The Garden Buzz

Eat Your Weeds

You've probably heard all the sayings about a weed being a perfectly good plant just growing in the wrong place. Some say weeds are plants whose virtues have yet to be discovered. 

Stinging Nettle, Urtica dioica Photo by Rhonda Fleming Hayes

Weeding my new yard today I decided to test that idea. The number of stinging nettles popping up prompted me to do something more than just dump them into the yard waste bag. I separated the nettles from the others and considered my choices; I've heard they're great in soups, teas, pestos and pasta. 

Stinging nettles are chocked full of iron and calcium along with lots of vitamin A and D. They have diuretic qualities that make them good for urinary and kidney issues. But then again, I'm not a doctor.

Usually an activity for spring foraging, the combination of cool weather and the snazzy new automatic sprinklers made the new nettles tender for the taking. Nettles are known to grow in recently disturbed, nutrient-rich soil and that certainly describes my recently tilled and amended front yard. 

Whether you're out in the wild or weeding the backyard, remember to bring gloves and wear a long-sleeved shirt, they don't call them stinging nettles for nothing. And always be sure to correctly identify any weed you think you might want to eat. And only harvest where no herbicides are used.

I first became acquainted with stinging nettles while living in England, well, acquainted is too gentle a word. I'd had my moments with thorny tumbleweeds in California but couldn't believe such an innocent-looking, little green plant could be so painful. The locals taught us to apply a dock leaf, usually growing in the vicinity, to the burning red welts. Even better to simply avoid them altogether.

After gingerly harvesting these nettles I snipped the leaves from the top third of the plant and let them fall into a colander. Most experts will recommend boiling the nettles for several minutes to neutralize the tiny needles along the stems and leaves. Since I was going to saute them immediately I poured boiling water over them while still in the colander. Then I squeezed out the excess moisture with a paper towel.

You're left with a bright green blob resembling thawed-out frozen spinach which I chopped into small pieces. Bach-ing it while the hubby is in Belgium I decided to go simple. I sauteed onions in olive oil, then added the nettles, three well-beaten eggs and cheddar cheese. Tasty, not tingly.

You can find plenty of other recipes for nettles on the internet, as well as delicious ideas for using other weeds for healthy eating; you'll never look at purslane, lamb's quarters, dandelions or other much-maligned plants the same.

Once again, make sure you identify the plant before you take a single bite.

 

 

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40 Carrots, a Girdle and Phil Collins

I heard an old Phil Collins song every time I looked at the burlap growing container and the wilting carrot foliage, "I wish I could just make you turn around - turn around and water me". 

This was back in the spring and I had thrown some carrot seeds into one of these new-fangled girdles, the burlap grow bags given to all the garden bloggers at Garden2Blog by those fun-loving gals at The Seed Keeper Company. 

 We were in between houses, living in a rental while the big move was looming, my mind wasn't really on carrots. Building a home involves a thousand tiny decisions that add up to a very big deal if you don't do it right. So I was a little preoccupied.

"How can you just walk away, look at this beautiful foliage". Foliage was all I really expected. At first the bag sat on the picnic table and then after we moved it sat wherever I could find a spot, dodging the concrete guys and the stonemasons while the exterior was finished. It found a resting place on the driveway for awhile where the garage doors reflect at a couple hundred degrees, caught in a cycle of water and wilt.

Oh and yeah, I never got around to thinning them either.

By now the burlap bag and its withering contents were a source of embarrassment, "And you coming back to me is against all odds". But I couldn't quite throw it away. As the patio and landscaping was nearing completion, I took the bag of ferny, browning foliage inside out of sight so as not to completely ruin my reputation as a garden writer and master gardener. It sat on a table in the garden room for a week while I went in a hundred different directions doing everything else but worrying about carrots.

Finally in a frenzy of checking off my to-do list and fall approaching, I looked over at the bag and sighed. "So take a look at me now". I felt around down in between the stems and lo and behold, I met with firm resistance. I dumped the bag into a tub, that's the beauty of these grow bag contraptions, you don't have to dig.

Forty carrots!

Look at what I found. Forty carrots. I figured they would taste like crap after all of that neglect. Surprisingly they were as sweet as any homegrown carrot could be. "You're the only one who really knew me at all". Just think if I had put the grow bag in a place of honor and paid more attention? Imagine what you could grow! 

When you're done with the grow bag it folds up for easy storage, so "there's just an empty space", no big pots to wrangle until the next season when the burlap girdle will be ready to replant. 

Check out all burlap growing girdles and all the other great things on Carol and Kerry's site at The Seed Keeper Company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Certify Your Garden as a Monarch Waystation

A lot of folks would say I'm certifiable. And they're right! 

You may be too. 

I just filled out the online application for certifying my yard as a Monarch Waystation. The last stones in the patio are being laid as we speak but it's not too soon to designate my beautiful new landscape as a waystation. Think bed and breakfast for butterflies.

I made sure to include numerous nectar plants and a generous amount of host plant Aslcepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) in my new garden for the exact purpose of helping the Monarch butterfly survive in spite of extreme weather, habitat destruction and pesticide threats.

A monarch visitor from yesterday lights on a lantana flower

Gardeners everywhere have noticed the low numbers of monarchs visiting our gardens this time of year when once they were present in great numbers while on their arduous migration. More than just a tough year, the monarch population is down 80% by some estimates.

Certifying your yard doesn't require a huge investment, You can purchase a waystation seed kit from Monarch Watch (the University of Kansas program that promotes and oversees monarch research and conservation) or you can buy plants at your local garden centers to fulfill the requirements necessary for certification.

Asclepias syriaca pictured. There are many varieties of milkweed suitable for your garden.

If you're like me, my past two gardens have qualified on the spot due to my interest and action in making sure they were butterfly-friendly. Perhaps your garden is a monarch waystation already. Officially certifying your garden costs $16, however the money is put to good use at Monarch Watch.

The sign draws attention to Monarch conservation

In addition you can purchase a small sign to place in your garden that lets other people know of your good intentions while educating them to the plight of the monarch and what can be done to save this fascinating and gorgeous creature. Who knows? Maybe you'll start a movement in your neighborhood or town. Monarch waystations can be contagious.