An important trip to the beach farm yesterday to see how things are doing. It is very hard to get to the farm this spring -way too many activities. In fact, the rush of spring food gardening is outside of my favored behavior. It's a lot of do it now! Our small plot hasn't helped matters, either, where quick decisions have led to cramped quarters and footprints on young seedlings.
But yesterday had the nicest weather of my spring visits thanks to only light winds. The great growing weather we've been having lately has been a boon to the vegetables as well as the weeds. Little to harvest in the plot, my favorite part came to be harvesting the wild garlic which is abundant, and everywhere you look around the beach farm.
Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale -king of the weeds, rising above the courtesan Dead Nettles and Chickweed. I'm told you can batter and fry the flowers, while the young greens are sought after by some for salads and cooking.
The field of Herb Robert, Geranium robertianium? I hear it may be edible, but I cannot imagine which part -the root? Wait, wait. Maybe it's Filaree, Erodium spp. Don't eat anything before you're sure!
What I believe is Field Forget-Me-Not, Myosotis arvensis
A closer look.
And finally, the wild garlic, Allium vineale. Easy to confuse with the wild onion, A. canadense, in the field and the internet. Apparently two distinguishing characteristics: wild garlic has hollow round stems and unsheathed bulbs, whereas the wild onion has flattened stems and fibrous-sheathing on its bulb. I'm going to add another -notice the curvy scape-like stems/leaves? My cultivated garlic will grow curving scapes in May, which I am eagerly awaiting. The scape is the flowering "stem" that will eventually produce bulblets.
Those are wild garlic scapes? They look completely different from the plants I've bee pulling up in the woods. I haven't seen the twisty bits yet - maybe because yours are in full sun. The bulbs are delicious!
ReplyDeletethe herb Robert I've not tried but it is the leaves - young - that are edible, according to various reliable sources.
Your weeds are so familiar. I was wondering about the pink flower recently myself, but came up with Erodium cicutarium (Filaree) as a name instead when trying to identify it. They are related at least though, which is comforting. Hope you enjoyed your trip. It was a great weekend to be in the garden.
ReplyDeleteMarie, they sure tasted like garlic.
ReplyDeleteSweetgum, you just may be right on that. I need to find more specific identifying traits.