From the family Caryophyllaceae (Carnation Family)
This is a cool-season annual that starts to germinate in Fall or late Winter. It then forms large mats of foliage, blooming and setting seed at the same time. Small, white flowers are produced at the tips of stems and in angles between branches. These in turn produce egg-shaped seed pods which release reddish-brown, somewhat spherical seeds.
This plant will bloom as early as late winter here in the PNW and continue to do so until hot, dry weather sets in, at which point it dies-off, but its seeds lie dormant. One plant can produce 10,000 - 20,000 seeds in one growing season! Because of the heavy seed sets, It is a difficult plant to control.
It is good to get to know this plant in its early growth stages because this is when it is easiest to control.
Chickweed has shallow, fibrous, fragile roots, which makes it easy to pull up small, individual plants. However, left unchecked, it will spread horizontally, rooting at each leaf node. If you've ever tried to remove a clump of chickweed you will know how difficult it is to pull! You end up taking most of the top layer of soil with it!
Based on my personal experience, the best way to manage chickweed is to hoe off, or pull out as much of it as you can, then immediately much the area. Depending on the severity of the problem, this could be quite a job - initially - but if you're smart, it's only a big job ONCE! Once you've got your garden bed weeded & mulched it is a good idea to monitor your garden beds every few weeks to stay on top of any possible newly germinating chickweed (and chances are there will be!) Here's the good news: If the seedlings are just starting to sprout (wee tiny little plants with only seed leaves), simply 'roughing' the soil surface with your fingers will help to keep things under control as the plants are very young with no more than a single root. Disturbing the soil around them allows air to get around their root and helps desiccate them. You won't get all the seedlings this way, but you'll get most of them! If you start to see true leaves forming on the seedlings then I recommend to hand-pull or hoe the surface with a sharpened hoe. Frequent visits to your problem areas mean that you will only spend a couple of minutes in weed maintenance either scruffing the surface of the soil with your fingers or quickly zipping through with a sharp hoe. Take note that chickweed is a very fast-growing plant and subsequently goes to seed quickly too. Waiting too long to check on your bed may result in another chickweed problem! Persistence! That is the key to winning the war with chickweed!
On a positive note, chickweed is actually is quite edible and very nutritious. Many people use it as a leaf vegetable, often raw, in salads. It is high in Vitamin C and also contains beta carotene, magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, sodium, selenium and silicon.
INTERESTING TIDBIT: Chickweed is one of the ingredients of the symbolic dish consumed during the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku.
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