All About Bindweed (and how I'm getting rid of it)

I have bindweed and it's particularly bad in my new cottage garden. I'll tell you all about bindweed, why it's such a pain and so hard to get rid of. I'll explain what my strategy is to remove it and how I got there. Then we'll talk about any positive benefits of having bindweed in your garden.
All of this while I do some satisfying damage control on my bindweed situation.

[@annieevans]

Adding Bind weed to compost is pure MADNESS.

[@krislange1186]

She did say she let it completely dry out for at least a couple of weeks before putting it on the compost pile. I don't think I would trust it. Mine would go on the burn pile.

[@janetthornton7909]

Our county weed agent said the roots can go down 9’ deep. She said do not pull it. If you pull it the roots will divide and multiply. She said cut it at the soil surface with hedge trimmers or similar devices so there are no leaves to photosynthesize energy to the roots. It requires diligence and long term commitment. I’m a master gardener in our county and I recommend “solarizing” if you have large weed patches. You put clear heavy plastic sheeting over it and weight down the edges to trap the heat in. In a few weeks the plants will die from lack of water and bake in the sun. Repeat as soon as you see plants emerging from the soil. Remember desirable plants will die too so carefully place your plastic sheeting to avoid these.

[@tashasgran]

My late father (retired coal Miner). once told me they found the root deep underground in the Coal Mine.

[@ChriswithONEWAY]

it goes 30'

[@andnowi]

Yes, it has its uses. I have a pile of pulled-up bindweed in front of my waterflea culture tub to insulate it against direct sun and as a ramp / haven for amphibians, while meanwhile it is composting on the spot. But yesterday I also saw a video of someone blanching and eating the sprouts. There is stuff online about how it may not be good to eat, but I think I'll give it a try.

[@puirYorick]

I'm a bit leery about composting a pest species and then trusting that it all died but, good luck.

[@KatesGarden]

That’s a very understandable point of view. Don’t feel pressured to compost anything you’re not comfortable with. Also, everyone’s compost piles are a bit different so it might not work the same depending on the pile. Thanks!

[@ericgeorgiou5948]

This weed is such a pain!! My problem is that it's growing in my garden from my neighbour's backyard. A couple years ago I dug up my entire back garden that runs along the fence that separates my property fron my neighbour's. It took me an entire weekend digging as deep as I could go with a pitch fork and shovel picking ALL the brittle white roots. While working my way across the garden digging and sifting through the soil, I installed 6 mil vapor barrier plastic along the fence a few inches above the top of my garden bed, over 3 feet deep, and a couple feet wide underneath my garden. This worked great for that year. But last year, the weed started sprouting again! And now it has spread under my garden's retaining wall and popping up in my lawn. The lawnmower can barely cut it when I mow the lawn as it has nothing to climb on, so it just continues to spread out low to the ground! My neighbour's backyard looks like a jungle and has someone come to cut her grass only 2 or 3 times throughout the year. I'm at a loss of what to do!

[@krislange1186]

I read once that Bindweed roots can grow up to 20 feet. Somehow I believe it. We had it up in Wisconsin and it's here in Missouri also. It's a royal pain in the tush!!

[@KatesGarden]

Yes, they definitely go deep. It’s such a pain!

[@graemerose1616]

Would not compost it, get a metal bin / dustbin size incinerator bin, and a gas weed burner. Also, if time, dig up one area onto cardboard, going down a spade depth (depending how far roots go dow, and break the soil up by hand getting as many roots out as possible, then put that soil back, continue this. Once one section done, the good soil can go ontop of what os already cleared if needed. Small clumpy soil with weeds, keep in a bucket to dry out, then burn it.

[@aearly841]

I think your perseverance will eventually eradicate it. I have to say if it put me through so much effort, I would not want it anywhere near my compost pile. I would delight in incinerating every last piece of it😄

[@KatesGarden]

You have a good point 😝👍

[@tncoltsfan]

Chemical solution is the only sane solution for bindweed, anything else is just fantasy. I know after 10 years battling this monster. Sometimes you have to use chemicals, that is life.

[@Veenbrandt]

By pulling it out like in the video it will be a long endeavor (and a bad practice in my opinion). What works way better is buying a pitchfork and moving it back and forth to open up the ground and slowly pulling out the roots. It is best to do it when it just has rained. The roots will break a lot less and you will get more. I have seen a dramatic decrease in the weed and now it is way more manageable.

[@KatesGarden]

Absolutely! I’m glad you’re seeing good results. My long term strategy is the same: to remove as much root material as possible. Getting the tops cleared off is really just a bandaid to the problem and prevents setting seed. 👍

[@avocadotoast119]

I read that if you keep cutting it close to the soil you will weaken it until it eventually dies, but bindweed can sprout from the broken off stems, so good luck with adding it to your compost heap. It will be interesting to see how you get on.

[@KatesGarden]

Thanks so much! Yes, the slower pulling just from the surface will be my final strategy

[@kmsch986]

20 ft tubers…300-400 seeds per individual plant. 2,4,D sprayed on it then cover with forty year weed cloth for three years and just put raised beds with solid bottoms on top of the weed cloth. No gravel or anything for the bindweed to grow on. I will peek underneath the cloth in a year and if no little sprouts in spring and summer next season, then in the fall will plant heavy ground cover . It has to be able to establish itself as evergreen and outside of bindweed season so that it’s strong before the small plants show up in spring. Then attack each individual that shows up aggressively

[@catacombcatholic5571]

RHS says not to use bindweed in compost. They will root!

