Common Chickweed

Chickweed is a common weed throughout Australia as well as the world. It comes in many varieties with the most common being the Common Chickweed. Their invasiveness into healthy lawns is almost non-existent, preferring to germinate and grow in sparser areas of turf in poor health and garden beds.

As far as lawn weeds go, Chickweed isn’t too much of a problem, it’s plant structure is rather weak and easily broken with a fine root system, so the easiest method of control is to easily pull the weed whenever it is seen, or to hoe it over when found inside garden beds.

It is a small plant with shiny leaves on multiple stems which produce a single white flower on each stem. Chickweed cannot re-grow after it has lost the top leafy part of the plant, so regular mowing of lawns ensures it’s immediate eradication, which is another reason Chickweed is rarely found in a well looked after lawn.

With these things in mind, no other type of weed control is considered necessary for Chickweed in lawns. If found in garden beds, paths, or other opportunistic places, it is most easily removed by hand, or a weed killer such as Glyphosate used.

Chickweed Life Span

While it may be a rather weak weed in structure, Chickweed counters this in other ways to ensure it’s survival. While it is an Annual, it can mature and start re-seeding a new generation of weeds in around 6 weeks. It’s other great survival mechanism lies in the Chickweed seed being able to last up to FORTY YEARS and to still be able to germinate when conditions improve for it’s survival.

Chickweed As A Herb and Medicine

Chickweed is a herb which has been used for thousands of years and made into soups and put into salads. It is remarkably high in vitamins A, D, B Complex, and C, as well as being high in Calcium, Zinc, Potassium, Manganese, Silica, Phosphorous, Sodium and Copper. As well as being a herb used for cooking, it is still commonly used in alternative medicines and made into balms to counteract inflammation and skin disorders. It is also used as a nutritious and favourite feed for chickens.