Lespedeza soulds less like a plant and more like a country

 

Welcome back to the Lost In the Farmer’s Market blog. As some of you have noticed the blog has taken on a more formal instructional tone to cover the wide variety of forage foods that you can find all around you. This change came about due to the events of the pandemic, 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 but, there is a multi-million dollar herbicide industry that exists. 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 2023, 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. Oh, and one funny thing discovered in last year’s blog, it turns out you can eat Crab Grass, and while it isn’t what most would call a lawn grass, I did state you can’t eat your lawn in last year’s intro. Detailed research is a funny thing since it has a way of proving even the experts wrong. 

 

 

 

While Lespedeza does kind of look like a Scotch Broom, the fact that it appears in places on it's own is a dead give away.

Both specimens in today's post were found out in Eastover at the edge of the woods.

 

 

Common Name: Sericea Lespedeza

 

Other Common Names: Chinese Lespedeza, Chinese Bush Clover, Sercicea Bush Clover, Himalayan Bush Clover, Hairy Lespedeza.

 

Botanical Family: Fabaceae (The Pea Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Lespedeza cuneata

 

Description & Habitat: 

Sericea Lespedeza is a perennial herbaceous plant in the pea family that has an upright somewhat bushy habit that can grow 3-5 feet in height. Its leaves are compound and alternately borne with three little leaflets. The leaflets are usually no bigger an inch long and are oblong in shape. This plant flowers between Late July through October and its flowers tend to be white with a pink-purple blotch in the middle. This plant reproduces mainly by seed and the seed can remain viable in the environment for upwards of twenty years. You will find this plant in a fair range of habits including areas featuring heavy erosion and soil that is effectively sterile. Sericea Lespedeza will encroach on open woodlands, grasslands, savannas, roadsides, fields, prairies, drainage areas and the wetland borders of ponds swamps and meadows.

 

This plant was introduced to the USA in the 1940’s as a means of erosion control, animal forage and hay production on poor soils. Obviously this plant escaped cultivation and now has become an herbaceous ‘weed’ in a number of states.

 

When & What to Harvest:

 

It is currently unknown if this member of the Lespedeza family is edible for people. However cattle are known to graze it when it is young and hay can be made from it.

 

Poisonous Lookalikes:

 

Related Edible Species: Lespedeza bicolor is known to be both edible and it’s seeds can be used for oil extraction.

 

Recipe:

 

None this time, it seems this plant isn’t good for eating.

 

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 2:00 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 Produce:

Garlic Bulbs

Soup Kit – Parsnip

Soup Kit – Turnip

 

Houseplants:

3” Square pot – Haworthia ‘West Jogo’ (Haworthia pentagona)

3” Round Bowl – Dragon Haworthia (Haworthia coarctata)

3” Tree Trunk Pot – Dragon Haworthia (Haworthia coarctata)

3" Triangle Pot - Rebutia (Rebutia sp.)

3" Triangle Pot - Windowpane Plant (Haworthia turgida)

3.5” Lattice pot – Mini Aloe (Aloe descoingsii)

5” Large Hex pot – Sausage Plant (Euphorbia guentheri)

 

Coming Soon:

MOAR HOUSEPLANTS!

 

 

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): Widow’s Tears

 

Meetings 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 February 2^nd between 5:30pm and 7:00pm. We are in the back room so come on in and join us for a fun garden chat.

It's A Plaintain Act of Kindness!

 Greetings and Salutations to all you intrepid gardeners out there, welcome back to another installment of the Forage Foods series on Lost In The Farmer’s Market. As you might already know the current Geo-Political situation coupled with inflation and supply shortages has prompted a series on foods you can forage for just in case things go sideways. Even if they don’t, forage foods may have added nutritional benefits and may also have medicinal benefits that can help you out.

 

This specimen is exactly what I would expect a Broadleaf Plantain to look like.

