{"id":287,"date":"2021-04-23T22:57:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-24T02:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kakahead.com\/?p=287"},"modified":"2021-04-23T23:09:07","modified_gmt":"2021-04-24T03:09:07","slug":"wanna-buy-some-weeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kakahead.com\/?p=287","title":{"rendered":"Wanna Buy Some Weeds?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spring is springing here in Beautiful West Michigan, and I even got some radish seeds (already up!!) and parsnip seeds in the ground.\u00a0 Got my beds tilled, just waiting for a little warmth and rain to get cracking with the planting.<\/p>\n

Friends and family know that organic gardening is permanently embedded in my soul.\u00a0 Some of them think I’m a bit off when they learn that oak leaves are one of my primary soil building materials.\u00a0 I also put all our coffee grounds, egg shells, veggie and fruit waste in a compost pile along with more leaves and garden waste.\u00a0 Compost has become a very valuable fertilizer.\u00a0 Gardening is a lot of work, but it’s a labor of love you see.\u00a0 And there’s absolutely nothing more yummy than home grown food.<\/p>\n

I simply love all of it to pieces.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a bed planter.\u00a0 No, that does not<\/b><\/i> mean that I dig really large holes and put bedroom furniture in them.\u00a0 What it actually means is that, because I like to make the most of my miniature farm, I plant in beds about 3 feet wide rather than many single rows.\u00a0 Walkways between the beds are usually 2 feet wide.\u00a0 I do a lot of companion planting; which involves a little \u201creminder research\u201d each year; during which time I read up on what plants like to live with each other.<\/p>\n

Rows are nice and tidy, and relatively easy to maintain.\u00a0 However, I can get much more production from beds once they get established.\u00a0 Of course, bed planting also invites weeds, and for the first several weeks of the garden season it can be a challenge to keep the \u201cuninvited guest\u201d plants out.<\/p>\n

Most of you call these uninvited plants weeds. \u00a0<\/b><\/i>No, I\u2019m not talking about \u201cweed,\u201d although I\u2019ve grown some of that in my time too (hey, I\u2019m a child of the sixties) (and no, we don\u2019t grow it anymore!!) (and yes I know<\/strong><\/em> it’s legal, but I guess I’ve “outgrown” weed) (anyway, enough of the parentheses awreddy!!). \u00a0I guess a weed, by at least one definition, is a nuisance plant.\u00a0 Many weeds are useful and even edible, however.\u00a0 My Dad introduced us kids to \u201csour grass\u201d when we were very small.\u00a0 It\u2019s actually called sheep sorrel,<\/b> and is sometimes used sparingly in salads to perk them up a bit.\u00a0 I still munch on sheep sorrel occasionally, but one mustn\u2019t eat too much because of its high oxalic acid content.<\/p>\n

After my Beautiful Girlfriend let me marry her, my interest in natural foods grew and I started gathering books on native plants and such.\u00a0 Friends still think I\u2019m a little off when I stop in my tracks and pick some wild greens for munching.\u00a0 One of my personal favorites is lambs quarters, <\/b>which is actually quite nutritious.\u00a0 Actually tastes pretty darn good too.\u00a0 Then our friend Pam introduced me to purslane,<\/b> another common \u201cweed\u201d that is packed with nutrients including omega 3 fatty acids. \u00a0And yes, we harvest it for food.<\/p>\n

I know now that many weeds can be yummy and useful, but I have to admit that for many years I focused on keeping \u201cweeds\u201d like lambs quarters and purslane OUT<\/b> of the garden.\u00a0 Hey, I figured if I really want to eat them, all I have to do is do a little weeding, or else venture outside the garden a bit and find all I want.<\/p>\n

A couple years ago however, our lovely, tree-hugging daughter (the nuts don\u2019t fall far from the tree, so to speak) informed us that she spent $4.50 on a one gallon bag of lamb’s quarters at a local organic produce market.\u00a0 Upon hearing this, I had to chuckle a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou bought<\/b><\/i> l<\/strong>amb’s quarters?!?!?\u201d I snickered.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll have a bunch soon\u2026 how much can I get for them?\u201d I wondered aloud.\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u201d she said a bit sheepishly.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s the only fresh greens they had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Couple days later, I called her while I was weeding out in the garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, this is K&K Hansen Farm calling.\u00a0 I have lamb’s quarters coming, I can sell you them for $2.50 a pound.\u00a0 That\u2019s a bargain\u00a0 you know.\u00a0 I have a produce scale in the shed\u2026 just weigh up what you want and leave your money in the jar.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the joking\u00a0 and poking, I asked seriously if she wanted them (for free of course).<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m weeding right now\u2026 if you want some of these I\u2019ll forget to pull them out of the ground and save them for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

So I did.\u00a0 And I did something historic:\u00a0 I ACTUALLY MULCHED AROUND THE LAMB’S QUARTERS TO HELP THEM GROW BETTER.\u00a0 <\/i><\/strong>Never in my living life would I have guessed that I\u2019d be mulching \u201cweeds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a photo to prove it!!\u00a0\"Lamb's<\/a><\/p>\n

Then to make things even more interesting, we brought some rhubarb to one of our favorite local restaurants, Mia and Grace,<\/i> and were talking to our server.\u00a0 A nice gent, probably around the same age as our lovely daughter.\u00a0 He mentioned that he enjoys eating both lambs quarters and<\/b> purslane.\u00a0 So, I approached the owners, and by golly they actually welcomed my lambsquarters and purslane.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, nobody else is doing that around here,\u201d Chef Jeremy remarked. The restaurant closed down a couple years ago… we really miss their food and the staff.<\/p>\n

To this day I cultivate these \u201cweeds.\u201d\u00a0 I already showed you the lambs quarters, but here’s a picture of some of my purslane:\"Purslane\"<\/a>Maybe I\u2019m on the cutting edge of a burgeoning market!!\u00a0 Planting could be pretty simple next year.\u00a0 Just make my planting beds and water, then watch the food sprout!\u00a0 Actually if you go looking about on the interwebs, you’ll find gobs of recipes for both plants.\u00a0 We eat both lamb’s quarters and purslane raw as well as cooked.\u00a0 They both make great additions to things like green salads, soups or stir fry dishes.<\/p>\n

OK, maybe I’ll also plant some beans, corn, and squash and such too just for the halibut (we also love fish) (but we don’t plant fish in the garden) (they don’t grow well in the dirt) (there he goes with the parentheses again).<\/p>\n

We have a nice sized garden that provides lots of good food; but we have no<\/strong> <\/em>livestock.\u00a0 But if we did, I’m sure they’d all behave exactly like this…<\/p>\n