Chickweed nightmare...

debtdesperado

I have a patio which has been taken over by chickweed - its thick in all the pots and has even started sprouting in all the cracks in the patio.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to getting rid of it? I keep trying to pull it up, but it comes back even faster. I have heard you can eat it, but I wondered if there is a way of getting rid of it completely?

Wookey

Weedkiller or dig it out by the roots, its pointless in just removing the top growth as it will just grow back.

foxgloves

Yes, don't just pull off the top growth, get a hand fork in to loosen the roots and get out as much as you can. There's obviously a good scatttering of seeds in your soil and to start with, more will germinate. Hoe the seedlings when they are tiny as this will kill a lot of them and again, dig out any that get bigger. The trick is not to let it flower, not ever. Chickweed has loads of tiny, tiny little white flowers on and if you're going to let it flower, it will self-seed again, and you'll never get rid of it. The old saying 'One year's seeding = seven years weeding' is very true, unfortunately. You can eat it. I haven't tried it myself, but it is supposed to be OK in a salad mix (I expect you need young leaves) and it's supposed to be a bit like spinach if you steam it.

ixwood

Chickweed is an annual, just keep pulling it up. It won't regrow from the roots, just seeds.