This Plantain was growing with other colonizing 'weeds' in very shallow poor soil and it's clearly very healthy.

True to form I found this plantain growing in front of a local Mechanic's shop in a dusty dry location where the soil was obviously poor and it probably get stepped on a bit. Plantains are tougher than anyone gives them credit for.

Common Name: Plantain

Other Common Names: Broadleaf Plantain, White Man’s Footprint, Waybread, Greater Plantain.

Botanical Family: Plantaginaceae (The Plantain Family)

Botanical Latin Name: Plantago major

Season to Harvest: Preferably in spring for younger leaves, and summer for seeds and older leaves.

Habitat: Plantain is most frequently found in laws, gardens, open fields and any other area that has been disturbed by humans. It does very well in compacted or disturbed soils and it is thought to be one of the first plants to reach north America after European colonization which has led to one of its common names. Plantains are also notorious for growing in cracks between cement and it can thus survive frequent trampling and will colonize horribly compacted soils. It is effective at soil rehabilitation and its roots can break up hardpan surfaces while anchoring lose soil to prevent erosion.

Parts to Harvest: The leaves and the seeds.

Poisonous Lookalikes: None are known

Related Edible Species: Buckhorn Plantain, (Plantago lanceolata), see prior entry covering this plant.

Description: Plantain is an herbaceous perennial plant that forms a rosette of leaves that is about six to twelve inches in diameter on average. Each of its leaves are roughly oval shaped and can be two to eight inches long and one to three and a half inches in width. There are anywhere from three to five thick veins running though the length of the leave and the petioles are fairly thick. Individual plants in cultivation and excluding their flower stalks tend to get about four to six inches tall, the flower stalks can up to six more inches to the overall plant height. Plantains are wind-pollenated and each plant can produce up to twenty-thousand seeds in a given growing year.

How to Harvest: Pick younger leaves before flower spikes develop this can go on into summer. You can strip right seeds from the flower stalks from late spring through fall. Solder leaves can be used for food but must be cooked. Plantain foliage in general is surprisingly nutritious as the leaves contain calcium and other minerals and about 100 grams of plantain contain the exact same amount of beta-carotene as a large carrot root.

Recipe: Believe it or not the culinary uses of Broadleaf Plantain are exactly identical to that of Buckhorn Plantain. Check out my listing for that to see some detailed basic recipes. With that said here is a recipe for Plantago major specifically.

You can roast plantain leaves by first blanching the leaves and then laying them on a baking or cookie sheet and brushing them with a light coating of oil. Bake them for 5-9 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the leaves are done you can season them with sea salt, black pepper, garlic, powdered onion or cumin to make ‘Plantain Chips’ or you can crumble them up and use them to season other recipes. Likewise you can dry them in the oven without the oil and with no seasoning to dehydrate them for use as the basis for tea later.

 

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.

 

Vegetables: ($3.00)

Peppers – Cayenne

Peppers – Anaheim

Peppers – Bell

Okra – Red Burgundy

Okra – Jing Orange

Tomato – Sungold

Tomato – Chocolate Cherry

Tomato – Glacier

Tomato – Mountain Pride

Tomato – Purple Cherokee

Wonderberry

 

Herbs: ($3.00)

Basil – Emerald Tower

Chervil – French Parsley

Chives – Garlic

Fennel - Black

Parsley – Italian

Parsley – Curled

Sage – Common

Sage – White (VERY limited Item, $9.00)

Tarragon – Mexican

Thyme – Common

 

Flowers: ($3.00)

Amaranth – Early Splendor

Cock’s Comb – Scarlet Prestige

Celosia – First Flame Purple

Castor Bean – Zanzibar

Cotton – Erlene’s Green Lint

Marigolds – Strawberry Blonde

Tobacco – Flowering “Starmaker Apple Blossom”

 

 

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.

 

Go to our Nextdoor Page!

 

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

 

 

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (1): Madagascar Periwinkle

 

Meetings 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 July 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.