dormant. Do it all over again but this time you won’t use the blade plough as you aren't going to get the killer heat and dry, but you will give it a good slug to put you in a reasonable position for the following summer when it will be time to get out there and search and destroy all over again.
If you have the energy and funds to keep this up for a number of years, depending on the access you have to the affected area, you should achieve some form of control.
The longer you keep it up the less you will have to do each year.
Good luck!!!!