benmorg

Rianoo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The only problem there is that you assume it will > die. It starts life underground where most plants > are above with roots below. Glyphosphate has low > toxicity for other plants but unproven on other > life. It is only a controlled waste problem if you > do not burn it - no need for injection or spraying > of chemicals. Plus dig it up before the BBQ then > you can kill two birds with one stone. The problem with trying to dig it up is that you might leave behind fragments of rhizome in the soil. The only way to kill those is to get a systemic herbicide like glyphosphate into the plant from the parts above ground. Otherwise, you have to excavate the whole area to a depth of several metres and then sieve all the soil and remove any fragment of plant matter bigger than a few millimetres wide (all of which has to be disposed of at a hazardous waste site). Glyphosphate is effective against nearly all plants but it degrades quickly in the soil. If it doesn't reach all areas of rhizome then the unaffected areas will grow back next season, but there will be much less knotweed each year and eventually none left.

KidKruger Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I am doing this this weekend. Glyphosphate I > presume comes in many brands ? Roundup probiactive is the best one for knotweed but they will all work. If if rains after you spray you'll need to spray again. Try and get the undersides of leaves so it gets into the stomata.

Rianoo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Knotweed requires slash and burn. It can grow from > a "severed both ends" cutting milimetres in > length. Injection does not work all the time. > George 74 is correct that it needs containment and > it is probably the best survivor of the plant > world as it would seem it defies the need for > photosynthesis and can continue growing without a > root structure. I have some in my garden but I > remove all growth beyond where I would like it. At > some point I have to replace the fence panel it > seems to like and then I will burn the soil using > paraffin then remove the ground and replace with > top soil. It is extermely invasive but containable > and should not be allowed to spread. As for > bamboo...........put it in a strong container and > not direct into the ground. I've noticed that knotweed has a tendency to grow out from under walls and fences. It seems to like boundaries, where it causes the most hassle to all concerned. It isn't superhuman though - it has several definite weaknesses. It can't set seed as all the plants are female clones - there is no male knotweed in the UK to spread pollen. The bit you need to kill - the rhizome - cannot survive without sending shoots above ground to photosynthesize, so you can easily find the rhizomes just by waiting for the shoots to appear in spring. It takes a few years of spraying to kill it completely with glyphosphate, but can be done, whether you inject or spray. If you cut it dig it up, you then have controlled waste problem to deal with. It's simpler just to leave it in the ground and then let it rot back after it's dead.

KidKruger Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Are hedges immune ? > I have some knotweed in my hedge ! No, picloram will zap the hedge or at least part of it. If it's a small amount of knotweed, do it yourself with glyphosphate. Going back to the original post - if the knotweed appears to come from land owned by network rail, I would get them to eradicate the plants on your property too as it's their fault that the infestation spread. They would almost certainly do all the work at their cost.

Penguin68 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- Choosing a > herbicide which stays active in the soil is fine > if you are to build over the site of infestation - > but not if it's part of a garden in which you want > to grow things. That's definitely a factor in choice of herbicide. Picloram will kill any broadleaved flowering plant that tries to grow for about two years. It's harmless to grass through, so a lawn is OK. Also conifers, ferns, etc. are immune to it, and animals are unaffected.

werdna101 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks for the advice. Can anyone recommend any > good local companies that deal with it > effectively? Anyone had any good or bad > experiences? I would suggest getting at least three quotes. Insist they use picloram rather than glyphosphate (not always possible - depends on the local environment) and ask what kind of guarantee they provide and how many years it lasts. Avoid any company that doesn't promise to come back the following year(s) to treat regrowth.

KestonKid Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Not quite sure that knotweed is no threat to > buildings. Our insurance company takes a dfferent > view about the weed in our our two neighbours' > gardens and asked me to contact their housing > associations to suggest that they took action. > This duly took place (twice) last year - a > contractor came and injected it all - yet it has > now reappeared and further treatment is being > arranged. The threat is wildly exaggerated. Lots of plants can damage drains or walls, especially trees. Knotweed is no more a threat to buildings than buddleia and much less of less of a threat than tree roots. It is a massive problem for commercial developers though as it's incredibly expensive to eradicate over short timescales (they have to excavate vast amounts of contaminated land, sieve all the soil, and dispose of the knotweed in government-approved controlled waste sites). In domestic situations it really isn't such a big deal if you have a few years to keep spraying. Definitely a headache if you need to get a mortgage or sell a property. The knotweed eradication companies love spreading the scare stories as they're great for drumming up business. They will tell you that it's a job for the pros and mustn't be undertaken by amateurs - and will then charge ?300 a day for spraying with glyphosphate. Which of course doesn't kill the plants in one year, so the company has to come back for 3-5 years on the trot.

