Wretched Bindweed

[MonicaM]

I am in a similar boat – not quite the same, as it is an allotment and the previous occupier was rather too fond of his rotovator, so rather than try to remove/weaken or whatever this most annoying weed he has just chopped it up and spread it about even more! I logged on today specifically to see if there were any no-diggers out there with experience of having actually eradicated it, but yours is the only comment on the subject at all. A friend has tried mulching (with plastic) for 6 months only, and I am wondering if one merely has take the long view. I mean a seriously long view – say 18 months, though I might try one or two beds for just a year (you don’t say how long you left the plastic on). I realise that that is a rather long time to wait to plant, but my idea is to attend to the plot a bit at a time. Also, in the areas where the bindweed is at its worst, I am creating raised beds with wooden sides with somewhat deeper than usual paths between – so hope to at least slow, if not stop, its progress from bed to bed. I am encouraged by reports elsewhere in these forums that people report having successfully composted bindweed root – it appears that it is not completely indestructible!