Ever wondered how to get rid of bindweed organically? Is there even such a thing as natural bindweed removal?
We have a world class collection of bindweed plants in our quarter-acre yard, so I’ve been on a mission to find ways to deal with it without using harmful chemicals.
Bindweed is one persistent and pugnacious plant, with many characteristics that make it tough to remove. For instance, its seeds can last up to 50 years!
Keep reading to learn how to get rid of bindweed, plus some fascinating facts — including one very redeeming quality about bindweed plants.
In our yard, the weed seems to especially enjoy growing in the vegetable gardens, but it also likes to twist its tendrils around the flowers and choke them when I’m not paying attention. It climbs up fences.
It grows up in the most inconvenient places, like smack in the middle of the creeping wooly thyme.
Give it the slightest little space, like the 1/4 inch gap between the raised garden and the paving stone, and it will creep in like a bad boyfriend.
What’s the deal with bindweed, anyway? Why is it such a pesky weed?
Well, garden trivia enthusiasts, allow me to share…
8 Fun Facts About Bindweed
- Bindweed has a fancy side. It also goes by the names of “Wild Morning Glory” and “Creeping Jenny.” No offense to my readers named Jenny.
- Field bindweed produces a tap root which can penetrate up to 10 feet in depth. So to get to the end of the root, you’ll simply need to dig a hole in your garden roughly the depth of a Cadillac. Is that going to be a problem?
- The multiple roots that grow laterally from the tap root can extend as far as 30 feet. To put this in perspective, imagine George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Henry Cavill, Jon Hamm and Gerard Butler lying head to toe in your garden.
- Bindweed can serve as a host for several viruses that affect potatoes, tomatoes and other crops.
- As you probably know if you’ve tried to pull it, bindweed stems break easily. When fragmented, the underground plant parts will produce new, adorable little infant plants.
- One plant can produce as many as 14 precious little shoots in one year, each of which grows 1 ½ to 4 ½ feet in the first season.
- Each plant is capable of producing 25 to 300 cute little seeds.
- Due to an extremely hard seed coat, the seeds can remain viable in the soil for up to 50 years. It’s sobering to realize that my bindweed seeds will likely outlive me.
Whew, that’s one feisty weed. So naturally, I wondered if this tenacious weed could have any lovable qualities.
If you share the view that each and every living thing on earth has its place and purpose, you’ll probably smile when you read about one of bindweed’s most important roles. Allow me to present:
1 Cuddly Fact About Bindweed
- Amazingly, a major anti-cancer drug is derived from bindweed. I am not making this up.
Which is why I’ve generously opened our back yard to all scientists who need more bindweed samples.
That’s just the kind of selfless, philanthropic person I am.
Aside from finding willing takers or digging to China to reach the end of your bindweed roots, what’s an organic gardener to do?
Two readers asked for my advice about dealing with bindweed on my frugal gardening post How To Avoid $100 Tomatoes, and I’m glad they did because it made me feel, for a few moments, like Dear Abby or Dr. Phil. My readers think I know about such things! I thought to myself.
It was a delicious moment that ended too soon after I decided that I, a Gardening and Weed Expert, should probably go water my parched garden. Which is when I discovered that a new plant had quietly begun its sneaky, determined climb to overtake the garden faucet.
Time’s a-wastin,’ my friends, and your bindweed has probably grown another ten feet while you’ve been reading this blog post. So without further adieu, I present you with:
7 Natural Ways to Control Bindweed
- Discourage it young. Young seedlings can be destroyed when cut several inches below the soil. Whatever you do, don’t wait until the weeds are pre-teens.
- Get heavyhanded with mulch. Bindweed likes sunshine, so mulch can discourage it.
- Till it. Hoeing, digging, or tilling more mature field bindweed every one to two weeks for several seasons can reduce plant vigor.
- Torch it. Some gardeners have had luck zapping bindweed with a weed torch, which sounds kinda fun. It’s a propane tank with a little torch that burns up the weed.
- Attack it. My sister, who has a small farm and very green thumb, told me about bindweed mites – blessed little bugs that eat the plants. Some states have programs where you can obtain the mites for free; check with your county extension office.
- Fry it. Our reader Eileen has a unique way of dealing with the weed. She reports: ”I push short lengths of garden cane into the soil next to the shoots and wrap the stems around the canes. This stops the bindweed from entwining itself around other plants. I then cut off the bottom of 2 liter plastic water (or juice) bottles and remove the cap. I pop the bottle over the cane and weed and spray into the neck of the bottle with a concentrated salt mixture. I then replace the cap. Before you know it the plant has shriveled and died as the heat in the bottle ensures the salt burns it very effectively.”
- Carefully douse the plant it in boiling water. This is the method used by some professional large scale weed removal services.
