A Profile of Winter Weeds

     Welcome to the 2024 edition of the LITFM blog.  This blog is the text-based complement to my weekly posts on Nextdoor.com and the gardening channel on YouTube. In 2023, this blog took on a more formal instructional tone with jokes dispersed within to serve as a hub for conveying information that might not work in a video or weekly update format. The subject matter here is always the wide variety of plant-based foods that you can find growing around you in nature or as some call it ‘Forage Foods’. This ties in with local bartering, and indirectly now we will be including mycology. The primary reason for the change in the blog’s tone and topic came about due to the events of the pandemic, the resulting economic turmoil and other factors. The reality is that we are surrounded with perfectly edible plants that can fill at least some of the void in our dietary needs. There is no reason not to be educated in what is and is not safe and how to prepare it into a nutritious meal. With that said I also realized that in my own way by keeping this blog running I might be butting heads with a billion-dollar pesticide/herbicide/fertilizer industry at times. It has always been in the interest of that industry to label certain things ‘weeds’ so they can sell you product that as time goes by we find out is worse for your health than the weeds are. Coupled with an Agricultural-Education system that peddles the myths of the industry and the old myth that if you can afford a nice lawn you must have wealth we have a population that has been fooled for a long time. So, here we are in 2024, and the forage foods series will continue. I hope all of you who read this blog find the information useful or at least thought provoking. The ‘weeds’ I am listing a certainly found in Zone 8A in North Carolina and should certainly be easy to find in the Southeast regions of America.  Thank you for sticking with LITFM and stay tuned for a year of forage foods.

 

    In today’s blog post I’m going to do something a bit different.  Think of it as a recap of sorts because spring is nearby and I know the uptick in questions about a certain batch of weeds is coming. Today I will be briefly covering a number of edible weeds that I have photographed in the field over the last two weeks and each will get a little write-up so you know the differences between them and what they can be used for. Next week this blog will be back on schedule covering the next forage weed ‘Common Evening Primrose’.

 

 

 

 

This is Field Sorrel, (Rumex acetosella), it is also known as Sheep's Sorrel or Red Sorrel. This is the wild equivalent to the French Sorrel you may see in the produce aisle at the supermarket. It's foliage can be quite tart especially if you wait too long to harvest it.

Here is a Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), this plant as most know is fully edible, all parts but the foliage can be a bit bitter.

At a glance you might assume this is Wild lettuce or a Dandelion, but no it is Common Milk Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus). It's not the same as the other Milk Thistle and it is sometimes called 'common sowthistle' despite the sow thistle being another related plant also. The leaves are edible and prepared like cooked spinach.

This is Chickweed (Stellaria media) that has not been harvested, note how the stems are red and there are some long stems. At this point the stems might be a bit fibrous but the plant overall is edible.

A better example of the Chickweed (Stellaria media) when it's fully tender. Chickweed in pots responds well to fertilizer and can be trimmed so that it keeps producing tender foliage packed with nutrients. If you let it grow long enough when you harvest it it may give you a little gift as is seen in the next picture.

This is the seed of Chickweed (Stellaria media), and a good reason to make sure your harvest buckets are made of light colored plastic. This seed in the wild will lay dormant until cool temperatures return in fall. But now that I have it's seed I can let this dry and sow it in ideal locations then actually cultivate this winter annual.

This one looks like it could be a bunch of things. Wild lettuce, maybe a Cat's Ear Dandelion? This is Carolina Desert Chicory (Pyrrhopappus caralinianus) a native member of the aster family and a relative to dandelions, Chicory and Wild lettuce.

This is also Carolina Desert Chicory (Pyrrhopappus caralinianus), the leaves can vary a bit but if it looks like someone boiled a dandelion and dumped the leaves out in your lawn then it's probably 'CDC'. This plant grows very flat to the ground allowing it to survive the ravages of lawn mowers. It has to be pulled up to be defeated.

So, what can you do with Carolina Desert Chicory? The leaves and root are both edible though the flavor is not for everyone. Good thing the flat easily cleaned leaves go good in a salad where dressing and other greens can moderate the flavor impact.

Annual Bluegrass  (Poa annua), this is usually the first grass to green up in the late winter and spring. It is commonly found in fast-greening contractor grass mixes and also in grass patch blends. This is the only non-aster, non-sorrel here and it's here because it appears with the other winter weeds and often is gone by summer. It is  not known to be edible for humans, but your livestock will probably go for it and since it's not known to have any level of toxicity there is that.

