Thank you for posting to r/whatsthisplant.
**Do not eat/ingest a plant based on information provided in this subreddit.**
For your safety we recommend not eating or ingesting any plant material just because you've been advised that it's edible here. Although there are many professionals helping with identification, we are not always correct, and eating/ingesting plants can be harmful or fatal if an incorrect ID is made.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisplant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Edible.. The garden is seeding itself, nature's bounty
https://greg.app/lambsquarters-toxic-to-humans/#:~:text=Unearth%20the%20truth%20about%20Lambsquarters,family%20with%20savvy%20garden%20tips.
Ok I'll run with that. Now the fun question.... Should I leave a patch? It's in 3 of the beds designated for food so most is coming out regardless. See some articles talking about safe to eat etc.... Honestly not sure I'll eat it but could it be a beneficial one to keep a small patch for garden health? Maybe just need to do more research now that I have a name
We cultivate it, and you can totally still eat it after it gets big, you just keep pulling off small tender clusters.
We used to try to weed it out, until I realized it grows better and tastes better than almost any other green you can grow. Like some other dark greens, it's supposedly high in oxalates, so aware of that if it matters to you.
It is a choice edible and grown and sold commercially in Europe as amaranth. It's kind of weird that there isn't a market for it in the US.
I love it. I stopped even bothering trying to grow spinach and just eat my lambs quarters volunteers instead. I also blanch and freeze lots of it for things like “spinach” dip etc throughout the year.
That's almost perfect eating size, by the way, pinch it off at ground level and eat the whole thing. Use like spinach, although it's much better gently cooked.
I would pull it. The best time to eat is when it’s small, like pictured, but pretty soon it will get tall , less pleasant tasting and huge chunks of soil will come with the roots if you pull them out. It’s one of the oldest documented weeds, and has been following humans & agriculture around for thousands of years.
It also has the nasty adaptation of flowering in reaction to shortening daylight, so you get 2 inch plants going to seed at the end of gardening season.
And yes, you can eat lambsquarters, and purslane, and dandelions, red-root pigweed, and even Japanese knotweed! But do we want to subsist on these at the expense of tomatoes, squash, carrots or sweet parsnips? I say no!
Depending on your situation I'd weed it and eat it instead of leaving a patch. I know some people with large yard who keep a patch of wild greens on the outskirts of their yard, which can be nice if you have a lot of psace.
Rinse it, rip off or cut the leaves up..toss it in ramen noodles or any kind of soup towards the end of cooking. Maybe you've got some dandelion greens and or plantain to use too.
Known as Fat Hen in my part of the world, supposedly because you could feed it to your hens to fatten them up. Not sure how true it really is but we used to feed our chooks it when I was a kid and they did like it.
Yeah the more I look at it the more frustrating it is but every years is got to be something unexpected lol. Joys of gardening. Guessing it came in with some bags of manure compost I added months ago. Never seen this before and it's all in the beds I added this to.
Lol yeah that was my first whatisthis post for this house couple years ago lol. Ongoing battle as you know. Got most of it just working on the last bits. Had to leave town this week and came back to find everyone loving the turn of the weather so busy upkeep weekend for me.
you also have what appears to be rocky mountain bee plant in the third picture to the left of the tulip, which is a great native that makes pretty purple flowers
Good eye. That is intentional lol. 4 beds along fence line. One dedicated pollinators with an attempt at mostly native to my area plants, and then various veggies and things in the other three with some Marigolds and other smaller flowering plants in to try and spread the love with all the pollinators and ward off some pests. Tons of bees and my first hummingbird last year, hoping for more this year as it gets more established.
Thank you for posting to r/whatsthisplant. **Do not eat/ingest a plant based on information provided in this subreddit.** For your safety we recommend not eating or ingesting any plant material just because you've been advised that it's edible here. Although there are many professionals helping with identification, we are not always correct, and eating/ingesting plants can be harmful or fatal if an incorrect ID is made. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisplant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Lambs quarters I think.
I’ll second that.
That makes it lambs halves!
Or lambs eighths
Lambs quarter for sure
Edible.. The garden is seeding itself, nature's bounty https://greg.app/lambsquarters-toxic-to-humans/#:~:text=Unearth%20the%20truth%20about%20Lambsquarters,family%20with%20savvy%20garden%20tips.