Bonus tip: Embrace your bindweed. Train it to grow on topiary forms, and tell your neighbors it’s your prized Creeping Jenny.
While bindweed is a constant challenge, I’ve taken a different view about the yellow dandelions that sprout up in our yard and provide pollen for the bees. You might enjoy this dandelion history lesson, written from the future.
How about you? Is bindweed a problem in your garden, and have you found an organic way to control it? Drop a comment below!
Happy hoeing from your Gardening and Weed Expert!
Eliza Cross is the creator of Happy Simple Living, where she shares ideas to help busy people simplify cooking, gardening, holidays, home, and money. She is also the award-winning author of 17 cookbooks, including Small Bites and 101 Things To Do With Bacon.
Such a fun blog! I have bindweed everywhere…garden, yard. Would like to try the mites. Thanks for adding a bit of humor to a humorless plant.
Thank you, Suzanne. I envision a future when we will get compensated for our impressive bindweed specimens. Until then, we bindweed growers have to stick together! xo
0 do.I
I have a lot of it but now 75 and arthritic it takes me a while
Where would I get the mites
[email protected]
Well, our block just got letters from the Weed Patrol about our bindweed problem. We, personally, use a lawn service that has worked wonders for our bindweed problem, but neighbors on both sides of us are having to face the problem now. I have heard that pouring boiling water on the plant can kill it. Has anyone had any luck with that? I see that someone above mentioned putting dish soap with it. Or vinegar? We have a time limit to getting rid of these weeds, so any information to get this weed taken care of quickly will be very much appreciated!
For those growing bindweed as a tea, food or scented ornamental be aware that just about every state in the US has every form of it listed as a noxious weed. That means it’s illegal to let it grow. As a strict organic gardener I’ve used highly concentrated vinegar, orange concentrate and salt in the sun to control it. After 30 years in one garden I was able to stave off large areas but there are certain patches that remain that must be dealt with.
Yes it is a noxious weed where I live, and if we don’t control it along our fence lines and on our alley sides, the city “Noxious Weed Control” people come along, and recommend us for fines.
What is “orange concentrate”, where do you get it, and how do you use it?
Do you use regular white vinegar, full strength?
“Salt”, is that rock salt, Epsom salt, or regular salt? How much and how often is it applied, and with or without water?
Please can you give more details about the orange concentrate. Essential oil? What sort of quantity of salt and oil and vinegar? Did you brush that on the leaves? I would love to hear more detail., how long did it take to work?
One year I thought it was pretty so let it grow, it does not need much of an invitation to go mental and take over ( combined with huge clumps of sedge and creeping lawns into the flower beds, there was not much space for the poor flowers). . There is not much left in my flower beds except bindweed roots and a couple of brave bluebells and one tulip where there were many.
Thankfully it did not extend into my veg patch on the other side of the garden. I am super greatful for that.
Has anyone had success with the cardboard and thick mulch idea? Is it best to dig most of the roots out first? Once the mulch is applied it would be really hard to dig roots again. Thanks.
Hi! from Northern England – I re-married 17 years ago and my new wife when looking at my garden saw that I had Bindweed and warned me of the consequences. I laughed this off and told here she made it sound like ‘Day of the Triffids’ and now in October 2016 it certainly looks like it and I am currently battling to get ride of it?! It’s even growing up and inside my garden shed – I’ve tried digging it out, weed killer and now I might try the vinegar idea (seems to be a remedy for everything!) Driving me crazy?!
I read where boiling water would kill the bind weed. Could you not just use the hot water from the wash machine spigot and run a hose to the garden?
Splendid idea, Marilyn – will you let us know if you have any success?
so glad to learn there are so many other bind weed sufferers. I am about to try another battle with this green beast. Thanks all for making me smile as I go to pull bindweed for yet the 4th time this year…. it is the project that never never ends. At least I am smiling today!
“The project that never ends” – ha! Made me laugh. I guess it keeps us out of trouble, right, Cyndi?
I have started calling it Borg weed after the Star Trek aliens because your garden/yard will be assimilated, and resistance is futile. A neighbor told us about bind weed gall mites. So I was doing some research. Thanks for your post. Oh and bind weed makes good chicken feed. We feed them buckets full of it in addition to their regular feed.
hahaha! lOVE everyone’s sense of humour on here! Thanks for the great tips… and the smiles! 🙂 Patti
Where we live Creeping Jenny is a completely different plant. A quick google search will show you this. Im not sure if thats a name someone in your area gave the plant, or mistakenly identified it. But you should look it up, because creeping jenny here is not an invasive plant. It does serve as a ground cover and spreads but not invasive (no 30 year seeds, etc)
Thoughts?