 

Not the best picture in history but this plant has persisted in a crack between building and cement for years and that's impressive. This plant is commonly called Saltbush (Baccharis halimifolia) because when it's flowers fade and it's seeds are ready it looks like the entire plant is crusted in salt.

Here is a close up of the flew leaves this specimen has, note the margins and their overall elliptical shape. The plant isn't edible and it seeds are known to be toxic but its foliage is used in some parts of Louisiana to treat kidney ailments and to reduce fevers.

Ok, finally a plant that I get a lot of inquiries about year-round. This is Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola). It is the wild edible cousin to the lettuce you buy at the store. It is named because parts of the leaves can have little prickly bits but you can remove those with a knife as they are fleshy. This plant has latex sap and is often a hose to Aphids so wash your harvest thoroughly. Note the color differences in the leaves.

This is another Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola), it is probably younger than the one in the first photo. The leaves you want to harvest are the younger softer ones near the top.

This plant is one you've probably seen all over right now. This forage weed's name is Little Western Bittercress (Cardamine oligosperma), and it is is in the Cabbage family. You want to eat the foliage when young but older foliage can be cooked to improve it's edibility. It does have exploding seedpods so be wary of that.

This is another cool-season annual I get a lot of questions about. It is called Henbit (Lamium amplexcaule) and it is in the mint family.  All of the foliage is edible raw or cooked and it's slightly minty in flavor.

A specimen of Henbit (Lamium amplexcaule) like this could be pulled up and cultivated if you desire as this plant generally doesn't have a deep root system.

Oh Myyy! It's another species of wild lettuce! This one is commonly called Hairy Lettuce (Lactuca hirsuta), it is no less edible than the other I listed but this is the one that can get four to six feet tall in a growing season. If you cook the leaves the light 'hairs' go away.

 

Just when you thought you'd seen enough Dandelions, there is this plant. This is a Wild Dandelion (Hypochaeris radicata) which looks very similar to the Cat's Ear Dandelion. It has the same uses and grows in a similar fashion at a similar speed. All parts of the plant are edible for people but it may pose some issues for horses. Another common name for this perennial is 'flatweed'.

Telegraph Weed (Heterotheca grandiflora), this plant is known for it's tall flower stalks that look somewhat like telegraph poles from back in the day. It has two types of seeds ones with a silky parachute like a dandelion and others that just fall off the plant allowing it double the reproduction potential. Due to compounds in this plant it may have medicinal properties.

What's this, a dandelion? Nope! This is Tall Blue Lettuce (Lactuca biennis) and as that name suggests it is a biennial. It is just as edible as the other lettuces listed here today, it is also a host to aphids so wash what you harvest thoroughly.

Folks often mistake this for wild lettuce or dandelions but, it is Spiny Sowthistle (Sonchus asper). The young leaves are agreeable in salads but it is suggested that you should bruise the leaves and try to wash out as much of the milky sap as is possible. the stems can be peeled and eaten raw like celery or cooked.

This is quite a specimen, it is a Smooth Cat's Ear Dandelion (Hypochaeris glabra) which has developed a neat reddish color. This may be due to cold exposure, or a  protection against bright sunlight or a as a result of someone trying a failing to kill it with herbicide.

This is what a Smooth Cat's Ear Dandelion (Hypochaeris glabra) normally looks like. It's not spiny though it's just got tiny fluffy hairs despite being called 'smooth'. The smooth part comes from it looking pretty glossy. You can eat all parts of a Cat's Ear Dandelion and I hear it's a bit easier to make dandelion wine from it's blossoms because they're more numerous. It is a perennial and can have a pretty good sized taproot.

 

 

 

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.

 

Fresh Food:

Garlic Bulbs

Soup Kits – Parsnip

Soup Kits – Turnip

 

 

House Plants 

 

>All house plants are on sale!<

 

Arrowhead Plant ‘Regina Red’

Haworthia ‘Chocolate’

Hoan Ngoc

 

 

Coming Soon:

More stuff TBA!

 

 

 

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 (0): [new videos are in production]

 

Meetings are still going on! We now meet at LeClair’s General Store on the First and Third Thursday of every month. Our next meeting is on March 7^th between 5:30pm and 7:00pm. We are in the back room so come on in and join us for a fun garden chat.

