couch grass

Hi,

I was exited to read the mighty and weed fighting lawn. (http://www.richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp) I just came across the following problem in my garden: couch grass (Agropyron repens).

It is almost identical to lawn (have deep roots, growing center in the bottom etc...). They just behave like lawn, so I cannot get rid of them.

Do you have some tips against them?

Cheers,

Tamas

Hi Tamas, welcome to permies
I hoped someone with more knowledge of grass would help you out. but I'll have a wee go! As far as I know, couch is virtually impossible to get rid of.
You say that:

Tamas Cserveny wrote:
It is almost identical to lawn (have deep roots, growing center in the bottom etc...). They just behave like lawn, so I cannot get rid of them.

I suppose I'm thinking that unless it's doing something obnoxious, do you need to get rid of it? I really know nothing about lawn and I'm trying to remember what couch looks like. It tends to grow sideways, but high and 'leggy', right?

This may be a good opportunity for an educational experience. I was getting ready to offer my bit of advice but did some google research first.

1. Need a botanical name to attach to a photo of the grass in question. I found that when I search images lots of different grasses pop up.
2. Couch grass apparently has lots of medicinal applications http://www.localharvest.org/couch-grass-herb-tea-C17898
3. If my ‘couch grass’ is really the one with medicinal benefits I will start putting it to use right away.

Can provide a photo of your grass and maybe someone can provide a botanical name? If it is the same grass that I am calling couch grass then I will have finally found a useful purpose for it.

In the meantime here is my control method – hand pull out of my vegetable beds and just live with it everywhere else. It is just starting to come up in my area and I know from experience that it will soon make an impenetrable carpet in the food planting areas. I do the chop and drop thing but I try to throw that stuff in a pile to remove from the area.

The lawn? I have planted clover and allow ‘whatever’ to grow – may the strongest weed win.

Hi,

Thank you for your answers. I'll make some fotos of "my" couch grass.
It is almost like grass, the only problem I encounter is that they tend to kill other plans in the near, so they somehow cause patches in the lawn.
I would not care if they won't make gaps. :-/ They can be mawed like everything else

Cheers,

Tamas

If what you are talking about is this then there's not much you can do. Its hard enough getting rid of it from veg beds I dont think its possible to get it out of a lawn. We have it in the lawn and find the same thing as you, it tends to sprawl and make little bare patches but mostly in shady bits, it doesn't seem to compete very well in full sun. I've also got it in my raspberry patches and doesn't look like I'm going to get it out of there any time soon either, the roots are so persistent. Although when ever our dog has a bit of an upset stomach he always seeks it out and chomps away on a couple of blades so he certainly thinks its medicinal.