Bermuda Grass and Bindweed

bermudaWeeding Bermuda grass:  Video–Facebook

Step-by-step Removal Guide:
1. Water your garden and half the aisles on the sides of your garden. Water enough that the soil is moist 8 inches down. You want to soak it very heavily for about 1/2 hour. It may be flooded with a few inches of water above the soil. That’s OK and necessary to get the water down deep to loosen the soil around the Bermuda grass roots. Let the water soak in overnight.
2. The next day dig up the Bermuda grass with a shovel carefully insuring your getting all of the roots as you go. Do not pull the Bermuda grass or bindweed out. The soil must be dug up 8 inches deep and loosened and then the soil can be gently shaken off the roots. Remove all the soil from the roots. Any pieces of Bermuda grass or bindweed roots left at all will survive and send up new runners. This is a lot of work but it’s simply more work later if the roots are left in the soil.
3. Inevitably some roots survive and new shoots will appear within 1 to 3 weeks. A heavy layer 3 inches or more thick of mulch in the garden or wood chips in the aisles will serve to smother the new shoots trying to emerge. Most weeds won’t get through the mulch layer but Bermuda grass and bindweed often will. The mulch however does weaken them and make them easier to control.
It is necessary to continually dig them out as soon as any green leafs appear in order to get these invasive weeds under control. If allowed to grow for a few weeks they quickly send out new roots and the cycle starts all over again. To eradicate these invasive weeds takes vigilance and digging them out as deeply as possible whenever they pop up. The good news is that if closely monitored and rigorously removed they can be controlled over a few months.
bindweedBindweed is considered one of the most problematic weeds in agricultural fields worldwide. It is abundant throughout California. It spreads both from seeds and from its extensive underground root system.
You don’t want this weed in your garden!

How to Get Rid of Bindweed:

Vigilance and persistence are the two most useful weapons in your arsenal against bindweed. Watch for signs of this vine, and remove it as quickly as possible. The best way to get rid of bindweed is to cut it off at soil level. Don’t bother pulling it up; it will just sprout wherever you tore the roots (and you will. It’s impossible to get all of the roots out.) By continually cutting it off at ground level, and doing it as soon as you possibly can, you will eventually starve the plant (since it will be unable to photosynthesize) and it will die. For more information see:  http://organicgardening.about.com/od/weeds/p/Bindweed.htm