Don't Throw Away Invasive Bindweed: How To Put It To Good Use In Your Garden

For many, bindweed is a perennial problem – especially at this time of year when it reaches peak growth and threatens to overwhelm other plants you actually want in your garden.

While you might not want this creeping climber wreaking havoc in your beds and borders, think twice before dumping it on the compost heap; it might just have another use…

Jamie Wilton, who posts on Instagram under the moniker Nettles & Petals, has a rather nifty way to put bindweed to good use: by turning it into cord that can be used around your plot (for example, securing soft stems to canes or tying up herb bunches to dry).

Jamie says: ‘Ideally you would just harvest the longest bindweed stems, strip off the leaves, and let them dry for 2 to 3 days before soaking them in water for an hour to soften. You can just make the twine without soaking if you like; it’ll just be a little less pliable.”

Green vine with white flowers growing over a fence in a field. imageBROKER/Ulrich Rosenschild

Bindweed is a native wildflower, but it can quickly take over

Jamie adds: “To add strength, I tie the two strands together at one end and add something heavy on top such as a plant pot to hold them in place.

“I then bind the two lengths together by twisting them both in the same direction and then crossing them over one another, right left and then left right until I reach the end and tie them off again. They can be fully woven to make them even stronger too, or you can fold over one piece and follow this method, which does help draw the two sides together a little more when binding them.”

in greenhouse ripe red and green tomatoes are growing on a vines against the background of crop of ripe tomatoes in a wicker basket and tomato plants. vubaz

Use natural bindweed twine to secure tomato plants to canes

“This cord is then surprisingly strong and can be used in lots of practical ways in the garden as a twine alternative, such as stringing up your tomatoes in the greenhouse. It has a rustic charm and is obviously biodegradable,” Jamie says.

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