 

 

First day of fall 2021

 Welcome back to another episode of Lost In the Farmers Market, where finally Autumn has arrived and the season begins with cooler temperatures and discussions of a winter garden. Despite what some might tell you here in Zone 8a gardening is a year-round affair. The warm season crops go in in April around Easter, and the Cool –season stuff goes in roughly around September. Some stuff like Collards takes a little longer and thus, we start them in early-mid August if from seed but at the start of September if using plants. Every crop has its nuances that you need to keep an eye on. For instance, if you started seed indoors you need to start sowing things as early as mid-July to August to get the best results for the slower growing cool season crops.

 

Fortunately we have a great opportunity to get things rolling while the humidity is low and night time temperatures are cool. It is less physically exerting to garden when the weather is cooperative and also the bugs are less aggravating. You should not wait to get those crops in the ground though because the longer you wait the less likely they will have established and the higher chance a frost might wreck everything. Additionally, procrastinating will delay your effective harvest, and that could mess up your culinary plans for Thanksgiving, Christmas or the New Year. A lot of people ask in general if it’s too late or too soon and the simple answer is that it is somewhat complicated.  Gardening thankfully is not an exact science with a catch-all answer to all problems or quandaries. Generally speaking, you put warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers in after Easter in spring, and start planting out the fall crops in late August or September. I personally can say that I have planted out things as late as the end of October and gotten good but delayed results. As long as you don’t wait too long you can still have that cool season low-maintenance veggie garden you have had a craving for.

 

With all that said, there are a few things you should consider starting from seed versus buying as plants. I typically start Cilantro/Coriander, Radishes, Carrots, and Snow Peas from seed in the garden because it’s so much cheaper and effective to do so. These plants do not benefit from being transplanted and their roots tend to grow quite fast and you really don’t want to disturb that. Generally you don’t want to disturb any plant’s roots if you can help it but with some they seem to experience no real loss in productivity if you do. As a general rule you never want to disturb the roots of anything producing tubers (radishes) or that has a taproot (carrots, fennel). Peas are in this group because they produce a lot of  roots fast and can rapidly out grow their containers if the container they were sprouted in is not big enough so it’s better to give them root space right off and let them do their thing. What you start by seed hinges on your spare time that you can apply to maintenance and your gardening skill level. For those of you out there who are wondering; the easiest things to start right now are Snow peas, Carrots, Cilantro and, Radishes. The latter three can have their seed tossed on any patch of dirt that’s been slightly scuffed and is moist. The former needs to be covered in about ¼” of dirt but that’s pretty easy and the seed is large and easy to handle.

Peas are a great way to get young kids involved since they are very noticeable when they germinate and emerge. More difficult and or finicky seeds like Swiss Chard, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Broccoli, Cauliflower and so on should be started indoors over a heat mat to maintain soil temperatures. Some of these seeds like the celery need to be soaked overnight just to germinate properly.

The key to getting your sown seed to come up uniformly is to gently moisten the soil where you sowed them on a daily basis (assuming no rain) for about two weeks and then as needed once the seedlings are visible. The easiest way to do this is to use something like a rain shower wand attached to a hose or a watering can so the water doesn’t wash out the seed or beat up the seedlings. You should avoid using any sort of fertilizer for about two weeks after the seedlings emerge to avoid burning but, initially use a water-soluble fertilizer at half-strength weekly for three more weeks to really get things going. After that assuming there are no freezing temperatures or rainy weather you can switch to a two-week rotation on fertilizer at normal strength. I would also advise using mulch, but not that wood mulch you can buy at the bLowes or Home Despot, what you want is quality Pine Straw because it does not float, it barely changes color and it discourages digging animals. Also it does not acidify the soil as much as some think and there’s the bonus value of it not attracting termites. Now, with all that said here are some garden photographs.

The first step to preparing the warm-season garden for cool season growing is to harvest what you can, which in this case is the carrots, basil, perilla and whatever peppers and cotton are ready.

After the bed is weeded and the soil gently moved around a bit with the hard steel rake, the collards are planted with about a foot of distance between them. I add a bit of granulated tobacco fertilizer at this point just to give them a constant boost as they grow.

The final step is to apply a decent layer of pine straw to keep the weeds down and the critters from messing with the seedlings. I watered it all with the rain wand attachment on my garden hose right after and maintained a once-a-day watering schedule for two weeks with adjustments for rain.

Bigelowia nutallii - Nutall’s Rayless Goldenrod

Nutall's Rayless Goldenrod is called that because it's flowers dont have petals or 'rays' as they tend to be called on members of the Aster family. Make no mistake this goldenrod is a member of the aster family, it's just a bit anti-social.

