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As soon as the sun warms up, and the gardeners go to their summer cottages or household plots, the real war with weeds begins. These green enemies of cultivated plantings wear down summer residents all summer.
Weeds in the garden are huge hordes. We have to fight with dandelions, wheatgrass, quinoa, wormwood, thistle and other weeds. Among this family of malicious weeds, the amaranth amaranth gives a lot of difficulties with removal. This herbaceous plant photo below can be found in all gardens, fields and vegetable gardens in Our Country.
Some facts
The common or upturned amaranth was brought to China, India, and the European continent from South America more than a century ago, when intercontinental flights began. At home, the plant was one of the important foodstuffs of the natives. When Europeans appeared on the American continent, they saw that the grass is eaten, calling Inca bread and Aztec wheat.
This herbaceous plant has another name:
- rubella;
- red root;
- candlestick;
- amaranth.
The word “amaranth” has Greek roots and is translated as “eternal”.
The very first began to grow the red root in Spain, then the upturned amaranth appeared in other European countries. At first it was an ornamental plant, then it was used as food (cereals) and for pet food. Young amaranth leaves are an excellent ingredient for salads.
The enemy must be known
The amaranth or common amaranth belongs to the Amaranth or amaranth family. This is an annual herbaceous plant that grows up to one meter under favorable conditions. On a straight branched stem, the pubescence is weak.
The weed amaranth is distinguished by a long taproot, extending to a depth of more than two meters. In diameter, the root system can occupy an area of more than a meter. The plant is drought-resistant, because the long root allows you to get moisture at great depths.
The leaves of the amaranth are quite large, shaped like rhombuses. They are gray-green in color on the upper surface, while the underside is reddish. The petioles and veins of the amaranth are striped.
The first plants on the site may appear as early as April. For seed germination, 6-8 degrees of heat is enough. They do not germinate only at a temperature of +50 degrees. Shiritsa seeds are very small, weighing only 0,4 g, but one plant can produce up to one million red-brown grains.
Flowering begins in June and continues until October. The flowers of the amaranth are inconspicuous, almost imperceptible, collected in a tight panicle. The first frosts for the red root are not terrible.
In the gardens there is another variety of amaranth – amaranth amaranth. This is a cover plant with reddish shoots creeping along the ground. One bush forms more than ten such stems. The leaves of the amaranth are small, oval. Inflorescence paniculate with many seeds. Take a look at the photo to see what this bastard looks like.
Methods of struggle
Red root, another name for amaranth, is an invasive weed. In a favorable year, up to 1000 plants can be counted on one square meter. Frost resistance and the ability of amaranth to grow even during drought contribute to the wide spread of the weed. You can meet common amaranth or upturned amaranth almost throughout Our Country, even in the northern regions. It does not exist only in the deserts.
The soil does not matter, but on fertile, well-cultivated soils, the candlestick feels much better.
But it is worth carrying out agrotechnical measures in the garden, so rapid germination immediately begins.
Many rural residents are concerned about how to get rid of amaranth in the garden or in the garden. If some weeds can be defeated by weeding and loosening, then in the case of amaranth, you will have to resort to complex measures:
- mechanical;
- chemical;
- biological;
- exhausting;
- substitute.
Let’s try to figure out what is the peculiarity of each method.
Mechanical weed removal
Most often, gardeners and gardeners in the fight against weeds, including amaranth, use a mechanical method. It includes digging the soil, selecting the grass along with the roots by hand. You need to weed the schiryak regularly, preventing it from blooming.
Biological method
How to deal with amaranth by biological means? Protecting a garden or garden with soil mulching is not at all difficult. Many gardeners and gardeners recommend using old cardboard, roofing material, boards or dark film. Places overgrown with amaranth, or paths between the ridges, are covered with any material that does not let in sunlight. Everyone probably remembers from biology that seeds and plants need light for germination. In addition, a high temperature is created under the covering material, the seeds of amaranth and sprouted weeds are burned.
Weed exhaustion
If you decide to use this method to destroy the amaranth, then it can only be done in small areas. The bottom line is that you will regularly have to cut off the ground part of the plants. For amaranth, this method is used if the weed has grown higher than human growth. It is unrealistic to uproot such a shiritsa, it remains only to cut it. The root will begin to vigorously expel new greens. The more often you pick up scissors, the faster the vitality of the plant will run out. As a result, the weed dies.
substitution method
This method of weed control is effective in areas between garden trees and shrubs and around trunks. As a rule, weeding has to be done very often. To facilitate the work, many gardeners and gardeners advise sowing areas with herbaceous plants that cover the entire surface, preventing weeds from breaking through.
You can use natural insecticides, which include marigolds and marigolds. One of the measures to combat amaranth is the sowing of areas with green manure. This operation is carried out after the harvest. To do this, you can use mustard, rye. The grown plants are covered with dark material (mulch) and left until next year. A high temperature is created under the materials, green manure and weeds overheat. In the spring, there will be no weeds, including overturned amaranth, and the soil will be enriched with nutrients.
Chemical treatment of the site
The use of chemistry in a summer cottage or household plot is possible only in those places where there are no cultural plantations. So, weeds, including amaranth, growing on garden paths or along fences, can be treated with herbicides.
Since almost any herbicide is a continuous action preparation, they destroy any plants, not just weeds. Gardeners use tools such as:
- Tornado;
- Hurricane;
- Roundup;
- Glyphos;
- Lapis lazuli and others.
When dealing with common or twisted amaranth, do not forget that herbicides are toxic agents, poison can accumulate in the soil and plants. Therefore, gardeners and gardeners first use safe methods for the destruction of green pests on their plots.
To summarize
There are many ways to get rid of amaranth in a summer cottage or garden plot. But the effectiveness of any of them will be much higher if you do not forget about preventive measures.
Listen to the advice of experienced gardeners, then there will be much less weeds:
- Never add fresh manure to the soil. The fact is that the seeds of amaranth retain their vitality, even after being in the stomach of a cow. Moreover, they go through a kind of stratification there. Fresh manure may contain helminths.
- When mulching the soil with dry grass, do not use plants with seeds.
- When laying compost from green mass, use plants before the flowering phase.
- Cut the amaranth with a flat cutter while it is still small.
A simple do-it-yourself weed killer:
