Fig-Leaved Goosefoot

  

Note the white waxy-fuzz near the stem tips. That's naturally occurring and not a mealy bug infestation.

Note what's growing around the specimen and the area, it's a dry sandy slope between access roads that isn't irrigated.

Common Name: Fig-Leaved Goosefoot

 

Other Common Names: Figleaf Goosefoot

 

Botanical Family: Amaranthaeae (The Amaranth Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Chenopodium ficifolium

 

Description & Habitat:  This plant is a non-native warm-season annual from Eurasia that has naturalized in North America. It is commonly found in sites with disturbed soil and thus may be found besides roads, highways, paths, and any construction site. The seeds of this plant can persist in the soil for years and it grows rapidly forming a dense roughly ‘flame’ shaped bush that on average is about three feet tall. Figleaf Goose foot is often mistaken at a glance for Lamb’s Quarters and they are both Chenopods but a close examination of the leaves will reveal that Figleaf Goosefoot has noticeably different foliage. Your first identification feature is to note that some of this plant’s leaves will be tri-lobed and narrow and resemble the three-toed arrangement of a goose’s foot. Alternately leaves may have three lobes and are arrayed like the leaves of figs (Ficus). Often you will see a mix of the aforementioned foliage traits in a single given leaf with a scalloped leaf margin that can be a bit undulating. All foliage will have  degree of whiteish waxy coating which is most visible near the stems and growing tips.

 

A botanical Latin synonym for this plant is Chenopodium serotinum.

 

When & What to Harvest: Ideally you want to harvest younger softer greens in bulk along with flowers since cooking will diminish the amount you have in the pot. Late spring and summer are the best times to find and harvest from this plant. The seeds of this plant can be collected, roasted and eaten or roasted and ground into a flour substitute.

 

Dangerous Lookalikes: None that I know of.

 

Related Useful Species:  (Wild)

North American Lamb’s Quarters (Chenopodium berlandieri), European Lamb’s Quarters (C. album), Fremont’s Lamb’s Quarters (C. fremontii), Pigweed (Amaranth retroflexus), Green Pigweed (A. hybridus), Livid Amaranth (A. blitum) Slender Amaranth (A. viridus), and a few others.

 

Related Useful Species:  (Cultivated)

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea), Callaloo (Amaranthus viridis), Epazote (Dysphania ambrosioides), Orach (Atriplex hortensis), Strawberry Blite (Blitum capitatum), Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), Blood amaranth (A. cruentus), Love lies bleeding (A. caudatus), and Prince’s-Feather (A. hypochondriacus), Cock’s Comb (A. cristata), Joseph’s Coat (A. tricolor), Dragon’s Breath Celosia (Celosa argentea).

 

Recipe:  In general the same recipes apply to this plant as do with Lamb’s Quarters with the exception that I strongly recommend cooking the greens and flowers you harvest. Boil the young foliage in a small amount of water for about five minutes or until fork-tender. Add butter, salt, pepper. Alternately you can make a sauce for the greens that is made of ¼ cup of diced onion, several slices of bacon that has been crumbed or smoked ham jowls that have been sliced finely. Add ¼ cup of vinegar salt and pepper and simmer gently for about five to ten minutes or until the sauce thickens. Apply the sauce to the greens as one might do with salad dressing on a salad.

 

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://southwestdesertflora.com/WebsiteFolders/All_Species/Chenopodiaceae/Chenopodium%20ficifolium,%20Fig-Leaf%20Goosefoot.html

 

 

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.

 

Fresh Foods:

Soup Kit – Parsnip

Soup Kit – Turnip

Garlic Bulbs

 

 

Soil Amendment Products:

Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*

Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag

Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag

 

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture Sample size (New!)

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Turkey Tail Tincture

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Blue Oyster Mushroom Grow Kit (New!)