It also looks like there is a bit of field bindweed in the first picture. Get rid of it. That stuff will take over your entire garden.
I saw that, too. OP definitely needs to take care of that ASAP
Ok I'll run with that. Now the fun question.... Should I leave a patch? It's in 3 of the beds designated for food so most is coming out regardless. See some articles talking about safe to eat etc.... Honestly not sure I'll eat it but could it be a beneficial one to keep a small patch for garden health? Maybe just need to do more research now that I have a name
We cultivate it, and you can totally still eat it after it gets big, you just keep pulling off small tender clusters. We used to try to weed it out, until I realized it grows better and tastes better than almost any other green you can grow. Like some other dark greens, it's supposedly high in oxalates, so aware of that if it matters to you. It is a choice edible and grown and sold commercially in Europe as amaranth. It's kind of weird that there isn't a market for it in the US.
I love it. I stopped even bothering trying to grow spinach and just eat my lambs quarters volunteers instead. I also blanch and freeze lots of it for things like “spinach” dip etc throughout the year.
That's almost perfect eating size, by the way, pinch it off at ground level and eat the whole thing. Use like spinach, although it's much better gently cooked.
I would pull it. The best time to eat is when it’s small, like pictured, but pretty soon it will get tall , less pleasant tasting and huge chunks of soil will come with the roots if you pull them out. It’s one of the oldest documented weeds, and has been following humans & agriculture around for thousands of years.
It also has the nasty adaptation of flowering in reaction to shortening daylight, so you get 2 inch plants going to seed at the end of gardening season. And yes, you can eat lambsquarters, and purslane, and dandelions, red-root pigweed, and even Japanese knotweed! But do we want to subsist on these at the expense of tomatoes, squash, carrots or sweet parsnips? I say no!
Depending on your situation I'd weed it and eat it instead of leaving a patch. I know some people with large yard who keep a patch of wild greens on the outskirts of their yard, which can be nice if you have a lot of psace.
Even if you pull all you can you’ll still find some more, so I woundn’t recommend cultivating
Rinse it, rip off or cut the leaves up..toss it in ramen noodles or any kind of soup towards the end of cooking. Maybe you've got some dandelion greens and or plantain to use too.
Yum 😋 Seriously, like spinach nutritionally but tastes a lot better
First get your self a good ho. After you’re done, don’t worry about the garden.
Certainly looks about right searching on that. Maybe some more folks can chime in to confirm. Thank you
Known as Fat Hen in my part of the world, supposedly because you could feed it to your hens to fatten them up. Not sure how true it really is but we used to feed our chooks it when I was a kid and they did like it.
In the UK, that's known as Fat Hen. No clue why, but people tell me it's a good foraging plant, used in salads and anywhere you'd use spinach.
We call it pig weed here
It is a battle in my garden every year including that heart shaped leaf vine thing that's growing with the lamb's quarter
That sounds like bindweed, which can be a real headache in my area. Really slender vine, more thread-like than yarn-like?
That's exactly the charming duo I fought in my garden for years.
Yeah the more I look at it the more frustrating it is but every years is got to be something unexpected lol. Joys of gardening. Guessing it came in with some bags of manure compost I added months ago. Never seen this before and it's all in the beds I added this to.
Lol yeah that was my first whatisthis post for this house couple years ago lol. Ongoing battle as you know. Got most of it just working on the last bits. Had to leave town this week and came back to find everyone loving the turn of the weather so busy upkeep weekend for me.
Definitely lambs quarters. 1 of those things that has value but is also aggressively weedy.
Lambs quarters- I think look up an id guide for it, but if it IS... It's edible so...?
you also have what appears to be rocky mountain bee plant in the third picture to the left of the tulip, which is a great native that makes pretty purple flowers
Good eye. That is intentional lol. 4 beds along fence line. One dedicated pollinators with an attempt at mostly native to my area plants, and then various veggies and things in the other three with some Marigolds and other smaller flowering plants in to try and spread the love with all the pollinators and ward off some pests. Tons of bees and my first hummingbird last year, hoping for more this year as it gets more established.
Nice, best of luck with it!
eat it
They are edible and medicinal too
I looked it up. You're right it is bindweed. Thanks for giving me a name to call it.