Plant Doctor Archive

Eradicating Oxalis

WE have a bad problem with oxalis in our vegetable garden. What is the safest and quickest way to eradicate this weed?

UNFORTUNATELY there is no quick fix to eradicating oxalis from the garden. The best thing to do would be to either hand weed, making sure you get all of the parent bulbs and pups (outlying baby bulblets), or spray. If you spray, you will have to have a clear vege patch with no vegies in it. You can use Roundup Renew, or Yates Zero. You can also use Yates Amitrole when the plant is in full leaf. Be careful that you do not get excess residue on the soil, as this chemical has a soil residue that can last for sixmonths. As we are coming up to autumn and winter, it may even pay for you to sterilise your soil with Yates Basamid granules. If any oxalis occurs again after sterilising and spraying, it should not be too hard to eradicate.

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH.