I have a very persistant weed in my garden, I think it is called ground cress,?

Question

Hi, My husband call this weed' jumping weed 'as the thousands of seeds fly out when it is touched. Any ideas what I can treat it with, other than hands on removing each bit , which only seems to spread it further.

Answer 1

Hairy bittercress. Most systemic weedkillers will kill it.Glyphosate is great, kills down to the roots.
If it is in the lawn you will have to use one of the lawn weedkillers or you will kill the grass. Elsewhere you could even use weedol..away from other green wanted plants.

Answer 2

If it is Hairy Bittercress, you can eat the leaves of this plant, tangy taste, milder than rocket, as an addition to salads. Gather then dig out, taking the roots with it.

It flowers quickly from seed, so be on the lookout for new seedlings. Can have several generations a year. Some overwinter and flower early in spring. Alot of garden centre sold plants have it growing with the plants - avoid! If not, there are probably some of its seeds lurking in the soil. Catch the plants before they have seed heads as, like your husband says, the seeds will fly out onto your soil.

Persistent weeding is the answer as adding chemicals to the soil is not good. Mulching will also help suppress / control this and many other weeds, perhaps bark chips, rotted compost or something of your choosing. I even use tea bags, where I'm not able to see them. There are likely to be alot of dormant seeds around, if you have quite a few plants. Your mulches will all decay and improve the soil quality for the future growth of healthier plants.

Good luck! Rob

Answer 3

Organic control.

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information/weed.php?id=19

Answer 4

ways to weed: