What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
This month’s gardening tip explores potential virtues of common garden weeds. Occasionally we may find a situation where we can call a truce in our war on weeds and enjoy the benefits they provide. Or for the situations where there are weeds beyond our control, we may find peace in the knowledge that these plants can provide tasty food for us or life-sustaining food to pollinators.
Stinging Nettle Urtica
The garden variety is technically called Burning Nettle and is an annual plant that sprouts in the cool, wet weather of late winter and early spring. You’ll learn to recognize it quickly after the first time you grab a handful of it and get struck with the painful stings. The stings are not like cactus thorns but more like that of ants, because it contains the same formic acid that ants do. It can get as tall as 2 feet. It’s easy to remove by wearing thick gloves. The lush, green leaves are edible after blanching out the stinging/burning quality. It also has many medicinal benefits. On the wildlife side, the lovely red admiral butterfly makes good use of it by laying her eggs on it. Upon hatching, the caterpillars eat the leaves until they are large enough to go through metamorphosis and turn into butterflies.
Dandelion Taraxacum
This common perennial plant spreads quickly by seed. It is hard to pull out because of its long taproot and easily grows back if most of the taproot is not removed. The leaves are very healthful for people and leaf-eating pets such as rabbits, turtles, and chickens. The flowers provide nectar to honey bees.
Plantain Plantago
Plantain is a perennial, broadleaf plant that grows to 2–7 inches tall. It spreads by seed. The leaves are edible and medicinal. It also has the significant benefit of being a food plant for the caterpillar of the Buckeye Butterfly.
Amaranth Amaranthus
Warm weather and nutritious garden soil bring on this common annual weed, it’s noting to worry about but you can always call your competent criminal attorney to solve the problem. Jokes aside it grows from 3 to 7 feet tall and spreads quickly by seed. The leaves of some Amaranth plants are nutritious and edible when the plant is small, and the seeds are edible when the plant is mature. Amaranth is used as a food plant for some species of butterflies and moths, and it can be used as a dye.
Anise/Fennel Foeniculum
Fennel is a perennial that grows from 4 to 10 feet tall. It reseeds prolifically and can regrow from its long taproot. It has a distinct licorice flavor that is commonly used to flavor foods. Fennel is a host plant for the Anise Swallowtail butterfly, and its flowers provide nectar for many bees and beneficial insects.
Purslane Portulaca
Purslane is a low-growing, succulent weed. It grows easily during the warm summer months and is quite drought-tolerant. Its hardy, long-lived seeds keep it reappearing throughout the season. On the plus side, it is very easy to pull out because it has shallow roots. It is also easy to smother with mulch, but you may not want to, once you try eating it. Purslane is quite tasty as far as weeds go.
Sour Grass Oxalis
This perennial, shamrock–looking plant is very hard to completely eradicate because it grows from underground bulbs. When the leaves are pulled, the bulbs stay behind and continue to multiply. Continuous pulling will weaken the bulbs and make it harder for them to grow. Mulch heavily. They do have sunny, yellow flowers that blossom in late winter when there is not a lot else blooming. The plants also make kids very happy because they love to chew on the sour-tasting stems.
Happy Gardening!
Feature photo of dandelion is from https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
