Lamb's Quarter Patch

We rearranged three large "meadows" around out house. The one downhill is over the sewer field. We did plant it with native grass seed after it was installed in 2008 /9 but we did not have the energy to also add a layer of topsoil so those grasses didn't get a great foothold. Then the Lambs' Quarters, Chenopodium album, got a toehold, and eventually took over the entire field. It got so thick and tall that it was an impenetrable jungle.

Last spring my husband took pity on me and we did in the weeds. I had tried valiantly to weed every year, but there were so many seeds built up that it was impossible. He used Round-up. I would not normally recommend it, but in this case it worked--for the most part. We raked and smoothed the debris into piles and burned that. Then we raked in native grass seed from Derby Canyon Natives and watered it extra all summer. I should note--watering for us is a rare thing. We usually do a long set when things look a bit peaked so we water less than every 3-4 weeks at the most.

The grass is lush and thick and still green this year, and not I am spot weeding. It seems not only were these things brought over from Europe, mostly, they can also be eaten! So I learned something by looking up their Latin names.

Salsify, Tragopogon porrifolius:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/salsify/grow-salsify.htm

Tumble Mustard, Sisymbrium altissimum:
https://wildfoodgirl.com/2015/dont-forget-the-tumble-mustard2/

Prickly lettuce, Lactuca serriola:
A close relative of the domestic lettuce that has been used as an alternative to opium.

Posted on June 13, 2018 04:15 PM by wenatcheeb