I just had to add a further post to this thread to thank those who gave such good advice above about getting rid of bindweed using glyphosate.
The results of using tiny amounts to kill two climbing weeds which were previously a real pain in the garden were amazing last year.
We have a lot of weeds which come in from undergrowth close to our garden so I read further information about using this weedkiller. This led me to experiment by using a sprayer to carefully attack bramble shoots, nettles and other weeds which previously we had laboriously removed by hand. And also to try killing weeds around shrubs, some of which I had annually attacked with a rotavator. This method works in the short term and I have used it to mix home-made coarse compost into the soil. However it does prepare the ground nicely for further weed growth!
Given the success with glyphosate last year, I started early this year and sprayed a lot more weeds in early January. This was ideal because most plants in the garden are deciduous and it was easy to avoid the evergreens. Would glyphosate work on weeds which were beginning to grow in freezing conditions? Nearly six weeks later the answer is yes!
To my surprise most of the really irritating long rooted ,weeds which require backbreaking work to remove by hand and the annoying ones which can’t be hoed because they are intertwined with plants are looking brown and sickly. Many have already convincingly died back.
I’d stress that I’m being really careful, using a knapsack sprayer with a very accurate nozzle which can give a tiny dose without hitting nearby garden plant shoots. So far I don’t think I’ve damaged any valued garden plants.
Whilst Mrs H and I are pretty fit, hand weeding has become a real chore in recent years. This new method of weeding looks highly promising. And, so far only around 250 ml of glyphosate has been needed in 18 months.
So again, thank you all for the advice in the above thread. As a keen gardener I’ve learnt something new and valuable! Roll on a weed-free summer!
regards
Howard