Common Vetch II

 Note from the Author: I previously covered Common Vetch on September 23^rd 2022.

 

 

This small specimen has a flower color that is noted as rare by NC state.

Found downtown by the Transportation Museum in Fayetteville.

 

 

Common Name: Common Vetch

 

Other Common Names: Garden Vetch, Golden Tare, Vetch.

 

Botanical Family: Fabaceae (The Pea Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Vicia sativa

 

Description & Habitat: Common Vetch is considered an annual winter wild flower that is commonly used as a cover crop in agriculture because of its ability to fix nitrogen in the soil. It is also used as forage for livestock as it grows quickly and it also can feed populations of wild animals such as Deer, Rabbits, and is a host to the larva of several Butterflies and Moths. In general this plant benefits from having something taller than itself to climb on and thus is grown in vineyards and orchards to suppress weeds and reduce herbicide usage. The leaves of this plant are considered to be in alternate arrangement and have pinnately or bipinnately arranged leaflets that are elliptical in shape.

 

When & What to Harvest: Unlike other edible members of the Pea family with Common Vetch you want to harvest only the leaves. The seeds contain Cyanogenic glycosides which cause neurological damage specifically in animals with a single stomach like people, horses and poultry. Ruminant Livestock may be able to safely digest the pods and seeds.

 

Edible Related Plants: Common Vetch (Vicia sativa subsp. nigra), Sand Vetch (Vicia acutifolia), Narrow-leaved Vetch (V. angustifolia). I have to make note of the fact that Common vetch has a lot of subspecies and ‘angustifolia’ and ‘subsp. nigra’ are both subspecies of Common vetch.

 

Similar Dangerous Species:  There are a lot of potentially dangerous lookalikes, to the point that there are a few too many to list here.

 

Recipe:  Vetch & Catchweed Bedstraw Pesto

 

3 ounces of Pine nuts

1 teaspoon of dried black garlic/ (if fresh 4 cloves of black garlic.)

1 tablespoon of Robust Olive oil (you can use more if it’s not enough)

2 cups of Common Vetch Leaves and Catchweed Bestraw shoots or new foliage (you can add henbit or chickweed if needed)

4 Ounces of grated Parmesan & Romano cheese

 

1. Wash your greens thoroughly and remove any foreign debries

2. Chop your greens finely.

3. Pulverize the Pine Nuts.

4. Combine the greens, the nuts and the other ingredients in a food processor or blender.

5. Run your blender or food processor until the individual ingredients are unidentifiable

6. The resulting pesto can be added to any pasta dish at leisure but make sure to store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/vicia-sativa/

 

Where to get Seed or Bare Root Plants:

https://victoryseeds.com/products/vetch-common

 

 

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.

 

Spring Plants:

Chicory, Italian

Chicory, Garnet Stem

Ground Cherries, Perennial

Okra, Baby Bubba

Okra, Iraqi Bamia

Pepper, Ghost

Pepper, Serrano

Pepper, Hungarian Wax Banana

Pepper, Bull’s Horn

Pepper, Mad Hatter

Pepper, Purple Bell

Rice, Upland

Spinach, Egyptian

Tomato, Cherokee Purple

Tomato, Chocolate Cherry

Tomato, Midnight Snack

Tomato, Lemon Boy

Tomato, Brown Sugar

 

Herbs:

Basil, Holy

Chives

Morenga

Savory, Summer

 

Ornamental & Flowers:

Castor Bean, Giant

Flowering Maple, ‘Orange Hot Lava’

 

Soil Amendment Products:

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag

 

*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!

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): Upland Rice ‘Hayayuki’

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is May 10^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

Spiny Sowthistle

 Note from the Author: This post isn’t technically a redo but more of a full-on correction. On April 7^th 2022, I did a fill write-up about Sow Thistle and did not notice at the time my photos were of Spiny Sowthistle a close relative. So today we have a fully corrected post for all of you to enjoy.

 

 

This Spiny Sowthistle emerged later in spring between stonework in Downtown Fayetteville and has likely been stepped on a few times and possibly string trimmed.

This SPiny Sowthistle was found at the PWC facility in early spring.

 

Common Name: Prickly Sowthistle

 

Other Common Names: Spiney Sowthistle, Spiny-leaved Sow-Thistle, Rough Milk Thistle and, Sharp-Fringed Sow Thistle.

 

Botanical Family: Asteraceae (The Aster Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Sonchus asper

 

Description & Habitat: Prickly Sowthistle is a cool-season annual or biennial that can reach a height of six feet tall. When found in the urban landscape however, this non-native plant is often less than half of the aforementioned height. A prickly Sowthistle’s leaves are in alternate arrangement on the plant’s hollow stems and the leaves are roughly lanceolate in shape. The leaf shape can vary somewhat due to curls and lobes on the leaf which can cause misidentification as Prickly Sowthistle can sometimes resemble Prickly Lettuce or a number of other members of the Aster family. There also appears to be some variation on leaf shape relative to where this plant’s seed germinates and when it germinates. Prickly Sowthistle can be found in disturbed sites like roadsides, fields, railroad intersections, and in embankments. It also will appear in garden beds, between the cracks of concrete or asphalt and in fields, yards and occasionally in potted outdoor plants. The best time to look for this plant is in spring while the plants are small, but developed enough to tell them from other similar looking cool-season annuals.