 

Garden Plants, Fall Foods:

Arugula, Astro

Cabbage, Pac Choi ‘Rosie’

Collards, Green Glaze

Kale, Prizm

Kale, Redbor

Sorrel, Raspberry Dressing

 

 

Coming Soon:

TBA!

 

*The 18 gallon tote is by special order only and is delivered to any address within the Fayetteville city area.

 

 

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): Canna Lily ‘Australia’

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is September 28^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

Fire On The Mountain

This one appeared in the same bed as my Brandywine Tomatoes in the test gardens.

The unique shaped leaves and pretty pinkish bracts are a unique thing for the late summer garden when a lot of annuals have petered out.

Common Name: Fire On The Mountain

 

Other Common Names: Dwarf Poinsettia, Wild Poinsettia, Catalina, Desert Poinsettia, Painted Leaf, Mexican Fire Plant. (there are many more)

 

Botanical Family: Euphorbiaceae (The Spurge Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Euphorbia cyathophora

 

Description & Habitat:  Fire On The Mountain is a short-lived annual cousin to the Common Poinsettia. It is native to both North and South America and can be found growing wild in the Carolinas with moderate ease. Although its seed is sole through some vendors and it is a true wild flower it is considered a weed by some. You will find this plant in sites with disturbed soil, waste areas, by the roadside, along interstates, near creeks and rivers and it will ‘volunteer’ in the farmer’s field and in pastures. Overall it looks like a skinnier version of the common Poinsettia, and has medium green foliage that bears leaves that resemble a Dipylon shield from ancient Greece. The sure fire way to Identify this plant is to look for it in mid to late August, and look for the pinkish-orange partially colored bracts. By then the plants are at least a foot to three feet tall and very obvious. In the garden this wildflower is not too particular about where it grows but it may need some support when it gets tall. Fertilizer will make it branch more and produce a lot more foliage which will make for a better show in late summer to early fall.

 

Just a note, this plant has a lot of older botanical Latin names, they include the following;     Euphorbia barbellata, Euphorbia graminifolia, Euphorbia havanensis, Euphorbia heterophylla var. barbellata, Euphorbia heterophylla var. cyathophora, Euphorbia heterophylla var. graminifolia, Poinsettia barbellata, Poinsettia cyathophora, Poinsettia graminifolia, Poinsettia havanensis.

 

When & What to Harvest: Do not harvest this plant for food or medicine.

 

Dangerous Lookalikes: None that I know of.

 

Related Useful Species:  Japanese Poinsettia (Euphorbia heterophylla), Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima).

 

Recipe:  This plant is not edible and there is no herbal/medicinal use for it that I know of.

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/euphorbia-cyathophora/

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=EUCY

https://www.prairiemoon.com/euphorbia-cyathophora-fire-on-the-mountain

 

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.

 

Fresh Foods:

Soup Kit – Parsnip

Soup Kit – Turnip

Garlic Bulbs

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture Sample size (New!)

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Turkey Tail Tincture

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Mushroom Grow Kit (New!)

Soil Amendment Products:

Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*

Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag

Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag

 

Garden Plants, Perennial:

Gentian Sage

Spineless Prickly Pear

Spanish Bayonet

 

Garden Plants, Fall Foods:

Arugula, Astro

Cabbage, Pac Choi ‘Rosie’

Collards, Green Glaze

Kale, Prizm

Kale, Redbor

Sorrel, Raspberry Dressing

 

 

Coming Soon:

TBA!

 

*The 18 gallon tote is by special order only and is delivered to any address within the Fayetteville city area.

 

 

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): Ginger

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is September 21^st at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

Oyster Mushrooms

 Wild Harvest Tour Exclusive

 

This post is based on something we may encounter in the fall on a Wild Harvest Tour. The Pleurotus family is found worldwide but Oyster Fungi are also cultivated and come in a number of shapes and colors.

