Carelessweed

 

Look at it! Being all Careless about how weedy it is. Carelessweed is nicely symmetrical and totally edible.

Common Name: Carelessweed

 

Other Common Names: Palmer Amaranth, Palmer’s Pigweed, Dioecious Amaranth.

 

Botanical Family: Amaranthaceae (The Amaranth Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Amaranthus palmeri

 

Description & Habitat:  This annual plant is native to the southern parts of North America and like other members of the Amaranth species is fully edible. It is a very fast growing plant that can tolerate drought and poor soils with relative ease. It produces a lot of viable seeds and its best described as having an erect habit with even branching which gives it a somewhat shrubby appearance. Carelessweed has a rich green coloration and its flowers are a bit non-descript. A singular plant can produce up to a half-million seeds in a growing year. As if this were not enough all sources I consulted agree that Careless weed is very fast growing, the average is 1” per day under normal conditions. With that said, Carelessweed also is fully edible, but one must take care in consuming it as it can hyper-accumulate nitrates and this can reach toxicity levels for humans. Additionally this plant is known for having Oxalic Acids in its foliage which can aggravate or cause Kidney problems especially if the foliage is eaten raw. Much like with Swiss Chard or Beets, cooking by way of blanching and then discarding the water can remove a significant portion of the present oxalic acid the same is true for any present nitrates. If you are intentionally cultivating this plant as food, do NOT fertilize it. Carelessweed can be commonly found in fields, yards, by the roadside and in sites with disturbed soil and in farm fields. In the latter location this plant has become a problem as it is very vigorous and can out-compete row crops. Additionally this plant has made a nuisance of itself in Europe, Australia and a few other countries.

 

When & What to Harvest: Ideally you would harvest the leaves and the seed.

 

Poisonous Lookalikes: None are known.

 

Related Edible Species: Calaloo (Amaranthus viridis), Love Lies Bleeding (A. caudatus), Blood Amaranth (A. cruentus), Prince of Wales Feather (A. hypochondriacus).

 

Recipe:

How to cook Carelessweed as a Potherb.

 

Pick fresh greens as needed and make sure they are washed to remove any critters, debris or dirt. After this, chop your leaves or place them whole in a pot and cover with water. Boil the Carelessweed leaves while listening to ‘Careless Whispers’ by Wham! Substitute in the word Carelessweed in the song and boil the leaves for about 10-ish minutes and change the water. Boil for another ten-ish minutes or until desired tenderness is achieved. Serve with your preferred seasonings and butter. If you want to add flavorings to the leaves add bullion in with the second change of water.

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

 

For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.

 

Summer Vegetable Plants (NEW!)

Tomato – Sungold

Tomato – Midnight Snack

Tomato – Sweet 100

Tomato – Chocolate Cherry

Tomato – Lemon Boy

Tomato – Black Krim

Tomato – Paul Robeson

Tomato – Cherokee Purple

Tomato – Brandywine, Suddeth’s Strain

 

Pepper – Cayenne

Pepper – Ancho/Poblano

Pepper – Sweet Banana

Pepper – Ghost

Pepper – Carolina Reaper

 

 

Herbs (New!)

Eucalyptus

Orange Balm

Lemon Balm

Sweet Genovese Basil

Oregano

Carlic

 

Garden Plants

Daylilies

Walking Iris

 

Coming Soon:

Dahlias

Bee Balm

American Aloe

Yucca

Hairy Balls Milkweed

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (1): Dessert Kiwi

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is April 25^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

Sicklepods!

 

Found in a Farmer's Field out in Red Springs NC, Foetid Senna is a fairly common agricultural 'weed'.

 

Common Name: Sicklepod

 

Other Common Names:  Sickle Senna, Sickle wild sensitive-plant, Sickle Pod, Tora, Coffee Pod.

 

Botanical Family: Fabaceae (The Pea Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Senna tora

 

Description & Habitat:  This plant in older publications may be listed as Cassia tora.

 

When & What to Harvest: In The south east regions of North America this plant tends to appear in farmer’s fields by early to mid-summer and while at a glance it might look like peanuts, the lack of fuzz on the foliage and its aroma when bruised is a dead giveaway. Despite this the foliage, seeds and flowers are useful from a culinary perspective. The young leaves can be cooked as a leaf green while the roasted and then ground seeds are a good Coffee substitute albeit with no caffeine. It is generally considered to be a annual weed and despite this is it is quite tolerant of poor soil and environmental stresses. The seed of this plant can remain viable in the soil for up to twenty years. This plant and it’s cousin American Sicklepod are somewhat interchangeable in culinary use.

 

Here is some additional information:

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/senna-obtusifolia/

 

Poisonous Lookalikes: None are known currently.

