[KateParticipant]

Apologies for the spelling mistakes! I just noted that the auto correct on the phone was working overtime!

[KateParticipant]

Hi
It’s me back to report how its gone! Well last year was an interesting one. After finally identifing the hoary cress, I decided than on one of my two plots to run an experiment to see if anything worked. Half the plot I mulched with cardboard and a thick layer of compost. The other half I left thick black plastic covering the whole area. The plastic was on for a year. The hoary cress was slower to get going under the mulch but then came back with avengence. I kept hand pulling every other day but as it spreads by root and seed this didn’t seem to help. If hoped this would weaken it….
The black plastic side it still came through but was v yellow and slower. The slightest chink of light and it grew out the sides!
By the end of the year I was pretty exhausted from it. I’ve got kids and work etc etc. The allotment committee by then were v concerned about it spreading. We found it on four plots (2 mine) and being heavy chemical users they did a lot of research on chemicals. Despite lots of discussions about the methods I was trying etc they really pushed to spray. I refused to keep growing there so moved to another plot. Looking back I could have pushed more but at the time I had a severe chest infection and was tired of the whole thing!
Since moving they’ve sprayed twice on three of the four plots. The fourth is still digging it out. However I removed the black plastic in autumn. That hoary cress dies back about Oct/Nov and reappears in early March. Everywhere they sprayed had died including grass except the hoary cress!! That is still coming through! Less admittedly but very much still there. Incidentally, where the black plastic was there is NO trace of the hoary cress! Obviously it might be slower that side and I’d certainly not was too disturb the soil as you’d likely bring the old seeds to the surface but I am now sure that had I covered the whole plot with plastic for a year, then practiced no dig them I could have got on top of it. The issue would be how to get rid of on the grass paths!! Certainly that would have been a challenge as my path was by the gate.
Hope that helps someone! Sorry for the long ramble.
Kate

[KateParticipant]

Thank you! Yes I’ll let you know. At least with this approach I feel I have a plan! After years of digging I think I’ve just been making it worse! Kate

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