New hedge for glas-weed and grass control

farawaygrass

Hi all, planted 130 metres of hawthorn a couple of weeks ago. Now I'm wondering what is hhe best way to control the grass and weeds from suffocating it during the summer? Bearing in mind, the least amount of work the better! Someone I know suggested fuselayer spray (maybe spelt wrong). It is meant to kill grass and weeds and leave the hedge ok. Someone else suggested bark mulch. The thought of putting down plastic too seems like a nightmare.

Genghis Cant

You could prepare the ground and sow your whitethorn quicks, heel them in well. Cut them back to around 6" with a secateurs, at an angle if you like, and then lay plastic over the 6" stumps. Weigh down the plastic with clay or gravel. It can turn into a tidy job.

Edit. I see you've them planted. You can still cut them back and lay the plastic.

Justjens

Just trample down the grass and weeds in the middle of the summer for a few years until they're established, won't take you long or cost anything

Or if you want spray now with glysophate before the leaves come out.

farawaygrass

Genghis Cant wrote: »

You could prepare the ground and sow your whitethorn quicks, heel them in well. Cut them back to around 6" with a secateurs, at an angle if you like, and then lay plastic over the 6" stumps. Weigh down the plastic with clay or gravel. It can turn into a tidy job.

Edit. I see you've them planted. You can still cut them back and lay the plastic.

Cheers. Would a new silage pit cover be the best option then?

Genghis Cant

farawaygrass wrote: »

Cheers. Would a new silage pit cover be the best option then?

I'm sure you could use any plastic you had about the place, but Jaysus it could be a thankless job using bits and pieces.
The stuff we used was a roll, maybe 1m or so wide, not unlike silage wrap only heavier, but not brutal heavy either. You'd fly along putting it down.
One thing I noticed, anywhere we used clay to keep it down grew weeds and dirt. The gravel / pebble was a cleaner job. You can use a blunt spade to sorta tuck it underground at the edges too.

muirsin

Hi
just leave them be. They will be grand. Better not use round up or similar til they at least 1 year planted. This time next year you could spray. More important to prune. It will encourage vigorous branching which will out grow most weeds. And any way some weeds or under growth is part of overall bigger picture.

Bass Reeves

I planted a hedge about 10 years ago but I sprayed the ground before planting. I had bought the larger Quicksilver I think they were about 2'. I cut them back and never had to do another thing. However you can get a cone head for a knapsack sprayer when spraying you keep this within a few inches of the ground and it prevents drift.

Anatom

Would a strimmer be too much work?

lakill Farm

Genghis Cant wrote: »

I'm sure you could use any plastic you had about the place, but Jaysus it could be a thankless job using bits and pieces.
The stuff we used was a roll, maybe 1m or so wide, not unlike silage wrap only heavier, but not brutal heavy either. You'd fly along putting it down.
One thing I noticed, anywhere we used clay to keep it down grew weeds and dirt. The gravel / pebble was a cleaner job. You can use a blunt spade to sorta tuck it underground at the edges too.

that weed membrane stuff is €50 for a 50m x 1m wide roll in local hardware.

it ideally needs to be down before you plant I think . I spray around my beech hedging in that 5/7 days when the bronze leaf falls off and buds open up.

Would a bit of FYM around them keep down the grass and fertilize them. Win win . if weeks start in the FYM them just flip it over and will kill the weeks

farawaygrass

Thanks for all your replies. I was hoping to get a solution that would require no maintenance work at all because I know it will be put on the long finger and time isn't that plenty. If I left them alone would grass not smother them and hinder growth? I want it to be a. Rory thick hedge. It would be very hard to manage strimmers. Would fym encourage more weeds and grass? Would bark mulch work?

AntrimGlens

Can you get access to Kerb granules, a shake along the base of the whips will keep your grass down. Easiest method by far.