 

Related Edible Species: American Sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia).

 

Recipe:

Traditional Sicklepod tea calls for roasted Senna seeds that are whole. You use about 0.7-1.0 ounces of fully dried sicklepod seeds that are then roasted (325f for about 10 minutes) and then steep in about 20 ounces of boiling water for about ten to fifteen minutes. The resulting tea is typically drunk without sweetener or milk.

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 8:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

 

For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.

 

Spring Vegetable Plants

Kale – Kalebration Mix

Swiss Chard – Ruby Red

 

Summer Vegetable Plants (NEW!)

Tomato – Sungold

Tomato – Midnight Snack

Tomato – Sweet 100

Tomato – Chocolate Cherry

Tomato – Lemon Boy

Tomato – Black Krim

Tomato – Paul Robeson

Tomato – Cherokee Purple

Tomato – Brandywine, Suddeth’s Strain

 

Pepper – Cayenne

Pepper – Ancho/Poblano

Pepper – Sweet Banana

Pepper – Ghost

Pepper – Carolina Reaper

 

 

Herbs (New!)

Eucalyptus

Orange Balm

Lemon Balm

Sweet Genovese Basil

Oregano

 

Garden Plants

Daylilies

Walking Iris

 

Coming Soon:

Dahlias

Bee Balm

American Aloe

Yucca

Hairy Balls Milkweed

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (2): Columbines, Out Take #11.

 

Meetings are still going on! We now meet at LeClair’s General Store on the First and Third Thursday of every month. Our next (unofficial) meeting is April 20^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

 

American Burnweed

 

A plant trying to invoke squatter's rights in a potted raspberry, the nerve!

Here is a small one coming up in the cracks between asphalt and a building.

 

 

Common Name: American Burnweed

 

Other Common Names: Fireweed, Pilewort.

 

Botanical Family: Asteraceae (The Aster Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Erechtites hieraciifolius

 

Description & Habitat:  American Burnweed is a fast-growing annual plant in the Aster family. It can be easily found in almost any area with disturbed soil or habitat. Commonly you will find it by the roadside, in pastures, yards, and vacant lots. This plant will even attempt to colonize in potted plants, and may appear between the cracks in asphalt and concrete if there is enough moisture or viable soil. A large glut of these plants may occur after land clearing because competition is reduced. Also this plant tends to appear in areas with Beaver activity.  As its name suggests American Burnweed is native to the Americas but, due to its ‘weedy’ nature and reproduction rate it is not recommended as a cultivated plant for gardens. Immature plants will have oval shaped leaves while more mature ones can be lobed and somewhat resemble Sowthistles or other plants often mistaken for Dandelions. In a single growing season an American Burnweed plant can easily reach ten feet tall. A useful identification feature is that when crushed all parts of this plant are aromatic. American Burnweed may have gotten its name from the fact that it is one of the earliest pioneer species that emerge after an area has recently burned. Its flowers are pollenated mainly by wasps but also Honey Bees.

 

When & What to Harvest: The leaves, flowers and young stems of this plant are edible in raw or cooks form but it is wise top harvest and use these early because they will become bitter with age.

 

Poisonous Lookalikes: None are known.

 

Related Edible Species: This information is unclear.

 

Recipe: The only credible recipes I could find for this imply a raw salad of some sort or another. An article on Gardenista had some interesting ideas, please take a look:

 

https://www.gardenista.com/posts/american-burnweed-recipes/

 

 

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 8:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

 

For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.

 

>>I will not be at the Fayetteville City Market this weekend; I will be at the Plant Swap at the Smith Recreation center instead. The plant swap is from 12:00 to 3:00pm and is located in the Smith Recreation Center on 1520 Slater Avenue, that’s right next to Fayetteville State University.

 

Spring Vegetable Plants

Kale – Kalebration Mix

Swiss Chard – Ruby Red

 

Summer Vegetable Plants (NEW!)

Tomato – Sweet 100

Tomato – Chocolate Cherry

Tomato – Black Krim

Tomato – Paul Robeson

Pepper – Habanero

Pepper – Ancho/Poblano

Pepper – Sweet Banana

Pepper – Carolina Wonder

 

Herbs (New!)

Hoan Ngoc

Eucalyptus

 

Garden Plants

Daylilies

Walking Iris

 

Coming Soon:

Garlic Plants

 

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (2): Lupine, Bear’s Breeches (Short Video)

 

Meetings are still going on! We now meet at LeClair’s General Store on the First and Third Thursday of every month. Our next (unofficial) meeting is on April 13^th, between at the Plant Swap at Smith Recreation center between the hours of 12:00 and 3:00pm. The address is 1520 Slater Avenue, Fayetteville NC.