 

When & What to Harvest: With Prickly Sowthistle, the parts you want are mainly the leaves while they are no longer than 4”. The taproot before the plant flowers is viable as a food source also the flowers can be used in the same ways one might use Dandelion blossoms.

 

Edible Related Plants: Annual Sowthistle (S. oleraceus).

 

Similar Dangerous Species:  None are known.

 

Recipe:  Sautéed Sow Thistle

 

4 cups of chopped young (1-4" long leaves) Spiny Sowthistle

Butter or oil

1 cup of Bone broth (any other form of broth can be substituted)

1 tsp of dried garlic (4 cloves if fresh)

1 tsp. flour

Salt and pepper to taste

 

1. Wash your greens thoroughly and cut away the spiny bits if they are too firm.

2. Heat the oil/butter in your pan and then add the leaves.

3. Stir the leaves to make sure they get a nice coating of the oil.

4. Bring the pan with the leaves to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes.

5. Add the garlic the flour and the salt and pepper.

6. Stir everything and add another tablespoon of butter or oil and cook until the greens are fully soft.

7. Serve with rice.

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/sonchus-asper/

 

Where to get Seed or Bare Root Plants:

As far as I know, there is no credible vendor that sells the seeds for this plant.

 

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.

 

Spring Plants:

Chicory, Italian

Chicory, Garnet Stem

Ground Cherries, Perennial

Okra, Baby Bubba

Okra, Iraqi Bamia

Pepper, Ghost

Pepper, Serrano

Pepper, Hungarian Wax Banana

Pepper, Bull’s Horn

Pepper, Mad Hatter

Pepper, Purple Bell

Rice, Upland

Spinach, Egyptian

Tomato, Cherokee Purple

Tomato, Chocolate Cherry

Tomato, Midnight Snack

Tomato, Lemon Boy

Tomato, Brown Sugar

 

Herbs:

Basil, Holy

Chives

Milk Thistle

Morenga

Savory, Summer

 

Ornamental & Flowers:

Castor Bean, Giant

Flowering Maple, ‘Orange Hot Lava’

 

Soil Amendment Products:

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag

 

*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!

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): Za’atar

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is May 10^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

 

Tall Verbena II

 Note from the Author: Unlike the others in this redo series, I barely at best covered this plant on the blog.

 

 

Up close and in fine detail.

Note the opposite arrangement of leaves and the toothy leaf margins.

These plants are mostly stem by volume once they get big enough to bloom.

 

 

Common Name: Tall Verbena

 

Other Common Names: Purpletop Vervain, Argentinian Vervain, Brazilian Verbena, Brazilian Vervain, Clustertop Verbena, Tall Vervain, Purple Top.

 

Botanical Family: Verbenaceae (The Verbena Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Verbena bonariensis

 

Description & Habitat: Tall Verbena is native to South America but has become naturalized in North America. You can find this plant along the roadside most commonly but it does appear in sites with disturbed soil. Tall Verbena is perhaps one of the most aptly named plants because it’s chief features are that it can grow up to five feet tall in a growing season and atop that growth are intense purple flower clusters that can draw the eye even when driving by at fifty miles per hour. Its leaves are borne in opposite arrangement, clasp the stem and are roughly elliptical in shape with an irregular toothed margin. Inter-nodes between the leaves are often fairly long which facilitates this plant’s ability to grow through bushes and shrubs to get to light. It should be noted that despite not being in the mint family Tall Verbena has square stems and has opposite arrangement leaves.

 

When & What to Harvest: No credible sources indicate that this plant is in any way edible and some indicate that it may be toxic to live stock.

 

Edible Related Plants: Common Vervain (Verbena officinalis), Pineapple Verbena (Nashia inaguensis) and Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora) are the known to be safely medicinal, or food plants in the family.

 

Similar Dangerous Species:  None are known.

 

Recipe: There is no recipe for this plant as it is noted to be inedible.

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/verbena-bonariensis/

 

Where to get seed or Bare Root Plants:

https://www.burpee.com/verbena-bonariensis-prod001064.html

 

Plants:

https://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/78320-product.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.

 

Spring Plants:

Chicory, Italian

Ground Cherries, Perennial

Okra, Baby Bubba

Okra, Iraqi Bamia

Pepper, Ghost

Pepper, Bulls Horn

Pepper, Serrano

Sorrel, Raspberry Dressing

Swiss Chard, Red

Tomato, Cherokee Purple

Tomato, Chocolate Cherry

Tomato, Midnight Snack

Tomato, Lemon Boy

Tomato, Sungold

 

Ornamental & Flowers:

Castor Bean, Giant

Poppy, California

 

 

Soil Amendment Products:

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag

Carolina Gold, Enhanced Potting Soil – 1 Gallon Bag

 

 

 

*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!

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 ‘ Durban’

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is May 3^rd at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.