Elontien palstaviljelijät ry

Couch grass

One of the most common and resilient of the perennial species of grass. Spreads through seeds and roots.

How to prevent

In early spring

When the ground has melted, the roots are gathered and carefully removed using a digging fork. You can dry them out in the sun and then compost them. Or put them in a black trash bag for a couple of years, so that they rot, and after that compost them.

In summer

Digging is not recommended on areas where there are plants. Use a harrow and uproot weeds in the inter-rows. If you see any couch grass, cut it down and use it as mulch or compost it. You will have to repeat this often, because it grows rapidly. This way the couch grass has no opportunity to get stronger. It is especially important to cut it down before it flowers and spreads seeds.

During harvest

In the fall, you can turn the soil like in the spring, and gather and remove the roots.

These tasks will be repeated every year. You will get results with diligence!

Mechanical methods of tilling unmaintained soil, that has a lot of weeds, are a two-edged sword. The soil will loosen, but if one fails to carefully pick up the pieces of roots from the weeds, it will lead to arduous work. Cultivation and maintenance of the soil has to start immediately after tilling the soil, when it is easier to remove couch grass and other weeds.

Field horsetail

It is difficult to get rid of field horsetail, because its black, tough and strong root grows very deep underground.

During the fall and spring, you can dig up the roots, as much as you can. During summer, diligent harrowing, cutting down or uprooting the sprouts will help to control the growth of field horsetail.

However, field horsetail can be useful. Fresh or dried field horsetail can be used to prepare a concoction, which helps to prevent mildew on plant leaves.

Field horsetail contains silicon, which helps plants to recover from fungal diseases.

I myself simply put the field horsetails on top of the plant benches, like other weeds, as mulch.

Field bindweed

Beautiful vine, with thin stems and pointed leaves, that has white or pink funnel shaped flowers. Twists around other plants, stiffling them.

In early spring, use a harrow to uproot the root system. In summer, uproot or cut down. If you see it twisted around a bush, for example, cut it down from the stem.

You can also try to control field bindweed by planting red clover in its growing place.

Creeping yellowcress

Part of the crucifers. The root system is thin and has a lot of branches, creeping yellowcress uses it to spread. Try to remove the root attentively in spring. In summer, carefully remove creeping yellowcress using a hand harrow, do not use the harrow to spread the plant.

Continuous, persistent cutting down of the growth, the roots will run out of spare nutrients and growth will stop, this is the hope.

In the fall you can repeat the removal of the root system. Dispose of the root system carefully, preferably as mixed waste.

Creeping thistle

When creeping thistle gets to grow on an area, it is difficult to get rid of. In addition to a radicle, creeping thistle has underground root sprouts. It uses it to spread effectively.

It is not recommended to let creeping thistle flower, because it spreads to its surroundings rapidly through seed fluff. At the latest, cut the plant down in the budding stage. Stems without flowers can well be composted.

To control the growth, harrowing, uprooting the plants, and cutting them down, and carefully gathering the roots when tilling the ground are one method.

You can also try crop rotation and thick green manure.

Field milk thistle

Similarly to creeping thistle, field milk thistle grows a radicle and also a sturdy horizontal root system that sprouts generously.

Field milk thistle has spikey leaves, its flowers resemble the flowers of dandelion. It can grow up to one and a half meters. The plant contains a lot of milky sap.

It spreads efficiently through its roots and during flowering by the flight of its pappus.

Prevention methods are similar to those of creeping thistle, you can also try straw mulch.

Dandelion

Is the easiest to control out of these three. Dandelion's strong root grows straight down, it can be removed with a dandelion removal tool. Or pick up the roots during tilling.

Dandelion spreads only through seeds. That is why it is important to pick up the flowers before they turn into fluff balls and the seeds will spread into their surroundings.

Dandelion can be used for food in many ways. All parts of the plant are edible.