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The common chickweed is a frequent
weed of the lawn,
especially in shady, damp places. So it is much more of a problem
during winter. Its common name comes from it being a favorite
food of chickens. According to some sources, it tastes somewhat
like spinach, however I think I shall not add chickweed to my veggie
plate.
If permitted, chickweed forms a thick,
succulent ground
cover. Since we had a record early (early November, it never
happens before Christmas!) hard frost, I gave up on my winter tomatoes,
and let chickweed protect the soil for the rest of the rainy season .
This shows flower of the
chickweed. They are tiny, but
they still deserve a close look. Notice the square cross section
of the stem.
The
chickweed has long, week stems that sprawl over a relatively large
area. Sometimes it will send down roots from the nodes, creating
clones.
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