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Lots of Chickweed in lawn

Seaglass_and_stitchesSeaglass_and_stitches Posts: 9
in Problem solving
Hi all! I hope everyone is enjoying this festive season.
I'm still a very new gardener and I have an issue with my lawn (apart from it needing a good cut in the spring) I have a nasty infestation of chickweed! 
How do you go about getting shot of it without using pesticides? Is it as simple as pulling it out and reseeding in the  spring? Thank you!

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited December 2020
    Chickweed is a fairly puny annual weed, so weedkiller is overkill for it (and they don't work well in cold weather anyway). It'll soon give up the ghost when you start cutting. You could give it a trim (blades set high) if you get some dry frost-free weather, and you could hand-pull the worst of it in the meantime. The grass will most likely fill in when it starts growing in spring, and if it doesn't you can put some seed down on any bare or thin patches then.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Totally agree ... regular cutting next year will sort it out .... and in the meantime it’s a great fresh vegetable for salads and sandwiches. 😋 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    edited December 2020
    There are two kinds of what is commonly called chickweed.
    I think from the way it sits up above the grass and is pale in colour?
    Yours looks like it might be the hairy kind?

    The other tends to be low and more ground hugging, roots as it goes and is darker green.
    You can eat the second one .
    :D
    https://www.ediblewildfood.com/chickweed.aspx.

    We have had the hairy one in the front garden and pulled the worst by hand; We get very little of it now though we are thinking of leaving the front to wild flowers, so anything that grows.

    But with yours I would follow jennyj's advice,  her post has it covered.

    The other one I have done the same though it is harder as it tends to root as it goes on our damper rear garden patch.
  • Seaglass_and_stitchesSeaglass_and_stitches Posts: 9
    Excellent and amazing fact, Rubytoo!!! 
    Thank you very much Jenny, good to know it should die out soon. We're very wet and mild here (essex) so that's probably the reason for the explosion of salad friendly weeds 😁
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