Lawn herbs

[kappydell]

Today (actually yesterday) I found my first 'new' (since moving across the country) lawn herb.  It's my old pal, potentilla, or five-finger grass.  A very low sprawl kind, but then again, its early spring and it just came up.  I feel  better now - when I moved I 'lost' all my lawn food & herbs: plantain, chicory, dock, potentilla, yarrow, dandelions, sow thistle, garlic mustard, motherwort, st. johns wort, shepherds purse, highbush cranberry, wild mints, nettles, etc.  Most are nation wide 'weeds' but I have to locate picking patches all over again!  So now I have the first one and I'm sure, more to follow!  Yay, me!  (Of course, I'm not against selectively planting my own 'wild' patches if I can't find the ones I want.....)

[Ambergris]

I spent an hour looking about the new yard today, coincidentally enough.  Found palmetto, blackberry, dewberry, a cactus, bidens, cleavers, sassafras, yellow sorrel, what might be black medic, rose, sasparilla/smilax, satsuma (of course), rabbiteye blueberry, and a lot of question marks.  Bought a new book, and will be carrying samples to it or vice versa when I can bend over a little better (or can borrow a kid to bring me samples).

 

[Jeepers]

Ambergris, if you have a camera with a zoom on it you could take a picture and look at the plant that way. Then you could make a digital 'book' with the picture and description and how to use it. Memories being what they are. 

 

I've done similar things just using a Word document. You can put a picture on it and resize it then type anything on it you want.

[Ambergris]

Cool. Thanks!

[kappydell]

Good idea, maybe I'll start doing that.  Bought tags so I can mark trees as to identity....don't want to accidentally take out the redbuds, for example, thinking they are gum trees.  Mary wants to clear out more of the jungle, but does not want to take any of the established desirable trees.  We 'found' our elderberry that we brought from home....we will put it down in our streamside 'wild' area.  

[Ambergris]

Elderberry loves wet feet.

Note that gum does not burn.  It sits there and sulks forever in a fire.  You're better off chipping it up for mulch or hugel-wood.

I read that the Cherokee used redbud for cough syrup.  It is cousin to the black cherry, after all.

[Jeepers]

Here is an example of something I did with just a Word Document and some Internet pictures. It's 2 pages but it might only show one. Hope it works.

 

Stitch.docx

 

It worked! You have to say 'open' to see it. It's safe...I promise! It's my own document.

 

 

Edited March 11, 2018 by Jeepers
Added info

[kappydell]

Found some plantain yesterday...the folks that brought in the house scoured off what used to be the grass & topsoil prepping the site.  It is largely red clay, but here and there those indomitable weeds are popping up.  The plantain is not as wide as I had 'up north' but otherwise it is the same.  Also saw my first armadillo yesterday evening, crossing the road in front of my car.  So now I have potentilla 'five finger grass' and plantain lanceolata so far....that and the redbud and nut trees that I have identified as 'desireable'  lawn dwellers.  

'

[Ambergris]

http://www.eattheweeds.com

[kappydell]

Ambergris, that is one of my favorite sites (!) along with eattheinvaders.org

If you cant eradicate 'em, might as well eat 'em!

[The WE2's]

On 3/13/2018 at 2:37 PM, kappydell said:

Found some plantain yesterday...the folks that brought in the house scoured off what used to be the grass & topsoil prepping the site.  It is largely red clay, but here and there those indomitable weeds are popping up.  The plantain is not as wide as I had 'up north' but otherwise it is the same.  Also saw my first armadillo yesterday evening, crossing the road in front of my car.  So now I have potentilla 'five finger grass' and plantain lanceolata so far....that and the redbud and nut trees that I have identified as 'desireable'  lawn dwellers.  

'

 

I dug some plantain from the "yard at large" and planted it in my "wild section" so I know it doesn't have any contaminates etc...other than what comes from the sky.  Still looking for somebody that's got Comfrey that's not contaminated so I can plant some of it.  Cut down a really nice "wild lettuce" stalk last year (Mr's idea) before we realized it's medicinal properties...so now I'll be looking around the place for another start so I can transplant it into the wild section.

[kappydell]

I'm thinking of transplanting some chickweed an cleavers from a friends flower bed area to a wild patch.  They are just about salad size right now, and she just laughs when I suggest she try some....I had some last year and the salad was delicious.  the kudzu is blooming now; not that I want to transplant that,  but I might go get permission to cut some for basket making.  I'm told it is superior basket material, pliable and easy to use.  Again, all I get are odd looks and chuckles.....it's not easy being green, as Mr. K. T. Frog sang so long ago.

Edited March 23, 2018 by kappydell

[Ambergris]

Kudzu tastes good--I wouldn't have trouble eating the vine tips, young leaves, and jelly from the flowers on a regular basis. The roots are supposed to be good too.  The seeds are not.

 

I seriously dislike cleavers. Sometimes I get little blisters on my hands after I touch it.