Quecke is one of those weeds that are particularly feared. The reason: The rhizome-forming grass doesn't just spread through seeds. The creeping shoots that grow underground can grow up to one meter in all directions every year and make control very difficult. However, with the right measures and tools, you can successfully push back the couch grass and stop it from spreading.
How do I get rid of couch grass in the garden?
To combat couch grass successfully, you should carefully dig up the weeds, carefully remove root parts and leave the bed fallow. Alternatively, you can also plant mustard, oil radish, buckwheat or marigold as a cover crop to limit the couch grass.
Why is the couch grass so resilient?
The couch grass is a perennial spike grass that forms widely branched roots. If you pierce these with the spade, a new plant can form from each part.
The seeds remain germinable in the soil for a very long time. They are spread by wind and their clinging properties. Culms can form at each node of the rhizomes and grow into large clumps.
The couch grass is extremely adaptable, and not just as a weed. It thrives on almost all surfaces, regardless of whether it is humus-rich garden soil, sandy substrate or heavy, loamy compacted soil. Their resilience makes them survivors.
Preventive measures against couch grass
- If the couch grass begins to spread in the vegetable patch, you can sow mustard, radish, buckwheat or rapeseed very densely as a cover crop. This deprives the weed of light and causes it to die.
- It is often recommended to plant potatoes. The delicious tuber restricts the growth of the sweet grass, but does not stop it.
- Tagetes with their root exudates don't like couch grass at all. If you replant the vegetable patch with the pretty flowers, the annoying grass will stay away.
The successful fight
Because of the special properties of the rhizomes, you should not even try to get rid of the couch grass with a hoe or tiller. Unfortunately, weeding, cutting or simply digging up is of little help, as the plant continues to spread due to the many torn root pieces.
The couch grass can only be removed manually by carefully digging out the roots and carefully picking out the smallest root parts. To do this, dig up the area piece by piece with the digging fork (€31.00 on Amazon) and pull the long creeping shoots out of the loosened soil.
Afterwards, leave the bed fallow for a while and weed out all the newly sprouting stalks including the roots. You can also repeatedly comb the soil with a rake. The sprouts of the couch grass are light and stand out visually from the dark soil.
Do not put the rhizomes on the compost straight away, but rather let them dry in the sun for a few days. It is better to dispose of them with household waste or in the organic waste bin.
Tip
The couch grass is an ancient medicinal plant. Its ingredients have a diuretic effect. In earlier times it was given as a tea for kidney pain and cystitis. Since the active ingredients do not last long when dried, you should always use couch grass fresh as a medicinal herb.