Lambs Quarter

Potatoes and onions growing!

Spring is gardening time!


 Any self respecting gardener knows though you plant before spring gets here!  Potatoes and onions are always planted in late February to early March. These are both root crops (which means they grow--their fruit below the ground) so they can take a little more cold than tender veggies that are more sun loving! 

But today's crop is known as Lambs Quarter.

Lambs Quarter up close and personal.

This little known plant is rated #1 as the most nutricious plant with the USDA! It is well known in naturalists' circles. It packs a powerful dose of antioxidants and vitamins that we need in our bodies.  It is a natural blood enhancer too. The funny thing about this little weed, I mean healthy plant, is it comes up anywhere and is usually mistaken for a weed.

Just pinch-off the top 

 It springs up around the edges of my family's garden. One family member remembers picking it out of the ditch as a child! You just pinch-off the young tender leaves. You leave the plant for regrowth. (Its cousin is spinach.)

And then you wash it, wash it, wash it.
You might check for bugs or worms at this point too--just saying!

Pick a heaping amount because it cooks down. Although you can eat it raw in salads and sandwiches, I have not tried that yet. 

Too cook, get your water boiling and drop the greens right into the boiling water. They will turn the most luscious shade of green rather quickly. (I know I should have thought to take pictures of the cooking process but I did not--please forgive.) 

Only leave the leaves in the water for a few minutes and then remove.  The cooking water is loaded with powerful vitamins too so feel free to drink up! This step tenderizes the plant and brings out the nutrients. (It also kills anything you might have missed earlier--see picture--lol)

 Now switch over to your skillet and saute these little greens with the seasonings of your delight. We used bacon drippings, butter, olive oil, garlic, onion, garlic pepper and a smidge of salt. Also vinegar or Tabasco as a topper if you like. Simply delicious!  

Take a minute at your next meal and thank the good Lord for the farmer who raised the food you are about to eat! 

PLOWING!

Upper left before chiseled and sweep, on the right after.

I know I have been too long in returning but please forgive me! I could use a million different good excuses but none of them are really that good. Anyway, I hope you enjoy learning a smidge about plowing on the farm!

Plowing up volunteer wheat~volunteer means it comes up from a previous crop.
 

Plowing is what farmers do to make a crop even better! It either prepares the soil for planting, spreads the moisture around, kills weeds, or keeps the dirt from blowing, just to name a few.  It is pretty continuous on the farm depending which crops are being grown and what the weather has been like. 


 For example, last year during the drought there was not much plowing going on but now that the rain is coming so are the weeds which means more plowing is needed to keep the weeds under control.

On the left is a weed ripped up from plowing.  See its roots. The one on the right is still nestled in the ground, growing bigger by the minute. 

Here comes a "Chisel and sweeps plow"! It is turning the soil over for a seed bed, and killing weeds.  The sweeps are behind the chisel and living up to their name, they sweep the ground making it smooth and level.  I think it is interesting to note that an inch and a half rain had occurred just a few days before.  It had been so dry the soil quickly absorbed the moisture. 

Can you smell the fresh dirt scent as this plow turns the soil over? (This country girl loves that smell!) There are many different plows for a variety of purposes. 

 Most plows serve more than one purpose and serve more than one type of crop.  The plow below is called a "Big Ox". I like to think it was so named after its predecessor--oxen.  They were used to pull plows before tractors.

This big boy is used to RIP the soil good and deep. This breaks the hardpan so the soil will be loosened up for the planted crop's roots to go down deep. (Sometimes that is where the moisture is when it has been dry.)

You can see how deep it ripped the soil here.  You can also see very little moisture in the underneath soil.  Thank the good Lord, we have been blessed with rain since this picture was taken.

Thanks for spending a little bit of your time with me today and don't forget to thank the Lord for your own blessings!