Chickweed is another of those weak type weeds which spread easily, yet are easily controlled with no real effort. It is a wispy fragile weed producing multiple stems with white flowers. The root system of Chickweed is rather weak also and is easily pulled from wherever it has found a home.
Chickweed is spread via its seeds produced from its flowers, with a new weed being able to start reproducing in only a matter of weeks, while its seeds can remain viable in the soil for decades. This rapid spread and longevity of seed ensures that Chickweed, despite being a weakling in structure, is in fact a true survivor.
Also known as: common chickweed, winter weed, chicken wort, maruns, craches
Botanical name: Stellaria media
Once again, the name here is a dead giveaway, yes Chickweed is an excellent food source for chickens… as well as for people.
Chickweed is used around the world for food, being naturally very high in many essential vitamins and minerals, in this sense it could be considered a true ‘power plant’. Add to that its fast growth and reproductive rates and we can see why it has been considered so very highly valuable for thousands of years to many different peoples.
Chickweed is also used as natural medicinal treatments for such problems as bronchitis, skin problems, pain, arthritis and many other ailments too. Wow, what an amazing plant !!
Controlling Chickweed
Chickweed isn’t to be found in healthy lawns, but rather in lawns which are patchy or sometimes bare, and in other bare type soil areas like garden beds. Preferring to live alone, Chickweed will be easily outcompeted and killed off by a lawn which is brought back to full health again. Likewise, just keeping up with regular lawn mowing will be enough to kill off any Chickweed in a lawn as it is easily damaged and killed off with the removal of the upper part of the plant, and it cannot regrow from its roots.
If we’re spraying a lawn area with a general broadleaf weed spray, then this too will kill off any Chickweed problems we may also have in the lawn area.
Removing Chickweed from pathways, footpaths or other similar areas can be done either by hand pulling and breaking the plant from its root system, or by hitting it with a line trimmer. It really is a very weak weed, or did I say that already?
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