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Every summer resident is familiar with weeds: throughout the summer season, gardeners have to fight these pests of beds, flower beds and lawns. Each owner has his own methods of dealing with weeds: some people pull out the grass by the roots, others find it easier to periodically weed the area; in the most advanced and hopeless cases, herbicides are used.
Are all weeds dangerous for cultivated plants, what is their classification? An article about weeds in the garden, with names and photos, will tell you everything.
Types of weeds
Weeds are plants that appear independently, without human help. Today, there are more than two thousand types of weeds, more than a hundred of them can be dangerous to animals or humans.
Garden weeds can harm not only cultivated plants; among them there are poisonous crops containing toxic substances. Even the simplest weed is not at all harmless, because it:
- takes away from vegetable or cereals crop moisture;
- sucks out all useful substances and fertilizers from the soil;
- creates unnecessary shadow;
- attracts insect pests and becomes a source of disease.
All this complicates the fight against weeds, and in order for their extermination to take place quickly and effectively, it is necessary to “know the enemy by sight” - become familiar with the classification and types of garden weeds.
Classification of weeds in the garden
There can be a variety of weeds in your dacha; some need to be gotten rid of as quickly as possible, while others can even bring some benefits. Among the weeds, there are common medicinal plants, weeds used as feed for livestock or poultry, and there are even herbs that can be eaten by humans (for example, dandelion or nettle).
Their classification will help you deal with the weeds in your summer cottage. These plants are divided according to several characteristics:
- life expectancy;
- method of reproduction;
- food type.
Main division: into young and perennial weeds. In turn, young plants are divided into several groups:
- Ephemeral plants - characterized by a growing season, the duration of which is less than one season.
- Spring grasses are also called annual weeds; their lifespan is one season. It is spring weeds that summer residents and gardeners most often have to fight.
- Winter annual grasses begin their life cycle in autumn; they emerge from the ground along with winter varieties of cereal crops, and therefore are most often found in fields.
- Biennial plants have a life cycle of two seasons.
Weeds from the group of perennial plants are able to reproduce both by seeds and vegetatively. The peculiarity of these herbs is that they can grow in one place for up to four years, throwing out new shoots every year.
The above-ground part of such weeds dies off immediately after the seeds ripen, but the root system continues to live, and in the spring fresh shoots sprout from the roots.
According to the way they feed, all weeds can be divided into parasitic or non-parasitic. The latter have their own root system, green mass and can grow without outside help. But parasitic weeds definitely need a “donor” to which they can cling, since these herbs have neither roots nor leaves, so they do not feed on their own.
To completely get rid of a perennial plant, it is necessary to remove from the soil not only its above-ground part, but also the entire root.
The most common weeds in the garden
Plants from this group are most often found on vegetable beds. They feel great in a plot that is regularly watered, fertilized and rid of pests.
Classification with photographs will help to recognize such weeds - every summer resident should know the names of these plants.
"Creeping wheatgrass"
Probably the most common grass found in suburban areas and vegetable gardens. Wheatgrass also often grows in fields, near roads, and can also be found on river banks.
Wheatgrass reproduces by its root system, which is very strong and branched.The speed at which the grass spreads across the site is very high - within a few months the weed will occupy the entire free area.
The grass has a straight and long stem, narrow, slightly rough leaves. The plant belongs to the cereal family, so its seeds are enclosed in small spikelets. Wheatgrass can grow on any soil and can withstand negative external conditions.
Wheatgrass is a perennial crop. To get rid of it once and for all, you need to destroy the entire root system. If this is not done, very soon the entire area will turn into a green meadow with weeds.
"Field bindweed"
Another perennial. The popular name of the weed is birch. Weeds spread very quickly and occupy vast areas. One plant can fill up to two square meters of area.
The stem of bindweed is long - up to 180 cm, the roots go deep into the ground. Grass entangles cultivated plants, creates shade, interferes with the growth of leaves and stems, and takes away moisture and nutrients from the roots of the garden crop.
The leaves of bindweed are pointed and it blooms with white flowers. To get rid of a weed, you will have to completely dig up all its roots.
"Purslane"
This weed is an annual, it reproduces only by seeds. To know purslane possible by the reddish stem, the length of which is 50-60 cm, and fleshy leaves. The weed shoots, which are spread throughout the entire area, can be pulled out quite easily - the fight against purslane will not be long.
There are also benefits from this weed: purslane has medicinal properties and can be used in cooking as a spice or an additive to certain dishes.
"Woodlouse"
This weed belongs to the class of minors, moreover, it is ephemeral, that is, it grows in less than one season.The first shoots of woodlice appear in early spring; if they are not weeded, the grass will grow into a continuous thick carpet.
