October 2021 – In the garden, after washing some chickweed (which I had grown from my own seed packet), happened to see the tiny seeds which had settled at the bottom of my spoon – and quickly thought to try and collect them. Well, – did not intend to wonder forever – so instead, just as an experiment, went to take a closer look at the little chickweed seeds. They were very tiny, hardly visible to the eye, and appeared very black – almost like chalk. I guess black goes with everything these days? After gathering up a handful of the tiny black chunks, I put them in a glass of water with a few drops of vinegar and watched what happened.

It was instantly evident that the little chickweed seeds were not actually growing on the stems – they were just sitting there, until I pulled the stems off the plant. Shocked, I thought: this is not the same plant that grew on my window sill! This time, I tried to keep track of the little seeds, but I think I simply didn’t quite catch them all – they were too tiny to see clearly. So I just left them there, and they grew.

One thing I learned about growing herbs with chickweed – they really don’t like being planted directly on the earth and need to be sprayed regularly to prevent them from growing too fast. If you don’t want to use a regular herbicide, though, you can also use chickweed oil, which also acts as an insecticide. To kill the insects that like to eat the chickweed seeds, mix a little chickweed oil with water and spray your plants. I also found that adding a little baking soda to the water helped as well. Simply saturate the leaves and stems in the soda solution for a few minutes, shake off, and then rinse the leaves and stems with clean water. For some reason, the ants seem to be having a hard time dislodging these little pests, so don’t worry if they do; just keep spraying the herbicide-coated leaves and stems.

When it comes to growing chickweed seeds, I think the most important part is the soil. It needs to be moist, with plenty of drainage, and rich in nutrients (so it will grow strong roots). Unlike many other types of weeds, common chickweed likes to flourish in rich, deep soil that is full of nutrients – without this, it simply won’t grow very far. In fact, some researchers believe that the common chickweed plant is so resilient that it can take even heavy rains and still survive. On the other hand, other researchers disagree; as the water and nutrients needed for growth run out, the plant will usually die.

If you want to grow chickweed seeds indoors, there are a few ways to do so. You can purchase or collect the seeds, then plant them yourself. If you’re willing to wade through a lot of soggy, wet seed pods, then I recommend this method. Some people have reported great success growing their plants from seeds sold at garden stores; others swear by growing them from seeds found at a nursery. If you have access to a greenhouse, this is probably the best option. But no matter where you get your seeds, there’s no way to grow your plants without the assistance of a soil conditioner and an organic mulch.

One of the downsides to growing chickweed seeds indoors is that the stems often don’t reach the ground, so the seeds don’t do any good. However, you can collect the stems and allow them to dry out before planting your own seeds. Just remember that the stems will need to be allowed to ‘hang’ as much as possible – for the same reason why your flowers will be kept upright by putting them into a vase.

Once the stems have dried out, remove them from the seedlings and place them in a shallow dish of water. Let the water stand for about 24 hours, then carefully dig them up with a spade. Make sure to place them in a shady location, not just anywhere near a plant or tree. Place the exposed seedling leaves inside the hole in the soil and cover it with the mulch.

Now you’re ready to start growing! After you’ve transplanted the seedlings into the holes, be sure to keep them watered and watch for the weed growth. Remove any weed seeds or plant fragments and spread them out evenly on the soil. Keep watching the weed for spring growth – if the weed starts to sprout, you know you’ve got a new weed for your herb garden!