The reporting is one of the oldest cultivated plants. In 2000, the German Nature Conservation Union even voted it crop of the year. At the same time, however, it is an extremely stubborn and rapidly growing weed that, as a strong competitor for nutrients, can displace other plants in the bed. This article will show you how to remove Message effectively.
Annoying weeds for some, delicious weeds for others
plant profile
The name "Melde" goes back to the floured appearance of the leaves. This feature makes it easy to identify the plant.
- Scientific name: Atriplex patula
- Other names: Spreading message, Spanish lettuce, whey herb, Maiflitsch
- Genus: Report
- Plant family: Goosefoot family
- Height: 30 to 100 centimeters.
- Growth: sparse
- Leaves: Gray-green tinged, alternate, diamond-shaped or triangular, mealy hairy.
- Flower: Radiated, only 2 mm in size. The small, almost sessile flowers form spherical partial inflorescences that are arranged in panicles.
- Flowering period: June - October
- Fruit: Tiny nutlets.
- Location: Prefers nitrogenous soils such as roadsides, fallow land, fields, green spaces.
Special feature: A plant can form over 3,000 seeds, which remain germinable in the soil for several years. The report forms two different seed types. The brown colored seeds are ready to germinate immediately, while the black seeds take two years to sprout at the earliest.
fight message
You don't have to attack the message with a chemical club. Large plants can easily be pulled out of the ground with their roots. You can remove freshly germinated reports while hacking.
Rediscovered weed
In the meantime, reporting is popular again in the vegetable garden. New breeds with interestingly colored leaves set visual accents here. Like common weeds, they can be used in a variety of ways in the kitchen.
If you remove melde, you should therefore not carelessly put the plant on the compost. Leaves, shoots, flower buds, blossoms and seeds are edible and far too good to just throw away.
Young leaves with their nutty aroma can be cut into fine strips and added raw to salads, herb butter or herb quark. They can be processed like spinach. The Spanish salad tastes very delicious in green smoothies.
In the past,melde was not only used in the kitchen, but also as a medicinal plant. The active ingredients contained have a diuretic effect. In folk medicine, lung diseases were treated with Maiflitsch.
tips
Report reproduces very strongly via seeds. If you want to cultivate melde, you should therefore cut off the flower heads before the seeds ripen.