You are 100% right, Jen. In fact, I have some of the pretty Creeping Jenny plant you’re referring to. Its Latin name is Lysimachia nummularia, and it’s a non-invasive groundcover here in Colorado. The other Creeping Jenny’s Latin name is Convolvulus arvensis, also known as bindweed (also known as the plant that makes some of us cuss and holler while we’re digging and yanking!)
I enjoyed reading the comments here so much!! I have 2 acres of bindweed. Here are the things I have tried: roundup–I have used roughly 30 gallons of roundup and bindweed is STILL thriving. It works briefly. Ground Clear kills it, but you can’t grow anything there for a year or more. Tilling–what a giant mistake that was. A neighbor told me to till, so I did and so did my neighbor. Every single little piece of that tilled weed made new ones sprout. It made the problem worse. Then I read that yes, you can till it out if you till every 2 weeks FOR 5 YEARS!! Landscape fabric–they just grew along underneath until they found an opening. Cardboard–same as the landscape fabric. Vinegar–different strengths, temperatures, with soap, with salt and whatnot–didn’t even make it turn brown. Boiling water–just made them happy. The ONLY thing that I have had luck with is 2,4-d–the active ingredient in Weed B Gone. You have to do due diligence with it too, but it works. It is used on pasture grass to control weeds and won’t harm your lawn. I don’t use it around my flowers or veggies at all though. The weed burner works. The heat makes the cell structure burst–3 seconds on each plant. It is not a good choice for large areas though because propane can get quite expensive. There are weed torches that use the little 1 pound bottles that are light and concentrate the heat in a small space. I would suggest the investment in one of those if you are going to try it. The large burners that attach to your propane tanks have big flames and go through a bottle of propane in short order. The state agricultural school did not return my calls for the bindweed mites. They have not published any articles about it for several years that I could find. People I know that tried them had some success, but they are (apparently) difficult to get in NM. I have read that the mexican sunflowers really work but are also very hard to kill off. At least they are quite pretty. I have read from a number of people that said planting pumpkins has been very successful for helping control bindweed. I tried that this year, but the squirrels ate my pumpkin plants (and have been stealing my watermelons!). I don’t like the idea of spraying down my whole place with 2,4-d, but it really seems to be the best thing to get it under control so that some of the other options are viable for maintenance. So…that is my experience with bindweed and some of the remedies for it. I might have to check into getting some of those turtles……
Thank you for one of the most delightful posts I have ever read. Having dealt with bind weed, it was good to laugh and get some excellent suggestions. As someone who prefers the easiest possible organic approach, the mites and Russian tortoise sound fantastic!
I am trying black plastic. I’m covering the entire veg. garden with it to solarize it. It may creep to the edges but I can easily pull at least that much out. The person that had the garden before me tilled it, thinking it would get rid of it.
NEVER EVER TILL IT! Tilling it is like reproducing it at 1000x what it was! Biggest mistake ever! You cannot pick up every tiny piece of broken root from tilling and if you don’t find every broken root from tilling… you take one plant and turn it into 50 more!
Hi there! I actually have a weed pulling business and bindweed is my nemeses. Thanks for all the information and suggestions regarding this devious predator.
I actually used heavy cardboard on a hillside and covered it with mulch. It has helped, however, now the bindweed just grows in the mulch layer. After 3 years, the cardboard is disintegrating and I am sure I am in for one fun summer of spraying it daily! I did create a little tube from cardboard and put it over the bindweed shoots prior to spraying a large amount of double strength RoundUp on it. That saves the nearby desirable plants. Good luck all, the bane of our gardens will be here when we no longer are. Maybe bindweed was actually the serpent in the Garden of Eden?
Bindweed. What a nightmare. I cursed it but then remembered that everything is here for a reason. Looked into it and came across the medicinal properties. anti fungal antibacterial, anti cancer, anti diabetes antidepressant. So many things it treats. Maybe it is trying to tell us something. Its certainly potent stuff. I JUST DO NOT WANT IT IN MY GARDEN!!!! It even cleanses and brings back fertility to fields that have become toxic with pesticides and adds goodness back into the soil. How farmers can grow anything in a place where it has taken a hold i just do not know but there we go.
Just in case you though Bindweed was all bad news. Look at this.
Health Benefits and Therapeutic Uses
A plant that is considered a bane to agriculturists can also have multiple health benefits and medicinal uses. Some of these are as follows.
The roots of bindweed act as a good purgative, and if used in right doses, it can be effective even in children.
Native Americans would use the plant as an antidote to spider bites, and the leaves of the plant were believed to enhance the secretion of bile.
The extract of bindweed is believed to arrest the growth of tumors, and its anticancer properties are presently being researched.