[@TheSybil47]

Some plants looks like little angels, but are great devils. I won't preach to you, about composting bind weed, but I would like to say, I put them in a wheelie bin, some water on top, close the lid, and use it as fertilizer. Like you mentioned, it's rich in nutrients. Secondly, I don't take the whole problem at one go, I break it up, and go into depth one area at a time. The rest I just chop with my grass trimmer to prevent it from creating seeds. I dig with a spade, very deep, and get the mainline also up. I don't mind breaking the roots in squares, it's easier to pull up. Then I use a fork and lift the soil, and roots up, and give it a good shake. The roots are all loose now, and easy to rake together. The result is, that where I've been for 2 years ago, and last year, there is peace. Only some small pieces, which is easy to remove, but I cannot sleep on this mission. It's full-time, and all the time. Don't give them a chance. Besides bind weed, I also have to battle against ground elder. So, never a dull moment in my garden life! Keep up the good fight, all of you happy gardeners!

[@trevormoore9890]

Very informative and well done video on Bindweed, thank you. Exactly what I came here looking for. Bindweed is invading my garden and even my container plants now (thanks to homemade mulch that I unwittingly added bindweed to 😱…Oops). I should have done my research my first summer here, when I noticed it popping up in the raised beds. It just honestly looks so innocuous and cute compared to the ghastly white fingers of Bermuda Grass that Im constantly beating back. BG had my full attention that first year. Napalm isn’t strong enough for BG, but I’m stubborn and I will not use chemicals around my food. I manually remove all weeds by hand- both above and below ground, with underground runners chased out. Plus some other natural weed suppression methods. I now know bindweed will sink roots wherever I drop it, so I can’t just pull and drop. I need to remove it from the yard completely OR… as the creator of this video mentioned, cook it with HOT composting- A batch method like “Berkeley Hot Composting”, which naturally increases the temperature of the compost from 145-165F degrees for several days up to several weeks, effectively cooking and neutralizing weed seeds, rhizomes, pests and disease pathogens that were hidden in the compost inputs. When done correctly this method results in extremely rich, diverse, healthy, biologically active, aerobic compost that plants thrive in. The process kills Bermuda grass rhizomes so I imagine it will make quick work of bindweed roots. Not using chemicals is a lot of work every step of the way 😅. The way I deal with that is 5 minutes of weeding every day. It keeps my fingers in the dirt and my soul outside in the fresh air where it belongs. I keep up on it as opposed to weed pulling marathons. Anywho- thats probably more like 6 cents worth, but there it is.

[@veggiemom5]

Looks like the landscape in the front of my house. I've been trying to get rid of the bindweed for years!

[@KatesGarden]

Oh no! Bindweed is such a terrible plant ☹️ Thanks for watching and keep at it 👍

[@RADCOMJ1]

I actually think it's pretty when it flowers and it reminds me of my childhood as it was all along the railway (been replaced by budlia now lol) I love your perspective ♥️

[@KatesGarden]

Thanks, and thanks for sharing, childhood memories are so special 🙂

[@sponge81235]

I think solarization might be the best way

[@Garden-Resell-Thrifts]

if you dig a few feet under you will find the larger roots and they are around 2 inches thick with a black coating outside iv been trying to pull those out for like 4 years now and im ready to use plant killer i hope it works this time

[@kellymiller3065]

Did you find a weed killer and application method that worked?

[@andrewdunne1735]

​@@kellymiller3065any weed killer will do,but the secret is to "feed" it with the weed killer rather than burning off the greenery,dilute the weed killer right down and feed weekly,this ensures that the greenery above ground will transport the poison in small doses to the deepest root,after six months the job is done, Good Luck

[@ninemoonplanet]

It should be fine if you're using the hot compost method especially when it's very warm days in summer. The carbon content should be a bit higher than usual and water necessary during hot days. I composted dandelions, some of the other weeds in a cold compost but left it longer in the bins, adding green material to increase the decomposition faster. So far the only seeds that did sprout are melon types like squash, but those were pulled and dropped back, gone quickly.

[@KatesGarden]

Yup, exactly 👍 I put my grass clippings in the compost too. So I’ll be mixing those in as I go. That tends to really heat up the pile. As you mentioned, the seeds can be the tricky part. Getting weeds before the flowers change to seed is much better 😊

[@in.der.welt.sein.]

One thing I've noticed: japanese beetles will often go for bindweed before fruit tree leaves. Unfortunately once they eat the bindweed, they go right to the fruit trees.

[@KatesGarden]

Interesting! I’ll have to watch if this is happening in my garden too. Thanks

[@Amarie1961]

Wishing you success in controlling it.

[@KatesGarden]

Thanks so much!

[@ObiMomKenobi13]

Nooooooo do not compost!!!! 😩

[@KatesGarden]

😱😂 its not toxic waste, it’s organic material just like any other weed. It might not be the right choice for everyone. I haven’t had a problem with it in my compost, but everyone’s compost is different.

[@ObiMomKenobi13]

It's not toxic waste, but I swear that stuff could regrow from a single cell. 😂 If I had known what it would do to my garden, I would not have bought this place. It's my white whale, I tell you! 😂😂😂

[@KatesGarden]

@@ObiMomKenobi13 I absolutely agree! I wasn’t into gardening when we bought our house and had no idea about bindweed at the time. There are moments when I wish we had chosen a different house. I feel your pain. And yes, I’ve seen it regrow from very small pieces. But surprisingly, very rarely in my compost 🤷‍♀️

[@kmsch986]

I’ve tried pulling, covering and every natural herbicide bc I’ve always gardened organically. But at my new house, I can’t - blasting with herbicide and then going to cover with thick weed cloth and build a deck over it. Will garden in opposite side of yard. It’s impossible…

[@KatesGarden]

@@kmsch986 That’s a completely understandable strategy. Bindweed is such a pain to deal with. I hope it goes well 👍