werdna101 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > At the weekend we finally got out in the garden > and noticed that quite a bit of Japanese knotweed > had sprung up in our garden. Looking around we > also noticed it in the neighbours' gardens, and > then this morning it is all along the embankment > at Nunhead station. > > Anyone else in the Nunhead area found any? > > Any tips for how to deal with it? +1 from Jeremy. I would make a written complaint to Network Rail about any affected land near your property. They will then spray or inject the plants. Regarding the plants on your own property, I would advise dealing with it yourself. Glyphosphate does work, but it takes a few years of killing every shoot before the roots are dead. You'll need to speak to your neighbours to treat their plants too. A better chemical to use is picloram. It works like glyphosphate, but unlike glyphosphate it remains active in the soil for several years, so it can destroy a knotweed stand in one application. You need a license to use picloram, so it means getting a knotweed eradication company in. Don't believe all the alarmist nonsense about knotweed threatening buildings or being impossible to kill. It's easy to kill (though can take a few years) and poses no threat to buildings. The two big problems are: 1) it's classified as controlled waste, which means there are strict rules about how to get rid or it; and 2) a lot of banks won't grant mortgages on property affected with knotweed (because of 1).

Isn't the London Bridge to Charing Cross service via Waterloo East closing down soon? I'm sure I read somewhere that it's stopping for a few years. If/when it reopens, trains might be less frequent afterwards as more trains will go straight through to CX without stopping at London Bridge.

Great idea.

ozzydawg Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We've recently discovered about 3cm of cleanish > (not sewage!) water under our floorboards. It > runs under the whole of our ground floor flat. We > had it pumped out but in returned within 20 mins > to the same level. Have had several people in to > look at it but no one can find a leak or where > it's coming from. There 's quite a drop from our > floor boards to the sub floor below of about 1.5 > metres. Someone mentioned that it could be the > water table in ED. Has anyone heard of the water > table being high here or had a similar problem/ > experience? We are on Oglander rd. This definitely happens in Nunhead, but not sure about ED. It's almost certainly nothing to worry about as groundwater is harmless provided there isn't a significant current. But you should get Thames Water to check it out. If it's a burst water main or a damaged public drain/sewer, it's their job to fix it. If you tell them it smells, they will react very quickly... If their investigations suggest it's a private problem and not the water board, you should get a drains company to CCTV your drains. If all investigations find nothing, it's just groundwater. In that case, you might need to spend a few hundred installing a sump pump to lower the level and reduce humidity etc. on timbers. Incidentally, it's better to have wet clay under your home than dry as it's less susceptible to subsidence caused by shrinkage.

Two Sisters in Nunhead for deliveries. Their chicken dhansak and nan breads are excellent. There are no good curry restaurants in East Dulwich. The best authentic curry is the Jamaican goat curry from Rice and Peas on Grove Vale. Cooked on the bone and utterly delicious. They also do good jerk chicken, but they don't deliver.

AndrewFFF Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I had my bike wheel stolen from my bike yesterday > afternoon between 1 & 1.30pm. Sainsbury's were > less than helpful and there are no CCTV cameras > trained on their Cycle Rack. I spoke to another > cyclist who had her bike nicked from exactly the > same spot last December. Police recommended that > they did something about the cameras yet nothing > was done. Anyone recommend where to take this as > I'm now ?130 out of pocket? Cleary Sainsbury's > don't give a toss about their cycling customers. If you have quick-release levers on your wheels, get them replaced with Allen key bolts. Then you can use a single (good) lock.

Not deep or slippy yet. I don't think it will cause disruption unless it builds up for a few days. Cycling this morning was fine but after a night or two the snow turns to ice and/or slush and becomes treacherous.

Bic Basher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It's one of the reasons why I've become more of an > observer than a poster on here. However, it's > pandemic with forums across the board, although > this forum has always had a rep of being terse > with people for asking simple questions. Yes, happens on all internet forums. The cover of anonymity allows people to be far ruder than they would ever be face to face.