Hey, Jill, right on!
Yes Maureen and anyone else, it's true that harmony with nature and benefitting from all things, excellent for permaculture system mentality, is to learn the good of what's already there. A weed is only really a plant that is unwanted for not knowing of its goodness. Like Jill, I don't know of the other plants you speak of but I really needed to excitedly second the suggestion of Amaranth and Lambs Quarters as excellent edibles. The greens are great, super-tasty and totally nutritious...wasn't Amaranth a staple of the Aztecs? But additionally the seed they produce, is so abundant and rich and easy to harvest. And Lambs Quarters has this magical "bloom" of irredecent mineral crystals covering the leaves...probably some major secret nutrients in there. Surely, becuase these have "weed" status, it means they're widespread, tenacious and therefore grow easily, which to my mind is definitly a bonus. I've spent the last few summers regularly feeding on weeds, and it's wonder
ful to do this kind of thing everyday in a sandwich...fresh chickweed with an onion and tomato sandwich keeps you strong. I've only had a suburban sized plot of land to see this in...when I soon will be on my acreage, I've no doubt in my mind, and all kinds of positive enthusiam for the notion of actually encouraging fieldlets of these kinds of plants. And it's true that with just the slightest bit of nurture, like non-crowding and a touch of love, these once-was weeds will rise into magnificent beasts of plenty. You can get a tree out of a Lambs Quarter. It even works ornamentally, too.
The opposite of not seeing the beauty and usefullness of what naturally comes leads to poisons and petunias purchased from plastic boxes from store. This world and us has had quite enough of that.
This is my first post! This list rocks!
Brad aka EcoFreako.
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