|
Weeds!
Feb 18, 2015 21:55:54 GMT -5
Post by armjr on Feb 18, 2015 21:55:54 GMT -5
Back when I took Agriculture in college I learned that the definition of a weed was any plant growing where it wasn't suppose to grow. Well, I don't know how true that is but it makes sense if you are not gardening.
#1 wife brought some seed potatoes home today. Normally we don't bother with such things as potatoes because they take up garden space where something of greater value (to us) could be growing. But I try to humor her in her advancing age …… So, I had a raised bed that needed cleaning and it would be a good place for the potatoes and besides, I love new potatoes.
Well, after I had finished "weeding" out the bed and turning it over, I had bunch of lettuce, New Zealand Spinach, carrots, a nice icicle radish, and a handful of little broccoli heads. I added them to some "back porch ripened" tomatoes, some swiss chard stalks, and a couple of hard boiled eggs that "Rocky" had generously donated and we had a very nice "Weed" salad for supper!
And there's a lot left too!
Alan
|
|
|
Weeds!
Feb 18, 2015 22:10:46 GMT -5
Post by desertwoman on Feb 18, 2015 22:10:46 GMT -5
That's a great spin on weeds. Love it!
And your weed salad doesn't sound too bad, either!
|
|
|
Weeds!
Feb 19, 2015 6:57:54 GMT -5
Post by kimmsr🕊 on Feb 19, 2015 6:57:54 GMT -5
As I have stated many times in many places a "weed" is simply a plant you do not want growing where you do not want it growing. Many of those "wild flowers" are considered "weeds" but in most instances the beneficial insects depend on the "weeds" for sustenance if other food sources are not available, and is one reason why many insectaries have those "weeds" included in what to plant.
|
|
|
Weeds!
Feb 19, 2015 9:15:39 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by pepperhead212 on Feb 19, 2015 9:15:39 GMT -5
Was wondering where you were, kimm! Welcome back. One of my favorite sayings is that a weed is just a plant we have not found a use for! However, some things, like mint, and a number of other herbs, can become weeds, simply because we can't use that much of it when it becomes invasive.
|
|
|
Weeds!
Feb 19, 2015 9:19:38 GMT -5
Post by brownrexx on Feb 19, 2015 9:19:38 GMT -5
Anyone who wants some chickweed can have all of mine!
|
|
|
Weeds!
Feb 19, 2015 9:34:46 GMT -5
Post by davidjp on Feb 19, 2015 9:34:46 GMT -5
Anyone who wants some chick weed can have all of mine! Always wondered do chickens actually like chickweed or is it more an apocryphal name.
|
|
|
Weeds!
Feb 19, 2015 10:07:07 GMT -5
Post by brownrexx on Feb 19, 2015 10:07:07 GMT -5
Oh yeah, they really love it. The problem is that the chickweed grows faster than anything can eat it!
Chickweed grows in huge mats on any bare ground and it goes to seed almost as it starts to grow. The flowers are tiny so you don't even see them and when you pull up the chickweed the seeds just fall like rain. I get tons of it in my flower beds but with my straw mulch and constant vigilance I do not have a problem with it in the garden.
This stuff is tough. I have pulled it up and turned it upside down and let the roots be exposed to freezing temperatures. Believe it or not, it is STILL alive after that and will grow when it gets warmer!
I complain about it but I really don't think that it is as bad as Bermuda grass or some of the invasive that our southern posters talk about. At least the roots are shallow and it can be pulled up.
I pull some for the chickens almost every day but I still can't keep ahead of it.
|
|
|
Weeds!
Feb 19, 2015 11:57:42 GMT -5
Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Feb 19, 2015 11:57:42 GMT -5
As I have stated many times in many places a "weed" is simply a plant you do not want growing where you do not want it growing. Many of those "wild flowers" are considered "weeds" but in most instances the beneficial insects depend on the "weeds" for sustenance if other food sources are not available, and is one reason why many insectaries have those "weeds" included in what to plant. Unfortunately, in some code happy areas, a weed is how a code enforcement officer (who often knows little at all about plants) defines it. I've had peonies and herbs referred to as "weeds".
|
|
|
Weeds!
