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Weeds

Weeds. Objective: Students will identify and use edible weeds from the garden. Weed definition and impacts. Weed refers to any unwanted plant in your garden. There are approximately 250,000 species of plants in the world. Around 200 species are considered to be major weeds.

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Weeds

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  1. Weeds Objective: Students will identify and use edible weeds from the garden

  2. Weed definition and impacts • Weed refers to any unwanted plant in your garden. • There are approximately 250,000 species of plants in the world. • Around 200 species are considered to be major weeds. Web-based resources: http://weedid.aces.uiuc.edu/ http://www.ppws.vt.edu/weedindex.htm

  3. Impacts of weeds • Lowers crop yields and quality. • Less efficient use of land. • Higher cost of insect and plant disease control. e.g. Onion thrips live on ragweed and mustard and later infest onions.

  4. What is an ideal weed? • Germination requirements fulfilled in many environments. • Rapid growth from vegetative to flowering stage. • Very high seed output in favorable environmental conditions • Examples: • Redroot pigweed produces 117,400 seeds/plant • Common purslane produces 52,300 seeds/plant.

  5. What is an ideal weed? • Great longevity of seeds • Germination after 40 years: • 38% of velvetleaf • 7% of lambsquarters • Adaptations for short-distance and long-distance dispersal • Weeds may spread through wind, water, humans or machinery • May have special adaptations that may help them spread. • Example: hooks or spines that cling to fur or fleece of animals or to people’s clothing.

  6. Edible weeds • Grains ( Amaranth, Chenopodium) • Leafy greens (purslane, dandelion) • Beverages (chicory root) • Flavorings • Herb and curatives

  7. Amaranth and pigweed • Includes numerous species in genus Amaranthus • Leaves and seeds are edible • Leaves • Harvest when plant is young - only a few inches high • Mild flavor • Seed • Can be roasted and ground • Make pancakes, muffins, biscuits by mixing with wheat flour

  8. Quinoa & Lambsquarters (Chenopodium) • Important food for 6000 yrs • Leaves & seed are edible • Leaves • Harvest only the young shoots soon after they unfold • Discard older leaves and tough stems • Can add washed leaves to salads • Seed – Quinoa • Incas called it “mother of all grains”

  9. Dandelion • Young leaves are added to salads and sandwiches and are also boiled for soups • Increases appetite and promotes digestion • Acts as a stimulant but mostly used to treat kidney and liver disorders

  10. Purslane • Succulent plant, common garden weed • Stems, leaves, and flower buds are edible • Has mild acidic taste • Has mucilaginous characteristic, so good for thickening soup and stew • Can grind up the seed to make a flour

  11. Chicory Root • Common caffeine free substitute for coffee when roasted and ground • Used in the treatment of gout and jaundice • Also a natural sedative and used as a diuretic and mild laxative

  12. Making herbal teas • Start with a single or couple of ingredients • Use ingredients whose aroma you like • Select ingredients to treat your problems or to calm and soothe

  13. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) • Used in Salads • Remedy for severe colds, fevers, and measles • Reputation for preventing baldness • Used to cure rheumatism and toothaches in Norway • Used for the manufacture of beer in Sweden and Africa

  14. Chickweed (Cerastium fontanum) • Can be boiled like spinach and also used in salads • Used in ointment form as a remedy for a carbuncle or an external abscess • Is used to help constipation, coughs, and hoarseness

  15. Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) • Used for headaches • Useful for fevers, ulcers, inflammation of the eye, and pleurisy • Helps with bowel problems, earaches, and back pains • Used to treat severe bleeding wounds in Jamaica • Can be used as an antidote to poisoning

  16. Plantain (Plantago major L.) • Used in ointments for the treatment of burns, scalds, insect bites, and to stop bleeding • Has been used to help inflammation of the skin, ulcers, and fevers • Also good against epilepsy, dropsy, jaundice, and reduces obstructions of the liver and spleen

  17. Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) • Anti-asthmatic • Good for the kidneys • Strengthens hair making it soft and shiny • Used in feed for livestock causing cows to produce more milk and helping animal’s digestive tracts

  18. Goldenrod (Solidago arguta) • Aquaretic Agent: promotes the loss of water from the body • Mostly used to treat urinary tract inflammation and to prevent kidney stones • Also helps allergies, arthritis, colds and flu, laryngitis, and sore throats

  19. Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis L.) • Used as a diuretic, laxative, and hepatic to help the liver • Also helps treat skin problems such as eczema and acne • Sometimes used as an eye wash to help the mucous membrane in the inner eyelid

  20. Quackgrass (Elymus repens) • Root juice is used to help the obstruction of intestines, specifically scirrhous liver and jaundice • Remedy in suppression of urine and stones in the bladder • Was formerly taken to purify blood in the spring

  21. Blessed Thistle (Cnicus benedictus) • Used as a stimulant, to increase perspiration, induce vomiting • Used to acquire a proper supply of milk to nursing mothers • It is good for headaches and body aches and helps the memory

  22. Kudzu Root (Pueraria montana) • Used in stirfries and in teas • Also used to reduce alcohol cravings and hangovers • They help treat colds and may help prevent cancer and heart disease • Also restores hormone balance

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