wild onions

[paulz]

Our garden is becoming overrun with wild onions [or could be wild garlic] We've tried digging them up but the bulbs are so small it seems to encourage them to spread more. Can't use weedkiller [have a dog & small child] any other ideas? If we keep cutting the leaves off will that work?

[WendyW]

It sounds like wild garlic. The only thing I can suggest is that when each leaf appears you dig it up. Sooner or later you will get rid of them but it could take a while.

[quattro]

It does sound like Wild Garlic I actually thought that they spread by bulb or root division until I saw one growing 5ft high up on a tree branch so they must grow by seed as well . The un organic way to get rid of them is to get a really strong weed killer which works all the way down to the roots such as roundup unfortunately as you say you can't do that get a petrol strimmer or mower and keep knocking them down as soon as the green leaves stop appearing out of the ground you won't see them till next year and don't let the flower heads frm as that will lead to seeds being formed . If you do use a strimmer make sure to wear a mask as the juice can sting a bit but the smell is lovely unless youre a Vampire !

[Cetti]

I've just found this on a gardening site to add to the answers you have already. "These little devils reproduce themselves from underground bulbs and then from seeds later in the season. It's the little bulblets that make them so hard to deal with because they can be as deep as eight to ten inches underground. The earth friendly way to deal with wild garlic is just to dig up the clumps. You see, if you try to pull them up you'll just tear off the tops and they'll be back to haunt you. Now to make your job easier in removing these, soak the area you are going to work in the night before. When you make your cut with the shovel, push it as deep into the ground as you can close to the garlic".