 

https://www.facebook.com/p/Sandhills-Wild-Harvest-61557940700225/

 

These Oysters emerged in m y compost pile a month or two after I discarded a few 'C' grade mushroom compost blocks in there. I did not get to harvest them but they may make another push in the fall.

These Pink Oysters are very dramatic and in this specific cultivated form the gills go all the way down the stem. I would not expect this to be the case in the wild.

 

 

Common Name: Oyster Mushroom

 

Other Common Names: Hiratake

 

Botanical Family: Pleurotaceae (The Oyster Mushroom Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Pleurotus species

 

Description & Habitat:  Oyster mushrooms as noted before come in a large variety of sizes and shapes. The members of the Pleurotus family are known to have white spores and the family itself contains thirteen genera and more than four-hundred and twelve species. This species of mushroom has numerous cultivated forms and can readily be found in the wild at the right time of year under certain environmental conditions. The most common form of this Mushroom is the Pearl Oyster Mushroom (P. ostreatus) which is the light gray colored Oyster Mushrooms you might find at the supermarket. A close second for availability is the Golden Oyster Mushroom (P. citrinopileatus) which is often found in mushroom blends and has a golden yellow color. In the wild it’s more likely that you will find something close to Peal Oyster Mushroom, and this specific species is a saprotroph which means it feeds on decaying wood and as such Pearl oysters tend to prefer deciduous trees with a preference for beech. It constitutes also as a white rot fungus given how the fungal mass tends to look when infesting wounds on a tree before it produces a flush of mushrooms. However as with the picture of them in the wild, they can appear in almost any hardwood tree such as Oaks (Quercus sp.), but they seem to have a preference for the softer less rot-resistant species like Aspen (Populus sp.), Birch (Betula sp.), Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipfera) and the softer wooded Maples (Acer sp.). Your basic Oyster Mushroom has a wide flat cap that is roughly shells shaped. The margin of the cap is smooth though may be a bit wavy. In the case of the Pearl Oyster Mushroom, the upper surface of the cap may have some luster and be greyish to tan in color while the undersides tend to be white. The texture over all is velvety while the interior of the flesh is white.

 

          In an unrelated note in doing research for this post I found out that Pearl Oyster Mushroom is one of the few confirmed carnivorous mushrooms. It actively preys on nematodes in the soil and its mycelia are able to kill and adsorb nutrients from dead Nematodes. This is theorized as an evolved means for the fungi to get nitrogen. Beyond the basic implications of this this also may mean oyster mushroom compost may be a ecologically friendly way of destroying nematode populations in agriculture while also improving soil quality and structure as earthworms are unaffected.

 

When & What to Harvest: In North Carolina,  typically flushes of harvestable Oyster mushrooms appear after a period of weather that is moist and has had a period in the 70’s followed by a few weeks of weather that is 50-60 degrees. Basically this would be some time in mid to late spring or mid to late fall into early winter.

 

Dangerous Lookalikes: There are a few species of mushrooms that look similar such as Oysterlings (Crepidotus mollis), Ivory Funnel Mushrooms (Clitocybe dealbata), The Western Jack O’ Lantern (Omphalotus olearius) and Ghost Mushroom (Omphalotus nidiformis). The latter is unlikely to be found in North America as it is endemic to Japan and Australia but better to give a warning that is never used then to risk harm to a reader. This species is readily identifiable it glows greenish under certain conditions.

 

Related Useful Species:  King Oyster Mushroom (P. eryngii), Phoenix Mushroom (P. pulmonarius), Pink Oyster Mushroom (P. djamor), White Oyster Mushroom (P. opuntiae ), there are many more but these are the ones you have a higher chance of finding in the wild in North America.

 

Recipe:  In general Oyster mushrooms lend themselves to soups, stir-frying as well as to being a good additive to an omelet.  One especially good way to use them is to sauté them in butter and cream then add them to pan-fried chicken breast with a dash of garlic. In just about every conceivable way the Oyster Mushroom is more flexible in a culinary sense over the super-common White Button/Cremini/Portobello mushrooms that you can find at every supermarket right now.

