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Why Do Weeds Grow So Fast – 4 Reasons

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Summer is the time to harvest the first crop from the garden. You can’t count everything that this wonderful than when harvesting crops like potatoes, cucumbers, and tomatoes. 

However, there are more unpleasant troubles in the summer. Weeds are a problem for all gardeners. There are weeds, which are short-lived while others last a long time. 

When you plant your crops, you will find that the weeds always grow faster than the crops. Continue reading this article to know why do weeds grow so fast.

Why Do Weeds Grow So Fast
Weeds Growing Wild via publicdomainpictures

Why Do Weeds Grow So Fast?

Weeds often grow faster than the desirable garden plants in the garden because of the following reasons:

  1. Dormant weeds in the garden are already used in the soil. Plants you buy at the store and the seeds you sow may grow very slowly as they adapt to the soil conditions.
  2. Weeds usually germinate from the existing seeds or root systems in the soil. The dormant root systems have many stored energy for rapid growth when the spring comes.
  3. Weeds are usually the native plants that thrive in a local ecosystem and help them grow faster than the wanted plants that may not be native.
  4. Some weeds have a very short lifespan, sometimes as little as 5-6 weeks. They need to grow fast to go from seed to flower in just some weeks.
Why Do Weeds Grow So Fast 2
via Flickr

How To Control Weeds In The Garden

1. Loosening

Walk in the garden with a sharp hoe, almost without deepening it and cut off young shoots of weeds. As their shoots appear, they are cut off again, and the soil is loosened with a rake. Loosening accelerates gas exchange, make the soil more porous, and activate microorganisms.

2. Oppression of rhizomes

This is achieved by multiple mowing of the ground part of annual weeds. In perennials, the growing weeds must be constantly uprooted before the flowers appear. These weeds, which sprout from the soil depth, use the nutrients accumulated in the roots. 

When they are oppressed, the rhizomes weaken and die off. The suppression and gradual withering away of rhizomes are also facilitated by digging up the soil with turning the top layer to a depth of 25 to 30 cm.

3. Manual weeding 

This is the only way to kill weeds that grow near the crops. Cultivate the weeds on the furrow sides and then pull out those that have grown within the row. 

Roots, rhizomes, and underground stems of perennial weeds must be carefully selected from the soil, leaving no shoots. This process requires a lot of labor, but it is the most environmentally friendly way.

4. Mulching

The soil around valuable plants can be covered with the same weeds (but certainly without seeds). Cut grass, sawdust, rotted hay, or straw. 

You can cover the ground with foil, cardboard, or almost any material that impedes the penetration of light to the soil and impedes the growth of plants. But organic materials are better. 

They interfere with the germination of new weeds and supply the soil with nutrients, gradually turning into humus. The organic mulch layer must be renewed at all times.

5. Overseeding

It is good to use some winter-hardy cover crop as it, for example, furry vetch. Sow it after the planted vegetables take root well and grow. In late summer, you can sow oats. 

A few days before the next planting of crops in the following spring, the cover crop can be plowed into the soil. Do not miss the time the cover crop enters the flowering phase; otherwise, it will turn into a weed itself.

6. Plant siderata

Siderata is annual plants that grow rapidly. They are sown in spring or autumn, not to obtain a harvest but to improve the composition of the soil and enrich it with nitrogen.

When the seedlings grow up to 20–30 cm, they are mowed and left on the soil to overfill a little. Then they, together with weeds, are buried in the ground.

Experienced gardeners recommend sowing siderata very thickly to get rid of birch trees. Then, their roots will prevent the roots of the weeds from developing.

When choosing a siderata, consider which plant will grow in the garden after it. It is essential to observe crop rotation and not plant closely related plant species one after another.

This method does not harm cultivated plants and, at the same time, copes well with the task of dealing with a birch tree. It is suitable for getting rid of weeds from individual beds and preparing the field for potatoes.

Likewise, this method is environmentally friendly, does not harm cultivated plants, and enriches the soil with necessary substances.

7. Clearing neighboring territories

Weed seeds often spread from neighboring areas. The dangerous ones are from the abandoned vegetable gardens without an owner, where weeds feel at ease. 

It is better to mow such areas before flowering and repeat the mowing several times per season. Constant pruning weakens powerful perennials, and the weed seeds will not have time to form and reach your garden.

8. Use herbicides

Herbicides are chemicals that destroy vegetation. It should be known that you need to use herbicides only in extreme cases.

It must be remembered that chemical preparations destroy not only weeds but also cultivated plants, destroy insects and lead to a deterioration in the soil quality. 

After such processing, you will have to spend time and effort on restoring the fertile layer of the soil, and often you have to import new soil.


Conclusion

Weeds are either annual, biennial, perennial or parasitic plants. An area overgrown with weeds is an absolute nightmare for any gardener.

They grow quickly and can drown out any plantings in a matter of days, taking all the nutrients from cultivated plants. 

There are several reasons why weed grows so fast, and this article has given the reasons. A few secrets of professional gardeners will help to cope with them though it is not a simple way.