Feb 19, 2015 12:42:30 GMT -5
Post by breezygardener on Feb 19, 2015 12:42:30 GMT -5
Anyone who wants some chick weed can have all of mine! Always wondered do chickens actually like chickweed or is it more an apocryphal name. Completely edible, my chickens, rabbits, & horses loved the stuff. Some humans like it as well, but I found the flavor too lawn-grassy for my taste.
|
|
|
Post by prunella on Feb 19, 2015 17:46:14 GMT -5
Question: with regard to weeds, I wonder if some of you ever work with plant identification? No, not just relying on a nursery tag or hearing a friend tell you, but actually getting into working with a key? It gets pretty interesting to use a 10x loupe (or better yet, a dissecting scope!) to look up close to the parts of the flower, counting stamens and pistil structures, plus of course petal count, etc., qhile working with a key. Cuplets offer two choices, pick the right one and go to the next, etc. Eventually the result should be one species. At the very least, you can ID a flower to family. Worth noting: chickweed discussed here ( probably Stellaria media.; there are many California plants that share that common name) is in fact edible, but also useful as a treatment. Do a Google search. Many bigger weeds are in fact hiding secrets. Your garden lettuce is just a refined version of a "weed" in the Family Lactuca. And another common garden weed might be Red Maids (Calendrinia) which was a food source for Native Americans. The seeds are the size of a pinhead (if that) and it's hard to imagine harvesting many pounds of them, but they did. And do you have Vinca in your yard? They sell it at nurseries but it's a ...weed! Invasive, in fact. So I just wondered if plant ID was a hobby for some here? PS: Chickweed is in Caryophyllaceae,, the carnation family.
|
|
|
Weeds!
Feb 19, 2015 18:18:05 GMT -5
Post by ecsoehng on Feb 19, 2015 18:18:05 GMT -5
My geese were thrilled to find some chickweed under the snow! They gobbled it all up.
I recently purchased seed for a weed that I said I would never have at my new house, Epazote. A friend was buying it dried and it was expensive so I said I would grow it. Slap me when I complain because it is growing everywhere.
|
|
|
Post by armjr on Feb 19, 2015 20:00:28 GMT -5
Yes Steve, Six Months of my erudition was devoted to plant taxonomy exactly as you describe. I will say it was interesting, I traveled the state of Texas gathering grasses and shrubbery. I was glad when it was over. Even all these years later I still wake up in the night at times saying "Opuntia engelmannii" or "Prosopis glandulosa". I have counted stamins till I was giddy! I was glad when it was over. I still have my taxonomy book. I'm using it to help keep gravity in check in a box in the attic.
Alan
|
|
|
Weeds!
Feb 19, 2015 21:17:57 GMT -5
Post by desertwoman on Feb 19, 2015 21:17:57 GMT -5
I haven't done plant ID as you are describing, Steve. But when you do that, it starts to open doors and I start to see the interconnection of plants in a whole new way. Very exciting.
What does that mean- working with a key?
|
|
|
Weeds!
Feb 19, 2015 22:27:01 GMT -5
Post by armjr on Feb 19, 2015 22:27:01 GMT -5
A taxonomic key is a book that has every physical aspect of a plant that you can imagine prepared in (for lack of a better descriptor) a flow chart fashion.
You begin with the most basic aspects of the plant and work your way through it either finding the next aspect or discounting those that are not present.
Steve can obviously explain it better than I can. It's been over 35 years since I used it. It was a maddening process for my type mind. Like I said, I was glad when it was over.
Alan
|
|
|
Weeds!
Feb 20, 2015 9:57:50 GMT -5
Post by gakaren on Feb 20, 2015 9:57:50 GMT -5
While it may be interesting to some....getting technical is not why I garden or grow things. I'm just happy to know if something is "good" or "bad" so I know how to treat it....keep it our pull it out.
Besides the Bermuda grass down here, we also have chickweed, at least 5 different varieties of dandelions, henbit, wild catnip, invasive golden rod, and a whole bunch of other "problem" plants. We have several "weeds" that grow along with the chickweed & henbit that I don't know the names of...but they are just as bad!
|
|