Tender carrot shoots suffer the most from woodlice. When the drought begins woodlice dies if the area is not watered.
"Shiritsa thrown back"
An annual plant from the spring group. Feature shiritsy - phenomenal ability to reproduce. The fact is that numerous weed seeds are so tenacious that they are not afraid of mechanical damage and can remain in the ground for about 40 years, maintaining the ability to germinate. However, seeds located in the ground deeper than three centimeters will not be able to germinate.
The stem of the acorn is very tall - up to 150 cm, the leaves are large, oval-rhombic in shape, the inflorescences are collected in panicles.
Lawn weeds
Not only farmers have to deal with unnecessary grass; gardeners are also familiar with this problem firsthand. Weeds can ruin a beautiful lawn, flower arrangement in a flower bed or discount. Therefore, gardeners have to regularly remove them or use herbicides.
"Bluegrass"
This grass is annual, it is difficult to notice it right away, since the bluegrass seedlings are very inconspicuous. But soon the plant begins to bloom, and the area is covered with ugly islands of weeds.
Bluegrass grows well in low-lying areas of the garden; this grass loves moisture and shade. Removing the weed is easy; if you cut the stem or uproot the plant, you won’t have to worry about the reappearance of this grass on the site for several years.
"Dandelion"
Everyone is familiar with dandelion. This plant looks very impressive on a carpet of young spring grass; children love dandelion flowers; they make wreaths from it.But this weed is good only in the wild; there is no place for dandelion on the lawn.
Getting rid of dandelion in the countryside is not so easy; this weed has very powerful and fleshy roots. If you cut off only the above-ground part of the plant, the weed will most likely germinate again. It is quite difficult to pull out fragile roots, so dandelions are most often combated with the help of herbicides.
"Creeping Buttercup"
This weed is known for its ability to creep along the ground, entwining the stems of cultivated plants. The length of the buttercup stem can reach a meter, and its leaves are tubular.
Creeping buttercup reproduces both by seeds and vegetatively. It grows mainly in moist soils, in places where the rays of the sun rarely penetrate.
"Plantain"
Everyone probably knows about the healing properties of plantain, but besides this, the plant is a weed. Plantain bushes love dense, even trampled soils, so the grass can grow through a dense lawn carpet or between the tiles of a garden path.
A garden fork, a special device for pulling out weeds by the roots, will help you get rid of plantain bushes. Plantain loves moisture, so it often germinates in frequently watered areas or in dense shade.
If the weed has grown too much in the garden, you will have to use herbicides.
"Veronica thread"
This grass is quite low - a maximum of 12 cm in height. Veronica's stems are thin and inconspicuous, but the weed reproduces very well by shoots.
Veronica filamentous grows mainly on well-fertilized soils with high humidity.
"Clover"
Clover, useful for agriculture, is completely inappropriate in the garden or lawn. This weed is very difficult to control. Clover is a perennial weed; its stem can reach half a meter in length.
Clover roots are taproots, go deep underground, and the leaves are oval-shaped. If clover has grown on the site, you need to think about the amount of nitrogen in the soil - the germination of this weed may indicate a lack of this fertilizer.
Beneficial weeds
Surprisingly, not all weeds are equally harmful - some of them provide certain benefits to plants, humans or pets.
"Cornflower blue"
This herb is considered medicinal, because it can relieve problems with the genitourinary system and relieve pain, and has a choleretic and wound-healing effect. In addition, cornflower is used in cooking to color creams or soufflés - for this, blue cornflower flowers are taken.
"Nettle"
Young nettles, which appear in early spring, are a source of many vitamins. An infusion of this herb is used as a multivitamin cocktail, because it contains carotene, vitamin C and a lot of other useful substances.
"Horsetail"
A perennial weed, often found in vegetable gardens and orchards, can also be put to good use. Infusions are made from horsetail to treat inflammation of the bladder; this herb can also be used as an antibiotic, because it has an antimicrobial effect.
"Knotweed"
Ordinary grass, with which all parks, lawns, gardens and vegetable gardens are “decorated”, can also have a healing effect. Knotweed leaves contain flavonoids, essential oils and coumarin.
The infusion is used as an antipyretic to treat colds and heal wounds and ulcers.
Results
Largely weeds cause a lot of damage gardens and vegetable gardens, but even among them you can find useful plants that can heal a person or be used in cooking.
If you do not remove weeds from the site in a timely manner, you can lose all your plantings. Weeds take away water and nutrients from cultivated plants, they create shade and contribute to the proliferation of pests.
You can fight weeds in different ways: pull out the grass with your hands, prickly weeds can be weeded with a hoe, and especially stubborn weeds can be removed using chemicals (herbicides). The photos and names of weeds presented in the article will help you determine what kind of weed has grown in your garden and make a plan to combat it.
