The chickweed occasionally settles uninvited. In no time she weaves entire carpets on our property. A delicious salad awaits us to be picked and enjoyed. However, if it is undesirable where it thrives, it can be successfully controlled.
How can you effectively combat chickweed in the garden?
To successfully combat chickweed, you should weed it early, scarify and mow the lawn, close gaps in the garden, fertilize specifically and suppress growth with mulching. Consistent care is crucial to prevent its spread.
Where to find chickweed
If you discover chickweed in your garden, it says a lot about the condition of the soil. It likes nutrient-rich and moist soil. As an indicator plant, it indicates nitrogen-rich soil that can store water well. The pH is in the weakly acidic or weakly basic range. It tolerates sun and shade. From this description, it is not surprising that we can encounter chickweed in the following places:
- in the middle of the lawn
- in vegetable beds
- between flowers
- on other fallow areas
Tip
Since chickweed blooms almost constantly, its propagation potential is enormous. If the herb is unwanted in your garden, you shouldn't wait long to get rid of it.
Weeding – difficult but effective
Before the plants we cultivate come to new life at the beginning of the year, many wild plants have already been around for a long time. This means they can quickly conquer any freely available space. That's why you should check the garden for weeds early in the year and weed them promptly.
- Tear out the plant completely
- also pull the shallow roots out of the earth
- this applies more easily after a rainy day
- Repeat weeding at regular intervals
Tip
If you don't have much time for weeding, you should at least take care of the plants that have already bloomed. In this way you prevent them from creating countless new plants with their seeds.
Verticifying and mowing the lawn
Chigweed plants also appear among grasses. They must be prevented from blooming. The easiest way to do this is to mow the lawn regularly and very short. When scarifying, the majority of plants can be easily grasped by their shallow roots and pulled out of the lawn.
Closing gaps
Deprive the chickweed of its habitat by consistently closing gaps in the garden. Plant plants you like on it before the wild chickweed can conquer them.
- Close gaps in the lawn by reseeding
- plant ground cover under bushes and perennials
Fertilize the affected area specifically
Experts fight chickweed with a fertilizer (€33.00 on Amazon) that it doesn't like at all.
- apply potash fertilizer during the growing season
- work lime nitrogen into the soil in autumn
Be cautious when using both substances. Otherwise, it can quickly happen that you change the soil conditions to the detriment of your crops.
Suppress growth with mulching
You can also slow down the spread of low-growing chickweed with a thin layer of mulch. Any known mulching material is suitable for this. For example leaves or straw. A translucent film also has this effect, but it does not allow rainwater to seep into the ground.