 

 

Acanthus ‘Summer Beauty’ – Bears Breeches

The best part of this Acanthus is that no one knows where the heck the name Bear's Breeches came from. Maybe it's tied into that old joke about a bear crapping in the woods or maybe some ancestor of this plant was used by bears as toilet paper...

 

 

 

Ruscus aculeatus ‘Wheeler’s Variety’ – Butcher’s Broom

This is a plant I've long sought, and managed to buy a few years back and boy it was not cheap. However Butcher's Brooms prefer shady areas and are like Sky Pencil Hollies minus being a holly or having any of the problems.

 

Abelmoschus manihot ‘Chief Kubo’s Prize’ – South Sea Salad Tree

 

 Ok, folks I have just found out the best information ever on this tropical cousin of Okra. Yes the leaves and stems and immature seed pods are edible and so are the flowers, but  it is apparently perennial in zone 8A. Sopme sources say 8B, but the USDA states 8A and really who are you going to believe, some random website or these folks!

https://pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Abelmoschus+manihot

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/abelmoschus-manihot/

 

Hibiscus coccineus ‘Texas Star’ -  Scarlet Rose Mallow

 Yup, this is the plant that had a neighbor calling the police on me because she was absolutely certain it was marijuana, and the leaves do look that way, until it flowers.

 

Ricinus communis ‘Zanzibar’ – Castor Bean

 It keeps getting bigger, it's literally just a little bit shorter than the dogwood behind it and all this growth in a single growing year. Let's hope it can survive the winter.

 

 

Rosa ‘oregold’ – Oregold Rose

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am not a fan of roses in general, and only three specimens are allowed int he test gardens because of their exceptional health and vigor. The golden yellow of this one is remarkable.

 

Hosta sp. - Hosta

This is one of the more colorful hostas that was recovered from the crescent bed earlier in the year, it has tripled in size and for the first time it's going to bloom. Not long after taking this picture it was repotted to a much larger 15 gallon pot. Oh and don't mind the feisty kitten photobomb.

 

 

So, while the temperatures and humidity have been low I decided to dig out all the Daylilies that aren’t really doing good. I replaced them with the Texas Star Hibiscus, Mekong Giant Banana, Bear’s Breeches and the South Sea Salad Tree. The lilies have been moved to the large strawberry pot after the strawberries were removed. Like the lilies the Strawberries have been progressively under performing for a while.

 

 

Would you look at that, the hot sauce made from my Fayetteville Inferno Peppers is right there on the Board at Fowler's BBQ!

 

 

Here are the latest YouTube videos for your garden entertainment:

 

Salad Tree? Not in here buddy! (100^th LITFM!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP1r_yoXN2c

 

I’d make a meat pun here but it’d get butchered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyYjbtziznM

 

Go for the Gold-enrod!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rus8Tz5sRlg

 

So many breeches I can’t bear it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61ubssXhFms

 

Spring will be here in a lily bit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS_h8sMMYb4

 

 

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. Also, as of the start of 2019, my booth can now process credit or debit cards thanks to the acquisition of s a Square reader so your payment options have doubled. 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.

 

 

Fresh Produce:

Fresh Garlic: $1.00 (Available now!)

Soup Kits: $6.00 (Available in October)

 

Vegetables: ($3.00 each)

Arugula, Astro

Broccoli, Green Magic

Cauliflower, Snow Crown

Collards, Green Glaze

Endive, Benefine

Kale, Dinosaur

Kale, Red Russian

Kale, Redbor

Kale, Dwarf Blue Curled

Spinach, Green Beret

 

Herbs: ($3.00 each)

Cat Mint

Parsley

Oregano

 

Fruiting Plants:

Muscadine Grapes, Green ($4.00)

 

Ornamental Stuff: ($3.00 each)

Coneflower, Artisan Soft Orange ($3.00)

 

Coming Soon:

TBA

 

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

 

 

Meetings are back on track folks! We now meet at LeClairs General Store on the First and third Thursday of every month. Our next meeting is on October 7^th  between 5:30pm and 7:00pm. We are in the back room so come on in and join us for a fun garden chat.

 

 

If the two above methods do not work you can always contact me through this blog, PM me through Nextdoor.com and or visit the Fayetteville City Market. This brings to a close the eighteenth LITFM post of 2021; stay tuned the next episode which should be posted at some point in October. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.