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| Look at it! Being all Careless about how weedy it is. Carelessweed is nicely symmetrical and totally edible. |
Common Name: Carelessweed
Other Common Names: Palmer Amaranth, Palmer’s Pigweed, Dioecious Amaranth.
Botanical Family: Amaranthaceae (The Amaranth Family)
Botanical Latin Name: Amaranthus palmeri
Description & Habitat: This annual plant is native to the southern parts of North America and like other members of the Amaranth species is fully edible. It is a very fast growing plant that can tolerate drought and poor soils with relative ease. It produces a lot of viable seeds and its best described as having an erect habit with even branching which gives it a somewhat shrubby appearance. Carelessweed has a rich green coloration and its flowers are a bit non-descript. A singular plant can produce up to a half-million seeds in a growing year. As if this were not enough all sources I consulted agree that Careless weed is very fast growing, the average is 1” per day under normal conditions. With that said, Carelessweed also is fully edible, but one must take care in consuming it as it can hyper-accumulate nitrates and this can reach toxicity levels for humans. Additionally this plant is known for having Oxalic Acids in its foliage which can aggravate or cause Kidney problems especially if the foliage is eaten raw. Much like with Swiss Chard or Beets, cooking by way of blanching and then discarding the water can remove a significant portion of the present oxalic acid the same is true for any present nitrates. If you are intentionally cultivating this plant as food, do NOT fertilize it. Carelessweed can be commonly found in fields, yards, by the roadside and in sites with disturbed soil and in farm fields. In the latter location this plant has become a problem as it is very vigorous and can out-compete row crops. Additionally this plant has made a nuisance of itself in Europe, Australia and a few other countries.
When & What to Harvest: Ideally you would harvest the leaves and the seed.
Poisonous Lookalikes: None are known.
Related Edible Species: Calaloo (Amaranthus viridis), Love Lies Bleeding (A. caudatus), Blood Amaranth (A. cruentus), Prince of Wales Feather (A. hypochondriacus).
Recipe:
How to cook Carelessweed as a Potherb.
Pick fresh greens as needed and make sure they are washed to remove any critters, debris or dirt. After this, chop your leaves or place them whole in a pot and cover with water. Boil the Carelessweed leaves while listening to ‘Careless Whispers’ by Wham! Substitute in the word Carelessweed in the song and boil the leaves for about 10-ish minutes and change the water. Boil for another ten-ish minutes or until desired tenderness is achieved. Serve with your preferred seasonings and butter. If you want to add flavorings to the leaves add bullion in with the second change of water.
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.
Summer Vegetable Plants (NEW!)
Tomato – Sungold
Tomato – Midnight Snack
Tomato – Sweet 100
Tomato – Chocolate Cherry
Tomato – Lemon Boy
Tomato – Black Krim
Tomato – Paul Robeson
Tomato – Cherokee Purple
Tomato – Brandywine, Suddeth’s Strain
Pepper – Cayenne
Pepper – Ancho/Poblano
Pepper – Sweet Banana
Pepper – Ghost
Pepper – Carolina Reaper
Herbs (New!)
Eucalyptus
Orange Balm
Lemon Balm
Sweet Genovese Basil
Oregano
Carlic
Garden Plants
Daylilies
Walking Iris
Coming Soon:
Dahlias
Bee Balm
American Aloe
Yucca
Hairy Balls Milkweed
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): Dessert Kiwi
Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is April 25th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.
