Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jul 14, 2009 12:58 pm My mum is desperate to know the best way to get rid of rampant couch (when I write "rampant couch" I think of a sofa with legs running around like crazy!!!). She's tried lots of things and lots of times, but it's not working. She's used Roundup. It's now 2 feet tall and invading everything in her rocky garden up in the hills, including the leach drain. The couch is generally being a pain and she just wants it all dead My brother has inadvertantly tried hard by building 6 foot dirt jumps in the backyard while my mum's been living overseas for the past 2 years, but the couch is a hardy little bugger. I've tried searching the forums but haven't come up with anything helpful for her. "Couch" comes up in almost every thread, but it's mostly about people trying to plant it! I know you're a busy man and I don't want you to spend time answering in detail, but do you have any quick tips, or a direction I can point her / myself in? My tac-home-ter: Been in 8 months! Re: Getting rid of rampant couch 2Jul 14, 2009 1:16 pm annie.s Hi Fu, Mum is desperate to know the best way to get rid of rampant couch (when I write "rampant couch" I think of a sofa with legs running around like crazy!!!). She's tried lots of things and lots of times, but it's not working. I think she's used Roundup. The couch is generally being a pain and she just wants it all dead My brother has inadvertently tried hard by building 6 foot dirt jumps in the backyard while my mum's been living in China for the past 2 years, but the couch is a hardy little bugger. I've tried searching the forums but haven't come up with anything helpful for her. "Couch" comes up in almost every thread, but it's mostly about people trying to plant it! Do you have any quick tips, or a direction I can point her / myself in? Yep What an excellent question There is a really good article on this from the Great Gardens folks but I couldn't find it I HATE COUCH for this very reason. It is the worlds 2nd worst invassive weed. What's the first? ...well Eds windows are (sorry Ed ) just jokes, they're great windows at ecoclassic Anyway once this stuff gets established it seems like it will be there for ever!! and some cases it may well do that. gets in the garden beds, cruises past garden edging like it wasn't there no matter how deep it goes. It doesn't respond to glypho products but there is a way The first thing you do is wait like a ninja Just wait in the winter shadows for the weather to warm and that rotten stuff to come out of dormancy. When is that? well when the nights are going and staying above 10 degrees at night the daytime warmth tends to remain in the soil. That is when this stuff gets going. In summer is better still. Then give it it's last meal. Feed it up well with loads of high nitrogen fertiliser, all the stuff I say don't use It will green up and put on loads of hungry foliage Mmmmwwwwuuuhahhahah Then get yourself a sprayer and some Glypho concentrate that is around 490 grams per litre. Zero is one Get some seasol too Then make your mix up and in the early morning you pounce on it It needs to be nice and sunny for a few days ahead too a capfull or two of seasol in the mix will help immensely Then get spraying. Hopefully it isn't too windy so all the spray goes on the couch and not the rest of the garden Then the day after, do it again to get the boots in Mmmmwwwwuuuhahahaha Then each day you will enjoy the sight of that horrible couch writhing in it's death. You need to be hitting it when it is active and hungry. Dead done In garden beds it can be a little trickier. There is a product available from Ag suppliers (Mirco Bros on wanneroo Rd near Hester is your nearest maybe?) called Fusilade. This stuff is the opposite of weed and feed. $$$$ Expensive $$$ and very toxic. It will annihilate the couch in a massive way. 1ltr is the smallest amount available and that will cover around 1 hectare. I will be doing this on a verge come summer and replacing it with a ground cover so will post photos then (click the verge link) http://www.greatgardens.info/video/grea ... videos.php Re: Couch and how to kill couch 5Jul 14, 2009 2:28 pm I forgot to mention as well that after it is dead, especially if the couch was once a prized lawn, jump up and down it in a mad fashion just to make sure it is really dead Talking about weeds? Well yes because I consider couch varieties like Windsor green, winter green, santa anna, CT85, and the rest of them to be a weed rather than a lush environmentally friendly turf option. yet so many are using it on their brand new homes and as verges yeah it's tough but to get it looking good you need stupid amounts of water and fertiliser So much more than the rest and it will cost a fortune in mowing costs. i want to see it dead Mmmwwwwuuuhahahhahahha Re: Couch and how to kill couch 6Jul 14, 2009 2:42 pm Fu Manchu I consider couch varieties like Windsor green, winter green, santa anna, CT85, and the rest of them to be a weed rather than a lush environmentally friendly turf option. yet so many are using it on their brand new homes and as verges I am currently trying to find out whether Wintergreen is an estate covenant or not. On my estate Landscaping Package Application Form (I get $5000 package) it states that I am entitled to roll on Wintergreen turf to lawn area. I am about to call the estate manager to find out if I need to take them up on this "entitlement" or whether I am allowed to get another type of turf. I'm sure people use it because that's what's given to them in the landscaping packages. Bad decision by the developers if you ask me! Does anyone know about these packages, and how much say you have as to what they provide? Eg. can you get more plants in lieu of turf and then get your own turf installed? Can you give them a plan of what you want and then they follow it? My tac-home-ter: Been in 8 months! Re: Couch and how to kill couch 7Jul 14, 2009 4:33 pm AFAIK, the estate packages usually provide a landscaper and a budget - you can do what you like with the budget, which doesn't usually go all that far. So you could get them to do kerbing and retic for instance and do everything else yourself. You do discuss your own plan with them. Alternatively you should be able to get different lawn through them, you'll just pay more. I think the covenants just usually cover 'you must have your front landscaped x weeks after you move in...' Re: Couch and how to kill couch 8Jul 14, 2009 10:04 pm Fu, what do you recommend - Melbourne. I am about to do my back yard ... tall fescue just dies in the heat, I don't really like sir walter soooo ... what to use? Re: Couch and how to kill couch 9Jul 14, 2009 11:43 pm I think if you search my username and turf you'll find out quick smart Empire Zoysia. It is poo poo'ed in Vicco because the commercial turf growers can't grow it productively there. Therefore they make no money and will sell you and the industry turf varieties that do make money for them and couches are very cheap fast growing turfs that they can make money from. I know a bloke in Wangaratta that will supply Empire Zoysia. He has used it around there and it's fine in winter, and that's in Wang so that's colder than Melbourne. He won't have it available till spring or at least when things warm up a bit. Price is why the estate packages go with the cheap junkie couches. The landscaper in your estate should be happy to roll out what ever you want but you will pay the extra for it. I know many people who have done this and I know a chap who was a supervisor for a large landscape mob who also says this is possible. Re: Couch and how to kill couch 10Jul 14, 2009 11:45 pm lambchoppa ... tall fescue just dies in the heat... There are turf industry people with a conscience that want this stuff banned. But this is getting off topic Please start another thread if we are not talking about killing couch Re: Couch and how to kill couch 14Jul 15, 2009 12:10 am hhahaha oh dear!! 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Couch and how to kill couch 15Jul 15, 2009 12:11 am I can't blame him. He was only doing his job as part of the "bad taste furniture committee", though he thought it tasted rather good. Oh, and this was during my hand-me-down uni student phase. I'm not going to be putting one of these in my new livingroom! My tac-home-ter: Been in 8 months! I recently went through a similar renovation and move scenario when updating our family home. We also swapped some rooms around and tackled a major… 2 10032 The HIA contract, in the term & conditions section states that "Commencment" is deemed when the drainage is started or the piers are dug or the slab is formed up (incase… 2 6177 |