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What woodland "weeds" to keep?

 
Posts: 2
Location: Zone 5, NE Wisconsin
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We just moved to a home on the edge of a small woods. Basically the middle our large "block" was designated a nature conservancy and is owned by the town. There is also a creek that runs through our property. I'm starting to clear some space for planting edibles but I'm trying to be careful about not removing anything that would be useful in a food forest. I've been using the Picture This app to id each plant before I pull it. Any thoughts on the plants I've listed below? Any weeds to look out for to particularly protect or even propagate?

Nightshade - I did pull a bunch of this because having anything toxic, particularly berries, seems risky as I have a kid and dog. Is there a strong case to keep any?
Wood violets - they seem aggressive. Is that a good enough reason to try to fight them? I think they are pretty and like the idea of edible flowers
Wild rose (pasture, carolina?) - is this aggressive? It seems to be suckering and looks like it didn't bloom this year. I'm not sure if that's because it's in too much shade or it was aggressively cut down recently.
Lamb's quarters - I've read it's edible so I'm keeping it for now. It couldn't compete much with the nightshade and I love leafy greens so I'm excited to cook some up.  
White avens and burdock - I've been pulling anything that makes burrs. We have a poodle so I can't deal with that. Is there an argument for keeping them?
Jewelweed - it's so pretty and I've seen hummingbirds on it. It is everywhere which makes me nervous that it's aggressive?
Lemon balm - I'm assuming this was intentionally planted. I've read it's super aggressive but it didn't seem to be competing well with the nightshade. Do I need to pull it now that the nightshade is gone?
Buckthorn and white mulberry - these are invasive and should be aggressively removed, correct?
 
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Welcome to the forum!

Has your app identified anything not useful?
 
Amanda McConnell
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Location: Zone 5, NE Wisconsin
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Anne Miller wrote:

Has your app identified anything not useful?



I guess I was looking for more experienced advice on which plants are actually useful. I've mostly just been googling whether they are edible. I'm very new to permaculture and it's already going against my traditional gardening experience not to just cover everything with cardboard and mulch lol

I don't have a lot of space so I want to be as intentional as possible about what stays vs is replaced by something more useful.
 
Anne Miller
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Amanda, I have found while IDing plants on my property that almost all plants are useful.

The weed I used to dislike the most is used as animal fodder.  It is called Burr clover.

I have not found a use for Sand Spurs except to use my time to pull out of the dogs feet.  So I ask Mr google who told me that they are edible after removing the spines, and the seeds can be used to make flour or porridge.

I have even found some Cockleburs and found that these are useful for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which may help protect the skin, speed wound healing, and potentially reduce wrinkles according to Mr Google.

And yes, almost ever weed is edible ...  Do I want to eat them?  Probably not.
 
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Location: Milwaukie Oregon, USA zone 8b
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I think that in your case pulling out things that are toxic to the dog, or which will be a pain in the ass to untangle from its fur, is wise.  When it comes to things that are prolific but you can eat, a lot of people will not pull it all out, but will keep an eye on it to make sure you have some but it doesn't run rampant and use up your whole space.

Another thing to consider is how you want to handle invasives.  A lot of permies see some value in them if they're useful, again its more about management than totally irraticating them for many.  Sure some people don't want them at all, but for many of us there's a more nuanced approach to it than there was back 20 years ago and since fully fighting them is a never-ending battle many of us want to manage rather than try to irradicate fully.
 
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