• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • John F Dean
  • Timothy Norton
  • Nancy Reading
  • r ranson
  • Jay Angler
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • paul wheaton
  • Tereza Okava
  • Andrés Bernal
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
gardeners:
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • M Ljin
  • Matt McSpadden

What in the world is this? - lamb's quarters

 
Posts: 25
1
  • Likes 8
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I got black dirt this year sourced "Organically" from a local guy scraping soil off an old farm supposedly. We'll it's loaded with clay and now I have this weed I've never had on our property before this year. I mean it is everywhere now. Any ideas on what is invading my garden?
20250712_182653.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20250712_182653.jpg]
20250712_182658.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20250712_182658.jpg]
20250712_182715.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20250712_182715.jpg]
 
gardener
Posts: 1766
Location: the mountains of western nc
555
forest garden trees foraging chicken food preservation wood heat
  • Likes 14
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
lamb’s quarter/fat hen. Chenopodium album. my absolute favorite weed and my favorite wild green.
 
Josh Dagle
Posts: 25
1
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I've been ripping it out constantly. What is it good for?
 
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6738
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3614
cat pig rocket stoves
  • Likes 10
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
According to Google,
Lamb's quarter benefits
The leaves of C. album contain various nutrients such as protein, fat, fiber, minerals and vitamins. Moreover, it is also a good source of iron and calcium. Chenopodium album has many medicinal properties such as antimicrobial, antihelmintic, antioxidant, antidiarrheal, and hepato-protective.

Lots more info out there.
 
master pollinator
Posts: 5211
Location: Due to winter mortality, I stubbornly state, zone 7a Tennessee
2205
7
forest garden foraging books food preservation cooking fiber arts bee medical herbs
  • Likes 14
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Use the leaves in any recipe that calls for spinach.
 
Josh Dagle
Posts: 25
1
  • Likes 10
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Wow, I guess I've been ripping out something useful
 
greg mosser
gardener
Posts: 1766
Location: the mountains of western nc
555
forest garden trees foraging chicken food preservation wood heat
  • Likes 12
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
the name ‘fat hen’ refers to how good a chicken forage/feed it is, too, because of the nutritional profile.
 
Rusticator
Posts: 9191
Location: Missouri Ozarks
4966
7
personal care gear foraging hunting rabbit chicken cooking food preservation fiber arts medical herbs homestead
  • Likes 11
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Well, Josh, it seems like your local guy has given you an excellent gift!! Welcome to permies, where we reveal the gifts of nature!! LOL!
 
steward
Posts: 17437
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4458
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Likes 8
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I agree with Carla, a gift.  Try eating it and report back ...
 
out to pasture
Posts: 12792
Location: Portugal
3787
goat dog duck forest garden books wofati bee solar rocket stoves greening the desert
  • Likes 15
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
That's my favourite weed, er, free crop!

I positively encourage it to fill up empty space in my veggie garden.

Here's a couple of photos I took last month - it's just starting to get past its best at this time of year where I live...



I always leave enough to seed and it's vigourous enough to grow up through the mulch. I let it form a nice filler between my 'real' veggie plants but have to remove some around the smaller ones before it swamps them.



I pluck the leaves off and put them in a bowl with some boiling water, which is enough cooking in my opinion. Then they get stirred into cooked rice for a quick salad at this time of year, when it's getting too hot to want to cook every day.
 
master gardener
Posts: 4647
Location: Carlton County, Minnesota, USA: 3b; Dfb; sandy loam; in the woods
2392
7
forest garden trees chicken food preservation cooking fiber arts woodworking homestead ungarbage
  • Likes 11
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I think I'm about 70 miles SE of you and it's ubiquitous here -- so even if it's new to your property, it's normal in the 'northland'. It's also one of the quelites encouraged by Mexican campesenos growing in milpa. I cut the tips off and saute them with garlic and olive oil or fold them into scrambled eggs or just add them to salad. They do get a sort of dusty texture that takes getting used to.
 
pollinator
Posts: 2711
Location: RRV of da Nort, USA
810
  • Likes 13
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Yup...still a good time to be picking and eating this in N. Minnesota.  A favorite use this time of year is to mix it with swiss chard, a bit of pigweed greens, fresh picked oregano, and garlic (greens or bulbs)....sautee in olive oil and add tomato sauce (frozen from last year).  That sauce is a base for spaghetti/lasagna, pizza, and egg frittatas.  My wife will eat uncooked, mixed with salad greens, purslane from the garden, and in sandwiches.   Not necessarily based on research, but I like to eat a few leaves with every pass through the garden to additionally dose my gut flora with local garden bacteria. Photo below is a variant that I introduced into the garden some years back and it is doing well with self-seeding.  (Chenopodium amaranticolor.  Photo source: https://www.maltawildplants.com/AMAR/Chenopodium_album_subsp_amaranticolor.php )
Camaranticolor.jpg
[Thumbnail for Camaranticolor.jpg]
 
Joylynn Hardesty
master pollinator
Posts: 5211
Location: Due to winter mortality, I stubbornly state, zone 7a Tennessee
2205
7
forest garden foraging books food preservation cooking fiber arts bee medical herbs
  • Likes 11
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

They do get a sort of dusty texture that takes getting used to.



I don't taste the 'dusty' in cooked dishes. If eating it in a salad, it's not noticeable if you use less than 1/4 of it mixed with other greens. You don't need to drown it in dressing either.
 
If you like strawberry rhubarb pie, try blueberry rhubarb (bluebarb) pie. And try this tiny ad:
Perennial Vegetables: How to Use Them to Save Time and Energy
https://permies.com/t/96921/Planting-Perennial-Vegetables-Homestead
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic