I had the blessing of gardening without this noxious weed
for about two decades, now it seems to be everywhere. Sometimes this weed is referred to as morning
glory. Bindweed is in the morning glory
family, but there is nothing good about this invasion and take over.
This has been the first year that I have been diligent in
dealing with it. Here is my plan of
attack. First, I wait for the bindweed
to get about 12 inches long.
Then I place a wide mouth drink bottle over it, that the bottom has been cut off of.
I wad the plant up into the bottle from the cut end.
Then I wedge the cut end into the garden soil. I then remove the cap, spray in a bunch of Roundup coating the leaves liberally, and I replace the cap. The wide mouth bottle is preferred because it's easier to coat the plant from a large opening, rather than the smaller opening of a soda bottle.
The bottle serves a couple of important purposes. One is to contain the Roundup so it isn't splashing on the surrounding plants that I want to live. The bindweed often grows very close to everything else. I am able to coat the plant good and proper in this manner. When I screw the cap back on, the bottle will also provide a very hot greenhouse effect for the plant....aiding in the demise of the weed.
(The bottle with the bindweed and Roundup is nestled into the same cage as my pepper plant, but the pepper plant is completely safe.)
Now this obnoxious weed will grow back somewhere close by. But if you are diligent in tackling that one, and the next, and the next, it will become exhausted and vanish. (It doesn't hurt to keep your fingers crossed.)
There have been a few times where I've been unable to get a tight fit of the bottle into the soil. When this happens, I just get a sealable plastic bag and wad the plant into the bag, spray in the Roundup, and seal it the best I can, making sure none of it can drip out. With either method, I leave the bag or the bottle on for a few days to let the Roundup and the heat work its magic.
These efforts have really made a difference. I hope to tackle the bindweed in my raspberry bushes next year. This year, my pumpkins have taken over the raspberries and I can't even get to them.
