Treatment with Roundup (available from garden centre's) herbicide at 6 ltr per hectare is recommended to remove these and other weeds when they are in full active growth. Roundup is a very benign chemical and is inactivated on contact with the soil. After the effects of Roundup are apparent (7-10 days) the dead vegetation should be mown off and removed or mown off and ploughed under.

Ploughing / digging land is preferable to other forms of cultivation since the inversion of the surface of the soil buries problem weed seeds and also thatchy grass layer (which strongly inhibits wildflower seed germination if kept on the surface). Ploughing / digging over presents a clean slate on which to sow. Beware that if your field / garden contain numerous docks, thistles, nettles etc, it will not be suitable for a meadow without the removal of the topsoil. Although to some this may seem a rather arduous task, it is quite easy in many circumstances where for example a new house has been built and suitable plant and machinery available.

The removal of topsoil has been proven by ourselves on many occasions to be a foolproof method of obtaining success. It removes the fertility, weed seed problems, thatch etc. at a stroke and even makes the ploughing unnecessary.