" wrote in message
oups.com...
Regarding the ivy, until I bought this house, I thought I was an ivy
fan (or at least, I didn't know any differently). A previous owner
apparently got tired of working with a large flower bed next to the
house and over-planted the whole thing with ivy. Now it completely
covers the flower bed and the brick edging, makes every effort to cover
the adjacent sidewalk and the entire side of the house, trails up the
side steps, comes up through the porch floor, wraps around the porch
rails...it's everywhere. I don't know if it's English ivy or what, but
I do know there's entirely too much of it around my house. So, if I
shouldn't throw what I cut back on the compost pile, what does it take?
Dissect and bury? Flame thrower? Stake through the heart?

Jo Ann


Ivy. The folks I bought this house from liked ivy.

I don't.

Flame thrower is good. Use weekly.

Failing that, a total vegetation killer (Ortho, others) applied weekly for
a month, followed by digging out the roots.

The leaves will die, and dry. The stems will die and dry. Bonfire
material.

If you don't want the flower / veggie garden, go to a good nursery and look
for a reasonable ground cover (vinca ?) or maybe thyme or some of the mosses
or other covers sold under the "Stepables" (sp?) brand.


Its really important that you cut down the stuff growing up the house walls.
Ivy destroys walls. Its especally bad on brick, despite the pictures you
see o old east coast collge buildings.
--
Jim McLaughlin

Reply address is deliberately munged.
If you really need to reply directly, try:
jimdotmclaughlinatcomcastdotcom

And you know it is a dotnet not a dotcom
address.
Bob wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
buy a wood chipper, it speeds composting termendously


My compost is 95% lawn clippings - already ground up.

Bob