Welcome back to an entirely new year of LITFM! We took a long hiatus to get our YouTube channel's second season completed and now this blog is back in action. So to get things rolling and at the request of some folks who visit the Farmer's market, I am posting a new series covering forage foods. Given the current geopolitical situation some of this information may come in handy in the not-to-distant future. Today’s forage specimen is a classic; I’ve talked about the venerable forage food Henbit before but not in this complete of a fashion.
The 'Sheen of Color' that Henbit makes in late winter is visible even while driving by at 45 miles per hour. It's a shame such a pretty plant does not last longer. Henbit is especially visible in late February and early March in the Sandhills of North Carolina.
Common Name: Henbit
Other Common Names: Common Henbit, Greater Henbit, Henbit Dead-Nettle,
Botanical Family: Lamiaceae (The Mint Family)
Botanical Latin Name: Lamium amplexicaule
Season to Harvest: Late Winter to Spring
Habitat: Henbit is most commonly found in lawns but can also be found in garden beds, vacant lots and, recently disturbed sites, it is very widely distributed in the United States.
Parts to Harvest: Leaves flowers and tender young stems if possible.
Poisonous Lookalikes: None
Related Edible Species: Red/Purple Deadnettle (L. purpureum). Purple Deadnettle looks exactly like Greater Henbit but, it’s leaves are less ‘henpecked’ looking, more heart shaped and the leaves around the flowers have a definite purple coloration to them. In some places in the USA you may find both growing side by side and in forage cooking they are effectively interchangeable.
Description: Henbit is an annual herb that can get roughly 16 inches tall in ideal conditions and has a semi-sprawling habit. Since it is a member of the mint family there is the possibility its stems can take root where they touch bare soil however, normally it spreads over the tops of other plants. Overall the plant has slightly fuzzy leaves that have a lobed margin and these leaves clasp the stem. The name henbit likely derives from the leaves looking like they have been pecked heavily by a chicken due to the irregular leaf margins. The flowers can range from purple to pink and by late winter a lawn can have an impressive sheen of color due to henbit. The foliage of henbit depending on environmental conditions can vary in color from a bright medium green to a deep purple tinged green.
How to Harvest: Much like with edible forage such as Chickweed (Stellaria media) you can snip off stem segments or harvest the entire plant by pulling it up by the roots. There is one caveat to this however, Henbit is a member of the mint family and one of the earliest sources of pollen and nectar for pollinators in the winter and early spring so I advise only taking what you need and leaving some for the native bees and such.
Recipe: While you can add this forage green to a salad or pickle the new shoots here is my favorite recipe;
Curried Henbit
4 Cups of Henbit foliage, tightly packed.
3 Tablespoons of butter
1 Teaspoon Curry Powder (the basic brown type)
2 Whole Cloves
¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Tablespoons of Flour
1 Cup of Sour Cream
Directions
1. 1. Wash the greens thoroughly with warm water; keep an eye out for foreign debris and dirt.
2. 2. Chop the greens finely and add to a Saucepan and cover the greens with water.
3. 3. Boil the greens for about 10 minutes or until they are soft enough for your preference.
4. 4. Separately melt the butter.
5. 5. Add the Curry powder, Cloves and Cinnamon to the melted Butter.
6. 6. Stir the Flour into the butter mixture and stir until smooth and sauce-like.
7. 7. Add ½ cup of water from the cooked greens to the butter mixture and stir until blended.
8. 8. Drain the remaining fluid from the cooked greens and add the greens to the butter mixture.
9. 9. Add the Sour Cream and stir until the consistency is even.
10 10. Simmer to cook off extra moisture (no more than 15 minutes)
11. 11. Serve over rice.
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 by 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.
Produce:
Garlic Bulb, $1.00
Soup Kit – Parsnip, $6.00
Soup Kit – Turnip, $6.00
Seasoning Packet, $2.00
Houseplants:
Assorted Succulents, Plastic Pot ($5.00)
Assorted Succulents, Round Resin Pot - $5.00
Assorted Succulents, Square Resin Pot - $5.00
Assorted Succulents, Hexagon Resin Pot - $10.00
Assorted Succulents, Lattice Resin Pot - $12.00
Assorted Succulents, Bomber Resin Pot - $15.00
Assorted Succulents, Clay Pot ($9.00)
Garden Stuff:
Elephant Garlic
Softneck Garlic
Lettuce – Parris Island Romaine
Lettuce – Cherokee Red
Lettuce – Five Star Lettuce Mix
Beets – Bull’s Blood
Mustard – Red Giant
Coming Soon:
Okinawa Spinach
Flowering Maple
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.
https://nextdoor.com/g/ybvdm226x/?is=nav_bar
Also please take a gander at the Youtube version of this blog:
The Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/curacaovexxor/videos
>Newest videos (5): Chinese Money Plant, Red African Milk Bush, Pencil Cactus, Desert Rose, ‘Prehistoric’ Devils Backbone.
Meetings still going on! We now meet at LeClairs General Store on the First and Third Thursday of every month. Our next meeting is on March 18th between 5:30pm and 7:00pm. We are in the back room so come on in and join us for a fun garden chat.
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