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Among the large number of weeds growing in the fields, in gardens and orchards, there is an unusual plant. It is called garden purslane. But many gardeners and gardeners probably know this plant as a rug, pine, sandwich, fat woman, chicken leg. The invasion of this weed garden plant can begin even with a single seed that has flown onto the site. Soon, all the beds and paths will be covered with a green rug of garden purslane. Then the question arises how to get it out.
That is why many gardeners are interested in how to get rid of purslane, what control measures and means will have to be used. Although several millennia ago, this plant was one of the products used in cooking, in the treatment of various diseases. The inhabitants of Central Asia still cook delicious dishes from purslane, salt and pickle red-brown shoots and green leaves.
Useful Properties
The first mention of the healing properties of a garden plant can be found in the writings of the Persian scientist Avicenna. It was he who compiled recipes using garden purslane for the treatment of various diseases. Only the aerial part of the weed is used for the preparation of potions. Green mass and weed stalks contain a large amount of:
- carbohydrates and proteins;
- glucose, galactose and sucrose
- vitamins A, E, C, B1, PP;
- organic acids;
- norepinephrine;
- macro- and microelements: iron and copper, manganese and potassium, sodium and nickel manganese, zinc and phosphorus.
The use of garden purslane is especially useful for the elderly and those with poor health. The chemical composition of the medicinal plant is such that eating green mass or preparing tinctures enhances human immunity, increases vitality, and removes toxins from the body.
Beneficial features:
External and botanical signs of purslane
Wild purslane is an annual that grows almost everywhere. Its thickets are not only in gardens, kitchen gardens and fields, but also along the banks of rivers, lakes, in forest clearings, along roads. The plant itself is unpretentious, able to survive in any conditions, is not afraid of heat, but dies at the first frost.
The plant grows a little over 20 cm, spreads its numerous serpentine shoots up to 45 cm long. They are red-brown, fleshy. All plants are clearly visible in the photo. Do you think it is easy to remove so many weeds from the garden?
The shape of the juicy green leaves varies depending on the species. In wild purslane, they are round, similar to a shoulder blade.
The weed blooms almost all summer with small, inconspicuous yellow flowers. The maturation of small seeds (about 8 mm) occurs many times. One plant of garden purslane during the growing season can produce almost 38 thousand grains. In order for the seeds to germinate, moist soil and a temperature of + 24 degrees are required.
It is clear why getting rid of a sprawling sandwich (there is something in common with a ghoul) is not so easy.
Methods of struggle
Since the purslane weed growing in the garden is a highly branched, creeping plant that can survive in any conditions, it must be fought when shoots appear, until it blooms and scatters seeds around the site. If the gardener or gardener missed this moment, the work will increase significantly. Control the weed by preventing it from reproducing. Imagine how many weeds will appear on the site, given the huge number of ripening seeds! All of them will interfere with the growth and development of vegetable crops.
Weed removal without chemicals
How to deal with garden purslane without using chemicals?
- The weed propagates by seeds and cuttings. Therefore, the mechanical method of removing purslane is suitable like no other. But you have to do the job right. When pulling out a garden purslane, you need to remove all the smallest pieces so that the shoots cannot take root. Weeding the site from purslane is the most basic and effective way. Operations to clean the site should be carried out every 7 days. We fight with garden weeds, not allowing them to “raise” their heads. Experienced gardeners write: “I pull out the garden purslane with a root and clean it in the sun. I spread the beams not on the ground, but on some kind of coating so that the whips do not come into contact with the ground. It should be remembered that the plant is juicy, fleshy, so it will take a long time to dry completely. To remove weed purslane, you cannot use a cultivator, pruner, chopper or flat cutter: the garden will become even more overgrown with weed.
- How else can you remove garden purslane? Mulching is one of the agricultural practices regarding the issue of garden purslane and how to get it out. Straw, hay, peat, sawdust are suitable as mulch. You can cover the area with an overgrown rug with a piece of roofing material, boards, cardboard or dark film. The main thing is that the weed does not receive light and moisture. This method is widely used by gardeners in the ridges. Weeds are minimal, and the soil is always wet and loose. Mulch should be laid in a layer of 3 to 5 cm.
- Soil excavation. Many summer residents are interested in the question of how to get rid of purslane in the garden. We immediately emphasize that it is undesirable to use a shovel for work. After all, she cuts the stems of the weed, thereby contributing to its reproduction. Dig the soil with a pitchfork to a great depth so that the seeds go as deep as possible. They germinate at a distance of 2 cm from the soil surface. In this case, not only shoots are selected, but also the roots of weeds.
- Experienced gardeners rid their plots of purslane weed with emergency watering. A week before the expected shoots of weeds, the site is carefully dug up and spilled for several days in a row. In less than a week, the seeds will begin to sprout and small pink dots will appear. It grows purslane weed. Now you need to select all the plants with your hands and remove them from the site.
As a rule, agrotechnical weed control measures are most often successful.
Chemical processing
If you got a plot from negligent owners, then traditional methods of removing purslane will not help. Weed control can only be successful with the use of continuous herbicides. The use of chemicals should be timed to coincide with the autumn harvesting of the site, when the entire crop is already in the bins. It is best to use a double solution to kill chicken leg weed by combining Roundup with other drugs. It can be Octigen, Pyramin, Lapis Lazuli. First they pour Roundup, then any other. The solution must be diluted strictly according to the instructions. Used for spraying purslane weed.
As a rule, after two weeks there will be no trace of garden purslane. You can also control weeds with herbicides in the summer if they grow on paths and along fences. The main thing is not to hurt cultivated plants when spraying, otherwise they will become the same as the weeds in the photo.
To summarize
No matter how useful the purslane or chicken leg is, the rug, in the first place, is a terrible weed that interferes with the growth of cultural plantings on the site. We tried to briefly talk about how to get rid of the garden purslane weed, about the measures to combat this plant. Each summer resident must choose a method independently. But most often, modern gardeners try to do without chemistry on their plots.