Wild Sorrel

[Argonaut]

Help ...
I have 3 raised veg beds, and last year for first time had a heavy infestation of a weed ... which was identified here as wild sorrel.

I did the usual weed advice - hoe it.
Had no effect it grew back over & over.
This year I manually dug it out - to show a clear bed 3 times, but after each rain it comes back again .... attached pic is only 10 days after fully clearing.


It takes many Hrs .. and is not proving effective.

Is there a selective weed killer that I could use (don't use weed killers normally), or am I better to finish the current crops and nuke all with a systemic weedkiller like Gylphospate ?

[Peanut]

If I were you I would nuke it.
I also try not to use weedkiller but I always have a bottle of heavy duty glyphosate to hand, to apply to specific stubborn weeds, such as brambles which I paint on with a brush.

Good luck

[rary]

I would recommend that you hoe over the ground, then cover the bed with three or four layers of cardboard, making sure that all the edges overlap and that all the soil is covered, if you intend growing something in the bed this year you can then cover the cardboard with clean soil or compost, at this time of year you may be able to pick up bags of compost or grow bags at a reduced price at some supermarkets, or simply leave covered with the cardboard and cover anything that may show through, remember to put something down to hold the cardboard in case of stong winds

[Peanut]

I also support Rary's suggestion, as a no dig gardener myself, this would definitely be worth a go and would likely work too.

[Penellype]

Oxalis (wood sorrel) is very hard to kill as it has small bulbils under ground (similar to celandine). Unfortunately just about the worst thing you can do is hoe it as this simply spreads the little bulbils throughout the bed. This appears to be what has happened to you. I have the purple leaved creeping variety in places at the allotment, including in my strawberry bed, and it is a pain.

I don't think cardboard will work, unless you make a point of excluding all light for a long time (eg a year). This is one of only a few occasions when I would recommend using a weedkiller such as glyphosate, as this will be taken down into the roots and kill those pesky bulbils.

Whatever you do, don't put it on the compost heap!

[rary]

Just for information, I covered an area containing couch grass, docks, nettles and bramble with several layers of cardboard, and it suppressed them quite successfully, unfortunately I have not been able to maintain the area properly this year so some nettles have returned but all being well I will get them covered over the coming winter

[Nicos]

Whatever else you do…..don’t let it flower this year! Otherwise you’ll have dormant seeds to deal with.

[mothhawk]

I have the creeping purple variety too, and for several years have been trying to get rid of it by digging or pulling up but it just keeps spreading. It is paticularly a great nuisance when it gets between paving slabs as there is no way to remove it. This year, last month in fact, I finally resorted to weedkiller, and I found I had to mix a squirt of washing up liquid into the spray to get it to stick to the leaves, otherwise the oxalis is impervious and the spray simply runs off and leaves the weed untouched.

[Trouvere]

Creeping sorrel is a nightmare weed. I've had vague ideas that maybe I could find or make some sort of very fine-toothed rake and comb the soil, catching and pulling up all the stems without snapping them.