Bindweed also exhibits actions similar to that of anti-diabetic medications as it is considered to inhibit the action of beta-glucosidase and alpha galctosidase. This, in turn, aids in lesser absorption of carbohydrates into the intestine, thus checking the blood sugar levels. Similar to sweet potato, the insulin-like compound in bindweed aids in effective diabetes management.
Bindweed, especially its flowers, is believed to exhibit antibacterial and antifungal properties against a broad spectrum of microbes, including E. coli, salmonella species, and candida albicans.
Bindweed also finds its therapeutic use for treating the effects of stress in individuals. Bindweed can be used to soothe and calm the mind and nerves. It helps bring about a feeling of being at peace with oneself. However, similar to other tranquilizers or antipsychotic medications, bindweed should be used with caution for treatment of depression, anxiety and stress.
Other Uses
As mentioned above, bindweed is a boon to agriculturists. Most of its other uses can be found in this industry. Some of the common uses of bindweed are as follows.
Bindweed finds other uses in restoring the fertility of agricultural land that has been subject to the extensive use of chemicals and pesticides. It is researched and believed to eradicate chromium, copper, and cadmium from the soil.
Bindweed also exhibits properties similar to that of nitrogen fixing plants. The presence of calystegins in the roots of bindweed act as a source of carbon and nitrogen to the rhizobacteria that is responsible for nitrogen fixation. Thus, the fertility of the soil is enhanced for agricultural use.
In certain parts of Asia, the tender shoots and leaves of the bindweed plant are also used for culinary purposes.
The strong twining vine can also be used for weaving or making strong ropes.
I’m going to try a goat. One of my staff’s daughter has a goat who will eat anything green! I’ve spent hundreds of dollars
hiring someone to pull out the bindweed, keeping coming back. I refuse to use toxic chemicals as I am a health care provider. I could get more customers I suppose if chemicals make someone ill.
I used boiling HOT water and edible citric acid. you could smell the leaves boiling. Worked great. Then “they” must have had a secret underground meeting and went mad spreading everywhere. Getting out the torch next!
here in South Wales I have been digging bindweed out of my potato patch until 10 pm this evening. I can clean up about a yard an hour and love digging up the Devils Guts as we used to call them. This is the third time I have dug this patch over but I am determined to have it clean by next year. The plants give themselves away with there unique shaped leaf and are easy to fork out of cultivated ground. So far I have taken ten wheelbarrow loads of bindweed root away. I do not expect to find them all in one go so I will be at it all summer if we geta summer. Very cold here now
It is good yo hear they are useful for something but there is plenty of places for them outside of my vegetable garden.
One lesson I have learned is never rotate where there is bindweed.
By the way what is tilling?
Very interesting ! Your blog that is. Thank you for the witty humor included with the information given. . Bindweed your heaven sent-because without you there’s not a minute of fun & relaxing moment spent today. I almost forgot my real reason for reading your blog. Thank you for the info, I’ll try them except for tilling (or rotating), I tried that a loooong time ago and …… voila, they are indeed having a meeting down under for a mega comeback.
Oh, Bindweed Fighter Friends (BFFs)! We are a die-hard clan. Love all the upbeat banter going on here.
I have a question and a story. Has anyone come across actual evidence that bindweed dives down nine feet? Could this just be an urban legend? It makes no biological sense to me that a plant would expend so much energy to go 9′ deep, if it can get all the nutients and water it needs within about a two-foot depth, although I have witnessed it’s incredible horizontal growth.
It would be really cool if it does have anti-cancer properties, because it’s own growth is so cancer-like. I’d love to donate it to science!
We dig it up at our house, and sift the soil to pick out as many rootlets as possible. Our neighbor makes no effort to control it, so it dives down from his yard below the one-foot deep steel sheets I buried along the fence to thwart it. That worked for a couple years and now it’s gone deeper and is headed west. We are not going to let it take over, so will try an even deeper barrier next. I may also try that orange concentrate (what’s it called?) along the bottom edge of the root barrier to repell it.
The story: I joined an iris club years ago because it was the cheapest club to join here in Missoula, Montana. Members were not into the old-fashioned iris and shared those rhizomes freely. I was gifted and then planted a pale yellow old-fashioned iris that way, and I named it “Conostoga Wagon.” The rhizomes came West from Connecticut in a conostoga wagon all the way to Nebraska back in pioneer days. By the 1930s, however, the Nebraska farm this family homesteaded was ‘ruined by bindweed,’ and they had to abandon their farm. They moved here to Montana, bringing the iris starts while thankfully leaving the bindweed behind.
With it’s astounding capacity to proliferate, bindweed has to be one of the most amazing plants on earth. Good luck to us BFFs!!
I’ll check into the mites. Thank you.
Here’s a link to a lots of science-based info about bindweed: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/mtpmctn13106.pdf