Kitchen Garden Forum

I've just sprayed a huge bed of nettles on a bit of waste land with Tumbleweed - didn't use Sod. Chlorate as I want the ground'cover' to continue growing. The bottle tells me they will take 4-6 weeks to die down.
Now she-who-must-be-obeyed says she can't wait that long and wants me to cut the nettles! My question: at what time stage has the weedkiller actually reached the roots and will carry on its work even if the foliage has been removed?
John N

Hi JohnN,

If it is wasteland, why the need to spray them? Nettles are important breeding grounds for some of our more colourful butterflies, which are getting ever scarcer

Parsons Jack wrote:Hi JohnN,

If it is wasteland, why the need to spray them? Nettles are important breeding grounds for some of our more colourful butterflies, which are getting ever scarcer

I so agree. Nettles are a valuable resource. But I would say that, being a springtime nettle eater.

Here are those butterflies.

if youve sprayed mature waist high nettles it probably wont kill them anyway, it works best on new growth or regrowth after cutting.

Take your point about preserving them, but they are head high and obscure a lovey view across the fields from kitchen window!
John N

You should preserve the wasteland as much as you can, in case there is any chance of somebody getting planning permission to build some nice houses to obscure the view even more

Hi John,
To a degree I agree with everything that has been said and especially what Richard has said with high growing nettles that have now flowered and are possibly seeding would not die as you want then to. I feel your best course of action is to use a flame gun across the top to prevent seeding then strim them down to the ground only those that are obscuring your vision.
I have a constant battle with Nettles and Thistles
but I only control them where they are begining to encroach on a crop and I try to control those by the hedge that separates farmland and garden.
The headlands of cereal and potato crops are left untouched as ploughing generally keeps them in a static mode. At the margins of grassland they are sprayed when young, early in the season, to prevent
then spreading and seeding into the grassland.
Thistles are another thing and they are again sprayed early in the season and again in July for any survivors.
By being a bit selective I get the best of both worlds and certainly see the four butterflies on Alan's website. I also see a lot of Parasitic Wasps that presumably feed on the butterfly larvae.
So I feel that it would be unnecessary to clear the entire patch and feel that you should only clear the bare minimum to satisfy the criteria designated by your wife.
JB.

Thanks JB, I'll get my new Bosch strimmer to work but keep it to the minimum.
John N

I'd agree with JB about not clearing the whole lot. But please don't use a poison! Just cut them down, collect them up and stuff them into a large container. Add water, put the lid on and wait for a month. You have now got nettle tea, a nutritious plant food. It smells terrible, but it's full of nitrogen.

Enjoy your weekend!
mike