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cloudy
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Joined: Jul-25-2011
Posts: 11
Quote cloudy Replybullet Topic: round up or not?
    Posted: Jul-25-2011 at 7:13pm
Help!
I have nurtured a beautiful organic garden over the past 15 years without using any nasty pesticides.

2007, I built a raised bed garden (20'x 10'), three feet high with local rock. It took me almost a year to make the walls solid and sturdy. It looked fabulous.

The sad part of this story is that I planted the most invasive Euphorbia that exists on the planet.

Fast forward to 2011, this invasive plant has taken over the entire bed! I have removed all the plants and the soil is filled with the root system from this disgusting plant.Even if I remove all the visible root systems_I will not get it all.

I want to rebuild the soil and not have to do this project again.

To round up or not?
This is the question.

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Rainforest
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Joined: Jul-24-2005
Location: Washington, Olympic Peninsula
Posts: 338
Quote Rainforest Replybullet Posted: Jul-25-2011 at 10:24pm
Do you have time? I'd blanket the entire surface with black plastic and wait a month.
The kiss of the Sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in the garden,
Than anywhere else on Earth.
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JeanneK
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Joined: Jul-28-2003
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posts: 2068
Quote JeanneK Replybullet Posted: Jul-26-2011 at 9:34am
I second Rainforests' advice. Let the sun burn it out!
Jeanne
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HarleyLady
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Joined: Jul-27-2003
Location: Willamette Valley
Posts: 962
Quote HarleyLady Replybullet Posted: Jul-26-2011 at 10:10am
Sounds like Euphorbia cyparissias, 'Fen's Ruby', such a beautiful plant but nearly drove me out of my mind until I got rid of it. Solarization doesn't work for everything (I've had bindweed in full sun survive 6 months of solarization); The raised bed with rock surround may allow you to get the temps up high enough to kill; I hope it will work for your Euphorbia.

HarleyLady
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DebbieTT
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Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241
Quote DebbieTT Replybullet Posted: Jul-26-2011 at 12:06pm
Black plastic will keep it from seeing the light so it should smother it good.
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tommyb
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Joined: May-01-2004
Location: Oregon, Willamette Valley
Posts: 724
Quote tommyb Replybullet Posted: Jul-26-2011 at 2:30pm
Any vinegar fans out there?

I've never invested in the horticultural vinegar but the reputation is good.

Sometimes (somebody should say it) the only way to do things right is to tear it all down and start over.

Tom
Favorite Tool: Potato Hook
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DebbieTT
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Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241
Quote DebbieTT Replybullet Posted: Jul-26-2011 at 9:15pm
I didn't have luck with vinegar and I think you need the heat to get it to work, which definitely this year is a no show.

If it was my bed, I would lay down a few inches of compost, newspaper and/or cardboard on top, then a fine bark mulch over the top. Let it sit until spring, keeping an eye out for any stray euphorbias and remove them immediately. By spring the bed should be red to plant again.
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greenmann
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Joined: Jan-13-2006
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posts: 534
Quote greenmann Replybullet Posted: Jul-28-2011 at 7:08pm
I would second Debbie's rec for sheet mulching. I have never been a fan of solarization for this area. Unless you can provide full sun for pretty much all day long, solarization more often than not doesn't work all that well here. I've seen weeds growing just fine in the moist zone UNDER the plastic, even black plastic. I have had much better luck with sheet mulching myself.

If this infestation is contained to one bed, I would also be tempted to do a variation on the multi-till method too. Basically this means you deliberately leave the roots to sprout, water to get things sprouting again, and go back in once a month to weed them out again, more or less "tilling" to keep the soil loose and watering repeatedly through the summer to get this stuff (and any other weeds, incidentally) to sprout, weed it out, and repeat as necessary to get rid of it. Unfortunately, sometimes this is the best answer you can get.

In this case I don't think round-up is gonna be much faster of a short cut. A good rake to loosen the soil and physically remove the stems and as much of the roots as will come with them is probably the best control you can have, especially if there is nothing else left in the bed.
Green Man Gardens
design and consulting with a focus on native plants and wildlife habitat
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