I'm trying to learn more about the more common weeds I have since I spend so much of my day with them. So I've got several books I've been trying to id them in but it hasn't been going very well so I thought maybe y'all could help me with 2 I've been working on. Or if anyone has a suggestion for a good book to help me with this that would be appreciated as well.
Here's the first one. I have no idea what it is but they are all over in all my beds.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Jeff
This one, I believe is Lamb's quarters but I'd like it if y'all could confirm that because I've read its leaves are edible.
Jeff
Yep that Lambsquarters. The first one is most likely Ragweed,but Spanish Needle is a possibility. http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/50799/
Does Lambsquarters have a white powder on the top of the leaves.I have another with a pink powdery substance on the leaves
Charlie
This message was edited May 5, 2007 4:46 PM
Thanks Farmerdill,
I believe you're right about the Ragweed. That was one of my possible suspects. It's just so hard to tell from the books I got, most of them have drawings that are hard to compare to the real thing.
I believe I'll try eating some of the lamb's quarters. Weeding by eating the plant seems fair to me.
I've been working on insects as well and I've got mexican bean beetles eating lots of holes in my snap bean leafs. If only I could convince them to eat the Lamb's Quarters instead...
I agree with you jkehl - eating the weeds IS the ultimate revenge!
try the lambs quarter- I like them
I did eat some the other day. Didn't seem to have much taste to me, just tasted like lettuce. But it has been so dry here a lot of the leaf vegetables are kind of tasteless. On the plus side, I didn't die or anything so it probably is lamb's quarter :)
Ok, I have a couple of new villains I have been dealing with. This one I particularly hate because I can't find the actual plant. Suddenly some of my vegetables will be strangled by these small orange vines. Much as I try I can't trace it back to a plant. Anyone have any idea what this is? That used to be spinach underneath it there...
This message was edited May 25, 2007 8:04 PM
Another weed I'm trying to identify. This one is interesting because every one I pull has ants feeding on its roots. So I guess they must be sweet or something...
On this one, I must confess I may have planted it... It looks like a veggie and they are only growing on the edge of my beans but they aren't beans and I dunno what the heck they are... Any help most appreciated.
And finally, this one is a weed I'd like to identify so I could grow more of it. This thing has the most vivid orange flowers. Hopefully the photo comes through to show how glorious this thing is. I found it in the middle of a path along veggie rows.
The first one is dodder: http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/TRA/dodder.html #2b reminds me of sorrel, but it doesn't appear to be the common form. # 3 If it isn't a bean, it fooled me. #4. looks like Chigger weed http://www.easywildflowers.com/quality/asc.tub.htm
Thanks Farmerdill,
I'm a bit concerned after reading that Dodder link.
"Allowing dodder to spread in a field or garden area is asking for an increase in the plant diseases this parasite is capable of spreading. "
"Pulling and destroying dodder infected plants is recommended."
I'm going to lose some Spinach, Carrots, Onion, Flax and lettuce tomorrow. If only I could burn them... Guess I'll just carry them far into the woods.
I love the other names for it, about sums up how I feel about it.
"Other names of this parasite include love vine, strangleweed, devil's-guts , goldthread, pull-down, devil's-ringlet, hellbine, hairweed, devil's-hair, and hailweed."
Jeff
I've never dealt with it but I think I'd bag it for the trash/landfill- really get rid of it!! I find 'devil's guts' very ...creative.
It is mean stuff, in my youth the fall hay crop was lespideza. Dodder would pull down whole sections of the field. You probably have the seeds in the ground, unlikely that it came in with type of plants that you mentioned. If you keep it from seeding you may gradually dimnished it, but plan for a long war.
Yeah, it was definetly here when I arrived because I see it in the weeds out in the woods too. But it is only in isolated areas in the garden at the moment. So I think if I pull any host I see it attach to eventually I'll get rid of it.
The only thing that hurts is that it is in a small bed my wife and daughter claimed for their own. They planted a 'stew garden' so it has potatos, onions and carrots in it. Dodder has got about 1/3 of the carrots and 1/4 of the onions that I'll have to pull up.
I also have a pretty large bed of flax (20'x80') just staring to go to seed that I have it in so that may be more logistically problematic.
Jeff
That last weed w/ the orange flower seemed like it might be butterfly weed?????
Friends and I once made up our own names for our worse weeds and came up with "creeping damnit" and "wartbane." any others from you guys?
Toni
LOL I will call it Creeping Damnit from now on because that makes me laugh but I actually kind of liked that one...
I can't top "creeping damnit"! ha ha ha
I have a few follow-up pics of the plant above I wasn't sure if it was a bean or a weed. It's definetly not the same as my beans because it is 4' tall now and they are only 12-18" tall. It is suspicious though that the only place I have found them is in my bean patch. Seems like a few seeds in the wrong packet...
Bean or weed photo 2
Bean or weed 3
Here's a closeup of the orange flowers/seedpods.
This next weed is unrelated to the one pictured above. I found it growing out of my wood pile in my greenhouse/shed. It started growing this year and now has a stem 2" thick and leaves 18" in diameter. Oh yeah and it's now 8' tall and about to grow through the ceiling... This plant really frightens me... Anyone know what it is?
Here's my hand against a leaf to show the scale...
You might want to ask in the plant ID forum. I have seen that last one but don't remember a name for it.
The plant with the extra large leaves, looks like a Dombeya Wallichii, Tropical Hydrangea.
The one by the beans. Is one of the first weeds to occupy. a vacated hog yard. the leaves are somewhat velvety, some people call it a velvet weed. and some call it a button weed for the shape of the seed pods. If they get a start they will take over. We seem to have a quite a few of them around. Tho I am not sure of the real name. I deffinatly pull any I find. I can burn so that is where they go. I don't want to take any chance the seeds will take even if they are imature.
I had to cut them out of bean fields by hand . before they come with round up ready beans. Not a fun job when the humidity is ninety% with 95 degree temp.
Thanks Randbponder. I will pull them out today. They're close to going to seed.
The plant idenitification people say the big one in my shed is Paulownia tomentosa, Korean Foxglove. I'm pretty sure they're right because I cut down a tree in that area that looked like pictures of Korean Foxglove.
Thanks for all of the help on this thread. Seems I have a lot of invasive weeds....
jkehl; Your welcome; Your posts were of interest, So were farmerdill's, and everyone elses responce.
Oh and I have tried lambs quarter, cooked. It reminded me too much of the over cooked spinich. A small amount in a salad isn't too bad though. Trouble is, it grows faster than you could possibly keep up.
((*-*)) Besides I prefer spinich and Swiss Chard for salad greens.
Thanks for posting. Russ
Pic 4 looks like English Plantain. If so, it's typically a lawn pest.
Velvet Leaf is quite common in farm country. I just pulled one from a flower pot yesterday..
Rutger's has a good weed site... http://njaes.rutgers.edu/weeds/thumbnail.asp
Post #3536177 looks to be Buckhorn Plantain (Plantago lanceolata). That weed site is great. :)
