Grow Your Own Magazine

Has anyone tried growing mexican marigolds to keep bindwind/ground elder at bay?

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

I keep meaning to get a packet of these, but forgot last year. We have alot of ground elder. My sister in law reckons they are very good. Kings sell them if you are interested.

The only way I've found to control bindweed is digging, more digging, and more digging. If you're not worried about using chemicals then use glyphosate.

We've just put some mex marigolds into the heated prop today, seeds from Nicky's.co.uk.

rusty, we don't do glyophosphate residue survives in the soil. agree about the digging, but just wondered about mex marigolds whose roots are supposed to 'suppress them'?

Ground Elder was supposedly introduced by the Romans - in case you were wondering 'what have the Romans ever done for us'!

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

There was a thread here last year about Ground Elder and included a number of recipes for cooking it!

Hi Manda
If the Romans introduced Ground Elder to Britain there must be a good reason for it. ( what have the Romans ever done for us ) a lot I think, but lets try to find out the positive aspects of ground Elder.
regards
Don Vincenzo

Like anything else Don, in its place I'm sure its great - but not swamping my garden borders!

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

The young shoots of ground elder are delicious in salad or stir fry
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants....ium+podagraria

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SSx
not every situation requires a big onion

Yeah, yeah! perhaps my idea of delicious is different to yours!

How come the supermarkets haven't cottoned on? You'll be telling me all about Fat-hen next.....

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

and couch grass roots
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants....ytrigia+repens
a tad time-consuming to scrub though

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SSx
not every situation requires a big onion

Enough! You win.

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

I got some Mex Marigold (Tagetes Minuta) seeds this year to try and repel whitefly. I'll try anything.

Lovely link, thank you SS. I've bookmarked that one.

Interestingly as a child I discovered the insides of grasses tasted nice, used to pick couch at a joint and squeeze the inside bit into my mouth. Tasted lovely and obviously helped to replace fibre missing in my diet. Parents thought I was mad for eating grass !

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Regards, Jane
What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? The creative adult is the child who has survived.
Ursula LeGuin
http://www.etribes.com/madderbat