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

 

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.

 

Fresh Foods:

Soup Kit – Parsnip

Soup Kit – Turnip

Garlic Bulbs

 

 

Soil Amendment Products:

Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*

Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag

Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag

 

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Turkey Tail Tincture

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Mushroom Grow Kit (New!)

 

Garden Plants, Perennial:

Gentian Sage

Spineless Prickly Pear

Spanish Bayonet

 

Garden Plants, Fall Foods:

Collards, Green Glaze

 

Coming Soon:

Fall vegetables

 

*The 18 gallon tote is by special order only and is delivered to any address within the Fayetteville city area.

 

 

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): Lily Turf

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is September 14^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

Bear's Head Tooth

 Wild Harvest Tour Exclusive

 

This post is based on something we may encounter in the fall on a Wild Harvest Tour. The Hericium family is found worldwide but Bear’s Head Tooth Fungi are exclusively found in North America in the wild.

 

https://www.facebook.com/p/Sandhills-Wild-Harvest-61557940700225/

 

Smaller harvested chunks, they ended up being about four pounds.

This is the central mass, it ended up weighing almost five pounds.

 

 

Common Name: Bear’s Head Tooth

 

Other Common Names: Bear’s Head

 

Botanical Family: Hericiacae (The Lion’s Mane Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Hericium americanum

 

Description & Habitat:   Bear’s Head is a member of the Hericium family that combines long spines with a heavily branched fruiting body. It is mainly found only to the east of the Great Plains in North America and typically fruits from deadwood or live trees. Some sources indicate it can be found mainly on conifers but in the filed you are more likely to find it on hardwood trees, and in the Southeast that means Oaks and Sweet gum, possibly Maples as well. It is noted to be Saprobic (prefers dead wood) and potentially parasitic to its hosts. It is known to colonize the wounds of hardwood trees and typically this is called ‘White Pocket Rot’ because of the appearance of a mass of these fungi before it starts to pin or, produce a fruiting body that you would recognize. This can make harvesting the fruiting bodies somewhat difficult as they may be quite high up.

 

When & What to Harvest: In North Carolina, these mushrooms tend to emerge after a period of rains where the temperatures are roughly in the low 70’s if not in the 60’s. The fuzzy looking fruiting body is what you want to harvest.

 

Dangerous Lookalikes: None, all members of this family of mushrooms are noted to be safely edible and nothing looks quite like a Hericium.

 

Related Useful Species: Fungus Icicles (Herecium clathroidies), Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus), Coral Tooth (Hericium coralloides), Comb Tooth (Hericium ramosum) and, Conifer Coral Tooth (Herecium abietis).

 

Recipe:  This is not a mushroom you eat raw, it’s better cooked plus mushrooms have a high chitin content which requires cooking to be digestible. With that said Bear’s Head is versatile, it can be added to gravies, baked poultry, homemade pasta sauces, and the potential list of culinary uses is endless. You can even pop it in the dehydrator, grind it up after trying and make tea out of it.

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wood/teeth%20and%20spine/species%20pages/Hericium%20americanum.htm

 

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.

 

 

Fresh Foods:

Tomatoes, Cherry Blend – 8 ounces

 

 

Soil Amendment Products:

Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*

Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag

Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag

 

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture (New!)

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Turkey Tail Tincture (New!)

 

Garden Plants, Perennial:

Gentian Sage

Spineless Prickly Pear

Spanish Bayonet

 

Garden Plants, Fall Foods:

Collards, Green Glaze

 

Coming Soon:

Soup Kit – Parsnip

Soup Kit – Turnip

Garlic Bulbs

Fall vegetables

 

*The 18 gallon tote is by special order only and is delivered to any address within the Fayetteville city area.

 

 

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): Wishbone Flower

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is September 7^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.