If you don't take action against hogweed as soon as it's spotted in your garden, a harmless fight could escalate into a multi-season battle with this plant. The fact is that hogweed is a plant that carries many diseases, which is precisely where its strength lies. Therefore, it's important to know how to control hogweed in your garden.
Why is hogweed difficult to get rid of?
Hogweed belongs to the genus of annual plants, but this does not prevent it from growing again and again in the garden plot.
The strength of hogweed, and the consequent difficulty of weed control, is determined by the following factors:
- Accelerated plant growth – hogweed can grow 10 centimeters in one day;
- By cutting the stem (which many people do in an attempt to get rid of a weed), dormant buds are awakened, which is why attempts to bear new fruit can continue for up to 15 years;
- Hogweed is a self-pollinating plant;
- A single plant can contain up to 70,000 seeds;
- The root of the formed plant goes into the ground to a depth of 30 centimeters;
- Hogweed seeds are toxic and dangerous not only for other plants, but also for humans;
- Germination remains viable for up to 5 years;
- Hogweed is frost-resistant;
What can be used against hogweed?
To know how to control hogweed in your garden, you should study its weaknesses, which include the following:
- Hogweed needs sunlight;
- Hogweed does not like excess water and stagnation;
- The plant does not reproduce by rhizome;
- Hogweed is an annual plant;
Seeds germinate at a soil depth of 30 centimeters or more only in exceptional cases. After reviewing this list, you can already guess how to control hogweed in your garden. But before you begin, remember the plant's toxicity and follow safety precautions.
Precautionary measures
Since direct contact with hogweed can be harmful to human health and burn the skin, it's important to know how to protect yourself in this case. After all, it's easier to prevent such burns than to treat them later.
1. When fighting hogweed or working in areas where it grows, you should always wear gloves and a mask that protects your eyes.
2. You should wear clothing that covers all areas of the skin and is made of waterproof material.
3. To prevent weed juice from accidentally getting on your skin through your sleeve, it's best to have an elastic band sewn into the end of the sleeve.
4. Work should only be done in boots or shoes, no flip-flops or sneakers that expose part of the foot.
And only after the necessary equipment is ready, you can begin work on how to fight hogweed in a summer cottage (video).
Weed control methods
It's best to begin weed control before flowering begins, and it's best to use a comprehensive approach using several methods to ensure you're done with the problem. Which rat and mouse repellent is best? choose?
The first thing you can do is dig up the plant's roots. Hogweed can't reproduce by rhizome, meaning it won't be able to grow further! Digging up the roots can be challenging, as the plant's roots are quite deep. However, due to the effectiveness of this method, it's worth the effort. If the plant is still young, it can easily be pulled out of the ground by hand. This is best done after rain, when the soil is moist and pliable.
Another way to control hogweed in your garden is to cut off the umbels. This method is most often used when the plant has already produced umbels, but the seeds have not yet ripened. The umbels are cut off and burned. However, remember: even after cutting off the umbels, the plant can still sprout, so the procedure will need to be repeated periodically.
If seeds have begun to ripen, you can safely resort to the most extreme method of control—burning. Typically, the entire area where the weed is growing is burned at once. However, this doesn't guarantee the problem won't recur, so this method is rarely used.
Although many gardeners are categorically against using chemicals in their gardens, which, while they can harm unwanted plants, can also harm beneficial ones, there's still a clever way to combat hogweed in your garden. Inject 2 ml of diesel fuel directly into the hogweed stem (using a syringe), and the plant will slowly die. This method is safe for other plants, but harmful to the pesky hogweed. Secrets of how to create it growwise-en.techinfus.com for seniors.
It's important to know how to control hogweed in your garden to prevent it from spreading so much that nothing remains alive. The sooner you start tending to the area, the better your chances of keeping it weed-free.
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