Any summer resident or gardener knows from experience how much work needs to be invested even in a small area in order to grow priceless “vitamins from the garden” - vegetables and berries. Unlike garden crops, weeds, without any care or concern, feel great, drawing water and minerals from the soil intended for berries and vegetables.
One of such uninvited guests on a garden plot or a well-groomed lawn is a creeping wheatgrass. This perennial weed from the cereal family is incredibly viable. First of all, this quality is present in the weed due to the structure of the root. Long knotty roots are able to go a meter deep and sprawl, sprouting from a small piece of root that has fallen into the soil. In addition, the "spikelets" of wheatgrass give seeds that preserve germination up to 10-12 years. Simply put, getting rid of this plant, "settled" in the garden or on the lawn, is incredibly difficult.
If wheat grass on a lawn can be simply mowed periodically with all other grass, then how to get rid of wheat grass in a garden is a difficult question. This is a very laborious task.
All available methods of controlling this plant can be divided into two categories: the herbicidal method, that is, using special chemical preparations, and the more harmless "chemical-free" methods, the so-called folk remedies.
Before resorting to spraying herbicides, it is worth trying to learn how to get rid of wheatgrass in the garden with folk remedies that are harmless to humans and more sparing for the soil.
Picking roots
Gardeners are used to fighting most weeds with simple digging. But with wheat grass this does not work, but rather gives the opposite effect: chopping the rhizome with a shovel and leaving pieces in the ground, you can enable the weed to grow even more and faster. How to get rid of grass wheat grass in the garden? The most common effective method is to carefully select all the roots of this creeping weed from the ground. To prevent the appearance of wheatgrass from the remains of the root, you need to sort out all the lumps of soil. Experienced gardeners recommend digging and sorting the ground using forks instead of shovels.
Blackout
How to get rid of wheatgrass in the garden without "chemistry"? Another popular method is dimming. It is great for large garden patches overgrown with this creeping weed. Photophilous wheatgrass is simply blocked for the whole summer period from access to sunlight, covering this area with a dark film and simply sprinkling it with straw, for example.
A complicated method of dimming is the construction of beds directly on top of wheatgrass. The weed is covered with a layer of cardboard, a layer of mulch is poured on the cardboard (mowed grass and weeds, chopped branches, etc.), and then a small layer of fertile land. For reliability, the “garden bed" at the edges can be overlaid with stones or bricks, and then planted with any plants.
Crushing wheatgrass roots
How to get rid of wheatgrass in the garden using other methods? This is, without a doubt, one of the most effective methods, completely "contrary" to digging. The method is based precisely on the property of the wheatgrass rhizome to germinate young plants from the chopped root.
Using a cultivator, wheatgrass rhizome is crushed, and young shoots with "bumps" sprout from it, which are much easier to remove from the ground. The only condition: this must be done in a timely manner. While the roots of new plants have not grown and become stronger.
Pruning
Cutting of a growing young wheatgrass is carried out in the spring. The grass is cut so as to grab a little rhizome - five centimeters will be enough. At the same time, the roots remaining in the soil begin to germinate new grass from the "sleeping" wheatgrass buds. After the germination of a new young plant, it is trimmed in the same way.
For each germination of grass, the root system will spend more and more power, which will lead to the death of wheatgrass. The effectiveness of this method can be enhanced if, after several cuts, this area is sown with plants that increase soil fertility - siderata or other garden crops that can destroy wheat grass.
Sowing the plot with cultivated plants
Another way to combat creeping wheatgrass is to sow the area “captured” by it with plants, next to which this weed dies. If you do not know how to get rid of wheatgrass in the garden with additional benefits, then this method is for you. You can get a crop from cultivated plants and, if the plant is in addition to green manure, the soil in this area will be enriched with useful substances.
This is done simply: the site is dug up or plowed by about 20 cm, after which it is sown with a plant or even with a mixture of plant seeds with which wheat grass is not "friendly".
Such garden crops include buckwheat, various legumes and plants - cruciferous.
Oats can beat a creeping weed. To do this, oats seeds are sown in the dug up (plowed) garden soil, and after the oats are mowed before the seeds ripen. On top of the resulting green mass, turned upside down, the plot is re-sown with oats. Further, the grown oats are again mowed, dug up and sown. This method additionally contributes to the enrichment of the soil with nitrogen.
Mulching
How to get rid of wheatgrass creeping in a garden without numerous digging? A very useful and gentle way is to dig up and prepare the beds and pour on the surface a layer of mulch with a thickness of 30-35 cm. Mulched grass or straw is perfect for mulching. Ideally, it is best to let the soil "rest" under a layer of mulch for a year.
The root system of wheat grass creeping, isolated from the surface with a layer of mulch, will tend to "creep out" to the surface, as a result of which the root will not be in the soil, but in the straw or grass itself. Because of this, wheat grass, which grows through a layer of mulch, is very easy to remove by pulling along with the root.
An additional benefit of mulching is that moisture accumulates in the soil, which is a favorable environment for earthworms.
Vinegar
If the area infected by the creeping weed is small, then there is another quick way. Those who do not know how to get rid of wheatgrass in the garden can simply pour vinegar or boiling water on it. The plant will die.
Chemichim vs. Weed: Herbicide Method
If all non-chemical methods to get rid of wheatgrass seem too complicated, long or ineffective, and if you need to remove wheatgrass as soon as possible, you can resort to the use of special chemicals. The main advantage of this method is the result, that is, the death of the creeping weed will occur in two, at most three weeks.
Glyphosate-containing herbicides are the most fatal to wheatgrass. Most often on sale you can find the following drugs of this type: "Glyphos" and "Glyphosate" (these are different drugs), "Hurricane Forte", "Glysol" and others.
Just spraying the purchased herbicide is not enough, there are some features. Here are a few rules on how to get rid of wheat grass in a garden using chemistry so that this weed does not reappear:
- Because of its viability, wheat grass is a plant poorly susceptible to chemicals. Therefore, weed can be removed only with a concentrated solution. Conclusion: it is necessary to observe the dosage when diluting the herbicide. Too weak a solution will not give the desired effect, and too concentrated is unsafe for both the soil and human health.
- Wheatgrass is most vulnerable in the period of active growth, that is, from the moment of the formation of the “bush” until the appearance of “spikelets”. It is at this time that spraying drugs is most effective.
- Herbicidal agents can be used ONLY once every three years!
The question arises: if the herbicides are so dangerous, is it possible to use the soil after treatment. Experts in the field of agriculture argue that the active substances of the drug, falling directly into the soil, are neutralized and decompose into harmless components.