Weed Identification

WEED IDENTIFICATION

Correct identification of weeds helps you to know how to deal with them. A weed is just a plant that you don’t want in a particular place. It quickly takes advantage of a soil situation & gets in there ahead of the competition if it can! Weeds do this in several ways – quick growth, early growth, ability to survive almost anywhere! makes lots of seed, seeds scatter widely & germinate easily, deep roots from which it can re-grow, easily re-grows from a small piece of root. Many quickly take advantage of newly dug soil. Some weeds pop up every year, then just die off – annuals. Some live almost for ever because they have underground resources – perennials. Pernicious weed is a term often used for the really tough guys – difficult to eradicate such as bindweed & horsetail. However a weed is not always unwanted………….. many are attractive to wildlife – those nice packets of “wildflower seeds you pay a packet for…………….and some are genuinely quite useful, like comfrey…………… So before you get out the weed-killer and rotavator walk your plot and see what the weed population has to offer…………………

Identifying Weeds and Wildflowers When studying weeds and wildflowers, pay close attention to their characteristics. Related plants share similar patterns and features, making identification easier. This can include the size, shape and colour of flowers as well as the number of petals and their arrangement on the plant. Look at the leaf size and shape. Stems can also help identify the type of plant – do they stand upright or do they carpet the ground? How do they grow? Some of these plants produce from seeds, others by bulbs or tubers.

Habitat & Soil type Many weeds and wildflowers can be identified by their habitat. Some prefer well-drained, sandy or humus rich soil. Others thrive in moist or clay soils – like creeping buttercup, dock and moss. Fertile soil is indicated by nettles, docks, dandelions, brambles and rosebay willow herb. Others, like plantains and daisies, are often seen in low fertile soils. Various weeds and wildflowers, like nettle, violet, or wild geranium, may be found along ditches and roadsides. Some may be seen in open fields and meadows, such as poppies, thistles, and daisies. Woodland areas might be home to bellflowers, spurge, and orchids. Weeds and wildflowers like loosestrife, flowering rush and pondweed, enjoy boggy environments and ponds. . Regular attention – how they grow If you’re on your plot regularly throughout the year you will soon get to know what weeds come up and when. You will soon be able to recognise them from the earliest stage (at first you think they all look the same!). This is quite important when you want to thin out a recently sown crop – and which is why it helps to sow in rows or blocks, so you can see (hopefully) what’s supposed to be growing there – know your weeds from your seeds!

Annual weeds These are a nuisance; they go for the “flood the market” strategy. The aim of annual weeds is to grow and set seed as quickly as possible. They grow from seed on any recently cultivated soil. Seeds can survive for years in the soil, waiting for the perfect conditions to grow. They germinate at lower temperatures than most garden plants, giving them a head start over rivals! Controlling annual weeds is relatively easy: * The trick is to recognise them at the seedling stage, so you can get on top of them without accidentally eliminating flower or vegetable seedlings. * Most can be hoed or pulled out easily even when they reach a good size. Put them on your compost heap, before they have gone to seed …………..“One year’s seed: 7 years weeds!” Some common annual weeds found at Mansewood include bitter cress, groundsel, speedwell, chickweed, garlic mustard, shepherd’s purse, sticky-willy (cleavers), field mustard (charlock), sow thistle. Perennial Weeds These are the thugs of the weeds- always lying in wait & quickly take over the place! Because they have deep and often extensive roots they have plenty of reserves with which to regenerate time and time again. The roots can be strong enough to break through concrete and tarmac! They spread under slabs. Control requires patience. Dig out perennial weeds as soon as you see them. So long as you don’t let them produce leaves, the roots will use up their energy stores and eventually die – pick away if nothing else. Most green tops with no seed heads can go on the compost heap, but others like bindweed & horsetail can develop shoots from fragments of root or stem. Never rotavate soils with perennial weed infestations as it is a brilliant way of propagating them! Always dig out every little bit as they will regrow and often with twice the vigour. Never let them go to seed! If you don’t mind using chemicals, treat them with a weedkiller containing glyphosate which travels through the leaf to the root to kill the plant, but doesn’t remain in the soil. Don’t put perennial weed roots or seed-heads on to the compost heap. Roots can be dried or drowned to render them “safe” and they are often high in nutrients. Some common perennial weeds found at Mansewood include bindweed, horsetail, dandelion, creeping thistle, nettles, creeping buttercup, couch grass, brambles, dock, ground elder, comfrey – Everyone will know these!!!

Notifiable weeds For allotment holders, there are 2 notifiable weeds: Japanese Knotweed and Giant Hog weed. Japanese Knotweed is one of the most difficult weeds to eradicate, and has infested large areas of the UK uncontrollably. Management is difficult and if found you must let the authorities know – as yet Mansewood has none……………. Giant Hogweed is easier to destroy, but very dangerous to handle. The sap can cause sever skin sensitivity to sunlight and blistering for many years – so don’t touch it without very good gloves. Mansewood does have this on site and it is being dealt with.

Weeds with uses! Ground Elder – the young bright green shoots of Ground Elder, provided they have been grown away from car fumes & dog walk-ways have a lovely flavour and are well worth adding to your salads. Ensure correct identification before picking. Chick weed – the tips, including flower buds and are well worth adding to your salads. Ensure correct identification before picking. Comfrey & Nettles – make excellent foliar feed when drowned or activator on the compost heap Dandelions & Nettles – the young shoots make good soup or side veg. Pick from a place free from car fumes & dog walk-ways. There’s an excellent web site http://www.pfaf.org/index.php Plants for a Future which along with a wealth of useful information, has all other culinary & medicinal uses of plants.

References Lots of Books (wild-flower) & web sites e.g. http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/problems_weeds.asp http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information